Britain?s richest people have experienced the biggest?ever rise in their wealth,according to the Sunday Times Rich List.Driven by the new economy of in ternet and computer entrepreneurs,the wealth of those at the top of the financial tree has increased at an unprecedented rate.The 12th annual RichList will show that the collective worth of the country?s richest 1,000 people reached nearly 146 billion by January,the cut?off point for the survey.They represented an increase of 31 billion,or 27 %,in just 12 months.Since the survey was compiled,Britain?s richest have added billions more to their wealth,thanks to the continuing boom in technology shares on the stock market.This has pushed up the total value of the wealth of the richest 1,000 to a probable 160 billion according to Dr Philip Beresford,Britain?s acknowledged expert on personal wealth who compiles the Sunday Times Rich List.The millennium boom exceeds anything in Britains economic history,including the railway boom of the 1840s and the South Sea bubble of 1720.“It has made Margaret Thatches boom seem as sluggish as Edward Heathsthree?day week” said Beresford.“We are seeing billions being added to the national wealth every week.” William Rubinstein,professor of modern history at theUniversity of Wales,Aberystwyth,confirmed that the growth in wealth was unprecedented.“Almost all of today?s wealth has been created since the industrial revolution,but even by those heady standards the current boom is extraordinary,”he said.“There is no large?scale cultural opposition or guilt about making money.In many ways British business attitudes can now challenge the United States.”

　　Although the Britain?s richest are experiencing the sharpest surge in wealth,the rest of the population has also benefited from the stock market boom and rising house prices.Last year wealth rose by 16% to a record 4,267 billion,according to calculations by the investment bank Salomon Smith Barney.Inreal terms,wealth has increased by more than a third since the late 1980s. Much of the wealth of the richest is held in shares in start up companies.

　　Some of these paper fortunes,analysts agree,could easily be wiped out,although the wealth?generating effects of the internet revolution seem to behere to stay.A Sunday Times Young Rich List confirms that people are becoming wealthier younger.It includes the 60 richest millionaires aged 30 or under.At the top,on 600m,is the “old money” Earl of Iveagh,30,head of the Guinness brewing family.In second place is Charles Nasser,also 30,who launched theClara?NET in ternet provider four years ago and is worth 300m.The remaining eight in the top 10 young millionaires made their money from computing and the internet.

1.The “cut?off point for the survey” (in paragraph 1) refers to.

　　A) 146 billion—the collective worth of the country?s richest 1000 people

　　B) January—the deadline for the survey

　　C) 31 million—the increase of wealth in just 12 months

　　D) 160 billion—the total value of the wealth of richest 1000

　　2.How have the business attitudes changed in Britain?

　　A) Today?s economic boom cannot surpass Margaret Thatcher?s boom.

　　B) Three?day week showed British people were more sluggish than they are today.

　　C) People do not feel guilty about making money.

　　D) Doing business in Britain is even more challenging than in America.

　　3.The millennium economic boom in Britain .

　　A) benefits the richest alone

　　B) makes the life of the rest of the population even worse off

　　C) has added to the Britain?s wealth by 16% since the late 1980s

　　D) is primarily due to the internet revolution

　　4.Why does the author call the wealth of the riches “paper fortunes”?

　　A) Because their wealth is mainly generated from technology shares.

　　B) Because their wealth can be easily lost.

　　C) Because their wealth is greatly influenced by start?up companies.

　　D) Because their wealth is quickly devaluated with the up?and?down of house prices.

　　5.A new tendency emerged in the current boom is that .

　　A) more and more people start hi?tech business to amass fortune

　　B) people are becoming rich at younger ages

　　C) most of the richest make their fortune by inheritance

　　D) all the richest millionaires are aged 30 or above

　　语言注释

　　1.the South Sea bubble of 1720

南海公司成立于1711年，主要从事奴隶贸易。该公司的股票曾经在市场上炙手可热，吸引了大批的投资者。1720年1月该公司股票从128.5英镑飙升至1000英镑，引起了空前的投机热潮。但同年9月，股市狂跌，该公司股票跌至124英镑，使许多投机者破了产。

　　2.Edward Heath?s three?day week

　　爱德华·希思，1970至1974年间任英国首相、保守党领袖。

　　3.heady adj.使人失控的，使头脑或感觉平衡失控的。heady standards

　　意为“令人头脑发热的标准”。

　　4.start?up company

　　指那些新兴的工业，特别是新兴的高科技企业。start?up原指“开始发动、开始运转”。

　　5.At the top,on 600m,is the “old money” Earl of Iveagh,30,head of the Guinness brewing

　　family.排在首位的是有“祖传财产”、拥有6亿英镑、年仅30岁的伊维弗伯爵，吉尼斯酿酒业家族的掌门人。此句中的old money指“祖传的财产”。earl意为“伯爵”。在英国贵族爵位和财产都是世袭的。

　　答案

　　1.B

　　本题中理解的关键在于准确把握上下文中的所指关系。第一段…reached nearly 146 billion by January,the cut?off point for the survey…一句中，the cut?off point for the survey是January的同位语，因此B为正确答案。cut?off原意为“定点、取舍点”。在本句中指“调查的截止日期”。

　　2.C

　　文章第二段末尾指出，在新的经济形势下，人们对做生意、赚钱的态度发生了变化。这些不再受到主流文化的抨击，人们也不再为赚钱而有愧疚感。这甚至可以跟美国那样金钱至上的社会相比。因此C为正确答案。

　　3.D

　　本文中多次提到新千年里英国经济繁荣发展的原因，如第一段开头作者指出由于互联网和计算机企业家所带来的新经济的推动，富翁层出不穷(Driven by the new economy of internet and computer entrepreneurs…)。后面又再次提到证券市场上科技股的持续繁荣对英国经济的推动(…thanks to the continuing boom in technology shares on the stock market)；第四段中谈到这些富翁的财富主要集中在新兴公司的股份中(Much of the wealth of the richest is held in shares in start?up companies…)，并提到互联网革命与财富创造(…the wealth?generating effects of the intern trevolution…)。由这些线索可知D是正确答案。而A、B、C都与第三段的内容不符。

　　4.A

　　第四段开头作者就分析了这些新贵获取财富的来源，即投资科技股。故称之为“票据财富”。此处的paper是指“有价证券、股票”。因此正确答案为A。

　　5.B

　　文章最后一段开头指出《星期日泰晤士报》发布的青年富翁榜证实，富翁的年龄有年轻化的趋势，并进一步通过具体事例证明了这一点。因此正确答案为B。而选项A和C都过度概括了文章中所给的事实；选项D与文中所给事实不符。

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