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The Growing Credit Crisis Forces Many Companies to Seek Government Help
On September fifteenth, Lehman Brothers, a one hundred fifty-eight year-old investment bank, sought legal protection from its creditors. It had failed to find a buyer after months of searching. With over six hundred billion dollars in debt, Lehman’s failure was the largest bankruptcv in United States history At the same time，the nation’s biggest insurance company，American International Group, had gotten into trouble selling credit default swaps These are contracts Similar to insurance that protect the holder against credit risk.
Credit rating agencies downgraded A.I.G because of concerns it could not honor its contracts. Unable to get new loans, A.I.G asked for government help The Federal Reserve agreed to loan A .I.G. eighty-five billion dollars in return for eighty percent of the company but it was not enough. By November, the government had extended a total of about one hundred fiftv billion doliars in aid to A .I.G—the most to any single company during the crisis.
As banks refused to lend, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson proposed a plan to loosen credit markets by buylng risky assets. Congress approved the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of Two. Thousand eight on October third The bill provided seven hundred billion dollars to buy hard to-value securltles from banks. But within weeks, the government changed plans. The Treasury moved to invest two handred fifty billion dollars directly in banks to help them lend money again.
Lack of credit not only hurt banks but manufacturers, too. Falling car sales threatened America’s carmakers The big three automakers—General Motors, Ford and Chrysler—told Congress that they needed loans or they faced bankmptcy. In December, President Bush offered G.M and Chrysler over seventeen billion dollars in loans.
As the year ended, the Federal Reserve tried to support economic growth by lowering its main interest rate to nearly zero for the first time. But there was one more bad surprise New York money manager Bernard Madoff admitted he had cheated investors out of fifty billion dollars. The news only added to the sense that two thousand eight was the worst economic year since the nineteen thirties.
Which of the following is NOT the problem in the passage Lehman Brothers was faced with?
A. lt is an Investment bank with more than one and a half centuries history.
B. It didn’t find a buyer after months of searching.
C. It has over six hundred billion dollars in debt.
D. Its failure was the largest bankruptcy in United States history.
The reason why A.I.G turned to the U.S government for help was that .
A. A.I.G would give eighty percent of the company in return for the loan
B. A.I.G couldn’t get new loans from credit rating agencies
C. the government extended a total of about one hundred fifty billion dollars in aid to A.I.G
D. the Federal Reserve agreed to loan A.I G eighty-five billion dollars
According to the passage, which of the following is probably NOT suffering from the lack of_______ .
A. Banks． B. Manufacturers C. Carmakers D. Barbers
The last sentence of this passage indicates that the author’s attitude towards the U.S economy in 2008 is
A.pessimistic B. optimistic C. objective D.subjective
查看习题详情和答案>>Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.
automakers right?
For years, the auto industry's critics have been calling for Detroit to roll out small cars that they say
Americans are demanding for. The question is, do we really want to drive small cars? The answer, according
to some analysts, is already clear. "Domestic auto companies feel forced to offer smaller vehicles because of
pressure from the government." says John Wolconowicz, an auto analyst for IHS Global Insight.
Whether we want the vehicles or not, automakers are devoted to a small-car sales strategy. General Motors
is unveiling (推出) three new small cars-the Chevrolet Cruze, a small car due next year; the Spark, a minicar
due in 2011; and the Chevy Aveo, a compact. Mike DiGiovanni, executive director of the global market notes
that GM is presuming a return to high oil prices that will cause the market to shift to smaller vehicles.
At Ford, there are no plans to abandon production of big trucks. But the company is making small cars a
priority, launching the Ford Fiesta and the C-MAX, a compact car with sliding doors and three rows of seats,
in 2011. "We can't even think about growing our market share without having a strong pressure in the small-
vehicle market" George Pipas, Ford's chief U.S. sales analyst says.
Not everyone is so big on Americans going small. This seems to be evident on dealer lots (停车场). Jack
Kain, a Ford dealer in Versailles, Ky., said the F150 truck remains his bigger seller. He predicts trucks will
continue to outsell small cars, at least in his area "People won't give up the safety and comfort of the larger
cars," he says.
But Ford's Pipas is confident that many will embrace the industry's new focus. Detroit's big hopes, he
admits, are riding on the future of small cars.
Daewoo and the art of customer focus
When Daewoo entered the UK car market in spring 1995 it was hardly known at all; its cars were technically average and had an unfashionable country of origin (Korea) With around 40 carmakers, the market was crowded. Less than half of these had market shares of over 1%. Many companies had a “Buy UK” or “Buy European” policy for their fleet purchases（集团购买）， which account for about half of all car purchases.
Since the mid-1970s, no new competitor to the UK car market had achieved more than a 1% market share. Yet Daewoo did exactly that in less than a year. We believe it did so by achieving its aim of being the most customer focused car company in the UK.
Daewoo’s market research showed that the best market to be aimed at would be drivers mainly interested in a car’s ability to get from A to B reliably and cheaply. Research had shown that most motorists were afraid to visit car showrooms and found salespeople too forcefully. They believed that they were treated even worse after the sale. Further, Daewoo’s research found that in the market they were aiming at, 84% of motorists believed that the treatment they got from the salesperson was at least as important as how they felt about the car itself.
Daewoo developed a new way of selling:
*They did not use traders to sell their cars. By saving the money normally paid to traders, Daewoo was able to offer higher specifications(规格) at a lower price.
*Daewoo designed its car showrooms to be like high street stores, with free access to product information and a free cafe; salespeople were on a fixed salary and no bargaining on price was allowed.
*The price included promises and three years’ free servicing.
*Daewoo offered free collection and delivery as well as a car lent to a customer during servicing.
Daewoo’s competitors had been unwilling or unable to rethink the way that they did business in the face of clear dissatisfaction in the market. This created a market opportunity that Daewoo is able to exploit.
1．What is the passage about?
A．How Daewoo bought their share in the UK car market.
B．How Daewoo gave their customers advice on cars.
C．How Daewoo developed their policy on car sales.
D．How Daewoo researched the UK car market.
2．Which of the following best describes Daewoo’s cars?
A．Inexpensive in relation to the specifications.
B．Comfortable in relation to its low price.
C．Satisfactory and of fashionable design.
D．Reliable and of high technology.
3．In what way did Daewoo sell their cars?
A．By offering good after-sale service.
B．By making showrooms much tidier.
C．By accepting the prices offered by customers.
D．By giving salesman extra money if they sell more.
4．What did Daewoo’s competitors do when their customers were not satisfied?
A．They created a new market opportunity.
B．They tried to exploit their market abroad.
C．They did nothing to change the way of selling cars.
D．They reconsidered the method of satisfying their customers.
查看习题详情和答案>>The Growing Credit Crisis Forces Many Companies to Seek Government Help
On September fifteenth, Lehman Brothers, a one hundred fifty-eight year-old investment bank, sought legal protection from its creditors. It had failed to find a buyer after months of searching. With over six hundred billion dollars in debt, Lehman’s failure was the largest bankruptcv in United States history At the same time，the nation’s biggest insurance company，American International Group, had gotten into trouble selling credit default swaps These are contracts Similar to insurance that protect the holder against credit risk.
Credit rating agencies downgraded A.I.G because of concerns it could not honor its contracts. Unable to get new loans, A.I.G asked for government help The Federal Reserve agreed to loan A .I.G. eighty-five billion dollars in return for eighty percent of the company but it was not enough. By November, the government had extended a total of about one hundred fiftv billion doliars in aid to A .I.G—the most to any single company during the crisis.
As banks refused to lend, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson proposed a plan to loosen credit markets by buylng risky assets. Congress approved the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of Two. Thousand eight on October third The bill provided seven hundred billion dollars to buy hard to-value securltles from banks. But within weeks, the government changed plans. The Treasury moved to invest two handred fifty billion dollars directly in banks to help them lend money again.
Lack of credit not only hurt banks but manufacturers, too. Falling car sales threatened America’s carmakers The big three automakers—General Motors, Ford and Chrysler—told Congress that they needed loans or they faced bankmptcy. In December, President Bush offered G.M and Chrysler over seventeen billion dollars in loans.
As the year ended, the Federal Reserve tried to support economic growth by lowering its main interest rate to nearly zero for the first time. But there was one more bad surprise New York money manager Bernard Madoff admitted he had cheated investors out of fifty billion dollars. The news only added to the sense that two thousand eight was the worst economic year since the nineteen thirties
- 1.
Which of the following is NOT the problem in the passage Lehman Brothers was faced with?
- A.lt is an Investment bank with more than one and a half centuries history
- B.It didn’t find a buyer after months of searching
- C.It has over six hundred billion dollars in debt
- D.Its failure was the largest bankruptcy in United States history
- A.
- 2.
The reason why
- A.I.G turned to the U.S government for help was that .
A. A.I.G would give eighty percent of the company in return for the loan - B.A.I.G couldn’t get new loans from credit rating agencies
- C.the government extended a total of about one hundred fifty billion dollars in aid to A
- D.G
- E.the Federal Reserve agreed to loan A.I G eighty-five billion dollars
- A.
- 3.
According to the passage, which of the following is probably NOT suffering from the lack of_______
- A.Banks．
- B.Manufacturers
- C.Carmakers
- D.Barbers
- A.
- 4.
The last sentence of this passage indicates that the author’s attitude towards the U.S economy in 2008 is
- A.pessimistic
- B.optimistic
- C.objective
- D.subjective
- A.
（湖北省黄冈市黄州区一中2010届高三第二次月考）
A
The Growing Credit Crisis Forces Many Companies to Seek Government Help
On September fifteenth, Lehman Brothers, a one hundred fifty-eight year-old investment bank, sought legal protection from its creditors. It had failed to find a buyer after months of searching. With over six hundred billion dollars in debt, Lehman’s failure was the largest bankruptcv in United States history At the same time，the nation’s biggest insurance company，American International Group, had gotten into trouble selling credit default swaps These are contracts Similar to insurance that protect the holder against credit risk.
Credit rating agencies downgraded A.I.G because of concerns it could not honor its contracts. Unable to get new loans, A.I.G asked for government help The Federal Reserve agreed to loan A .I.G. eighty-five billion dollars in return for eighty percent of the company but it was not enough. By November, the government had extended a total of about one hundred fiftv billion doliars in aid to A .I.G—the most to any single company during the crisis.
As banks refused to lend, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson proposed a plan to loosen credit markets by buylng risky assets. Congress approved the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of Two. Thousand eight on October third The bill provided seven hundred billion dollars to buy hard to-value securltles from banks. But within weeks, the government changed plans. The Treasury moved to invest two handred fifty billion dollars directly in banks to help them lend money again.
Lack of credit not only hurt banks but manufacturers, too. Falling car sales threatened America’s carmakers The big three automakers—General Motors, Ford and Chrysler—told Congress that they needed loans or they faced bankmptcy. In December, President Bush offered G.M and Chrysler over seventeen billion dollars in loans.
As the year ended, the Federal Reserve tried to support economic growth by lowering its main interest rate to nearly zero for the first time. But there was one more bad surprise New York money manager Bernard Madoff admitted he had cheated investors out of fifty billion dollars. The news only added to the sense that two thousand eight was the worst economic year since the nineteen thirties.
56. Which of the following is NOT the problem in the passage Lehman Brothers was faced with?
A. lt is an Investment bank with more than one and a half centuries history.
B. It didn’t find a buyer after months of searching.
C. It has over six hundred billion dollars in debt.
D. Its failure was the largest bankruptcy in United States history.
57. The reason why A.I.G turned to the U.S government for help was that .
A. A.I.G would give eighty percent of the company in return for the loan
B. A.I.G couldn’t get new loans from credit rating agencies
C. the government extended a total of about one hundred fifty billion dollars in aid to A.I.G
D. the Federal Reserve agreed to loan A.I G eighty-five billion dollars
58. According to the passage, which of the following is probably NOT suffering from the lack of_______ .
A. Banks． B. Manufacturers C. Carmakers D. Barbers
59. The last sentence of this passage indicates that the author’s attitude towards the U.S economy in 2008 is
A.pessimistic B. optimistic C. objective D.subjective
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