Sentence Translation

　　1. Susan Sontag was considered one of the most influential liberal thinkers in the United States. She wrote seventeen books. They have been translated into thirty languages.

　　2. You should smoke the fish for five days or longer if you plan to store them for a long time. After you finish smoking the fish, remove them and let them cool.

　　3. 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.

　　4. 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 bankruptcy.

　　5. 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.

　　Passage Translation

　　1. We look back at this year's bad economic news in the United States. Economic growth was expected to slow in two thousand eight. Housing prices had been falling in the United States since two thousand six. But few economists predicted the financial collapse only a few months away. With the economy slowing, Congress passed a bill in February designed to ease the economic slowdown. The bill returned over one hundred fifty billion dollars to taxpayers.

　　2. Some unemployed job hunters also hurt their chances by volunteering to take a significantly lower salary than what they earned in their last job. An offer to take a pay cut of more than 20% can suggest to employers that you're biding your time and would re-enter the job market in search of higher-paying positions once the economy improves Or, you might unwittingly imply that you're going to ask for a raise soon after coming on board.

　　Reading test

　　1-5 CBDAB

　　6-10 CABAA

　　11-15 DACBC

　　16-20 ADBCB

　　【参考译文】

　　说到自由，既然自由自在的人为数不多，难道作家还不算自由?既然获得安全感的人并不多，难道作家还不算安全?作家作业的工具极为平常，极为便宜，几乎不再有商业价值。他不需要成堆的原材料，不需要精密仪器，不需要有人效犬马之劳。他的职业不靠任何人，只靠自己;除了他自己以外，任何事都无关紧要。他就是一国之君，既自给，又自立。任何人都不能剥夺他的从业资本;任何人都不能强迫他违心地施展才华;任何人都不能阻止他按自己的选择发挥天赋。他的笔就是人类和各民族的大救星。他的思想在自由驰骋，任何锁链束缚不住，任何贫困阻挡不住，任何关税限制不住，甚至图书俱乐部也只能有节制地对他的收获泼一点冷水。无论作品是好是糟，只要已经尽力而为，他就会感到欢快。

　　人类力量的最伟大的杰作，即人类用石块垒起的无比坚固的大厦，也会夷为废墟，而那脱口而出的话语，那思绪起伏时转瞬即逝的表达却延续了下来，但它不是过去的回响，不是纯粹的建筑奇迹或神圣的遗址，它力量依旧，生命依旧，有时候远比初说时更坚强有力，它越过了三千年时光的峡谷，为今天的我们照亮了世界。

　　【参考译文】

　　If righteousness represents a life attitude in ethics, interest a utility attitude, then the sensibilities represent a perspective of life through aesthetic perception. It insists on acting in candor, in blast and stop, and that everyone maintains his true character. You are not the creed that you espouse, nor your possessions, but yourself in the sense of your genuine character.

　　The meaning of life consists not in sacrifice or possession, but in creation, which is the positive disposition pervasive in people's true character and the emotional satisfaction after the realization of his essential power.

　　People with genuine disposition pursues emotional exchanges in his dealing with other people and the unique flavor of objects in his appreciation of them. What is most precious is that in an era of rash pursuit of interest by people and unavoidable pursuit of people by interest, the proper man has a leisurely manner in his handling of both people and things. I don't mean the Chinese scholar-bureaucrats’ leisurely and carefree mood, nor the peasants’ easy content and conservativenes, but an indifference to fame and fortune without slavery to interest or materials.

　　occupies on earth. However, though larger than the ocean is the sky, even larger is the human mind, for in it imagination can come and go on the wing without limitation.In their jouney through life, some people hurry on with a heavy heart in pursuit of fame and gain, while others go with an easy, grace, enjoying themselves in harmony with nature.