Unit 1

    Some of the concerns surrounding Turkey’s application to join the European Union, to bevoted on by the EU’s Council of Ministers on December 17th, are economic-in particular, thecountry’s relative poverty. Its GDP per head is less than a third of the average for the 15 pre-2004members of the EU. But it is not far off that of one of the ten new members which joined on May1st 2004 (Latvia), and it is much the same as those of two countries, Bulgaria and Romania, whichthis week concluded accession talks with the EU that could make them full members on January1st 2007.


    Furthermore, the country’s recent economic progress has been, according to Donald Johnston,the secretary-general of the OECD, "stunning". GDP in the second quarter of the year was 13.4%higher than a year earlier, a rate of growth that no EU country comes close to matching. Turkey’sinflation rate has just fallen into single figures for the first time since 1972, and this week thecountry reached agreement with the IMF on a new three-year, $10 billion economic programmethat will, according to the IMF’s managing director, Rodrigo Rato, "help Turkey... reduce inflationtoward European levels, and enhance the economy’s resilience".


    Resilience has not historically been the country’s economic strong point. As recently as 2001,GDP fell by over 7%. It fell by more than 5% in 1994, and by just under 5% in 1999. Indeed,throughout the 1990s growth oscillated like an electrocardiogram recording a violent heart attack.This irregularity has been one of the main reasons (along with red tape and corruption) why thecountry has failed dismally to attract much-needed foreign direct investment. Its stock of suchinvestment (as a percentage of GDP) is lower now than it was in the 1980s, and annual inflowshave scarcely ever reached $1 billion (whereas Ireland attracted over $25 billion in 2003, as didBrazil in every year from 1998 to 2000).


    One deterrent to foreign investors is due to disappear on January 1st 2005. On that day,Turkey will take away the right of virtually every one of its citizens to call themselves amillionaire. Six noughts will be removed from the face value of the lira; one unit of the localcurrency will henceforth be worth what 1m are now-ie, about €0.53 ($0.70). Goods will have to bepriced in both the new and old lira for the whole of the year, but foreign bankers and investors canbegin to look forward to a time in Turkey when they will no longer have to juggle mentally withindeterminate strings of zeros.


注（1）：本文选自Economist；12/18/2004, p115-115, 2/5p；


注（2）：本文习题命题模仿2004年真题text 1第1题和第3题（1，3），2001年真题text 1第2题（2），1999年真题text 2第2题（4）和2002年真题text 3第4题（5）；




    1


2007年阅读理解精读100篇（印建坤）                                           www.hjbbs.com1.  What is Turkey’s economic situation now?


[A] Its GDP per head is far lagging behind that of the EU members.


[B] Its inflation rate is still rising.


[C] Its economy grows faster than any EU member.


[D] Its economic resilience is very strong.


2.  We can infer from the second paragraph that__________.


[A] Turkey will soon catch the average GDP level of the 15 pre-2004 EU members


[B] inflation rate in Turkey used to be very high


[C] Turkey’s economy will keep growing at present rate


[D] IMF’s economic program will help Turkey join the EU


3.  The word “oscillated” (Line 3, Paragraph 3) most probably means_________.


[A] fell


[B] climbed


[C] developed


[D] swang


4.  Speaking of Turkey’s foreign direct investment, the author implies that_________.[A] it’s stock is far less than that of other countries


[B] it does not have much influence on Turkey’s economic progress


[C] steady GDP growth will help Turkey attract more foreign direct investment


[D] Turkey’s economic resilience relies on foreign direct investment


5.  We can draw a conclusion from the text that__________.


[A] foreign investment environment in Turkey will become better


[B] Turkey’s citizens will suffer heavy loss due to the change of the face value of the lira[C] the local currency will depreciate with the removal of six noughts from the face value[D] prices of goods will go up


答案：C B D C A