托福听力荟萃 58

I hope you've all finished reading the assigned chapter on ______ so that you're prepared for our discussion today. But, before we start, I'd like to mention a few things your text doesn't go into. It's interesting to note that insurance has existed in some form for a very long time. The earliest insurance policies were what we called ______ contracts. They provided shipping¹ protection for merchants as far back as 3000 B.C. In general, the ______ were often no more than verbal agreements. They granted _______ to merchants with the ______ that if a particular shipment of goods was lost at sea, the loan didn't have to be repaid. ______ on the loans varied² according to how risky³ it was to transport the goods. During periods of heavy ______ at sea, for example, the amount of interest and the cost of the policy went up considerably⁴. So, you can see how insurance helped encourage international trade. Even the most ______ merchants became willing to risk shipping their goods over long distances, not to mention in ______ weather conditions when they had this kind of protection available. Generally speaking, the basic form of an insurance policy has been pretty much the same since the Middle Ages. There are four points that were ______ then and remain ______ in all policies today. These were outlined in chapter six and will serve as the basis for the rest of today's discussion. Can anyone tell me what one of those points might be?

 

 

【填空答案】

1. insurance: n. ［U］an arrangement with a company in which you pay them money each year and they pay the costs if anything bad happens to you, such as an illness or an accident 保险；the money that you pay regularly to an insurance company 保险费；the business of providing insurance 保险业

2. bottomry: n. 船舶抵押契约（如船舶损失，则债务取消），冒险借贷

3. contract: n. ［C］a formal written agreement between two or more people, which says what each person must do for the other 契约；合同

4. loan: n. ［C］an amount of money that you borrow from a bank etc （银行等的）贷款

5. understanding: n. ［C usually singular］a private, unofficial agreement（私底下、非正式的）协议，协定

6. interest: n. ［U］a charge made for borrowing money（借贷的）利息［+on］

7. piracy⁵: n. the crime of attacking and stealing from ships at sea 海上抢劫，海盗行为

8. cautious: adj. careful to avoid danger or risks 小心的，谨慎的，慎重的

9. hazardous⁶: adj. 危险的

10. salient: adj. formal the salient points or features of something are the most important or most noticeable parts of it 【正式】显著的，突出的

11. paramount⁷: adj. more important than anything else 至高无上的，最重要的

【听力原文】

I hope you've all finished reading the assigned chapter on insurance so that you're prepared for our discussion today. But, before we start, I'd like to mention a few things your text doesn't go into. It's interesting to note that insurance has existed in some form for a very long time. The earliest insurance policies were what we called bottomry contracts. They provided shipping protection for merchants as far back as 3000 B.C. In general, the contracts were often no more than verbal agreements. They granted loans to merchants with the understanding that if a particular shipment of goods was lost at sea, the loan didn't have to be repaid. Interest on the loans varied according to how risky it was to transport the goods. During periods of heavy piracy at sea, for example, the amount of interest and the cost of the policy went up considerably. So, you can see how insurance helped encourage international trade. Even the most cautious merchants became willing to risk shipping their goods over long distances, not to mention in hazardous weather conditions when they had this kind of protection available. Generally speaking, the basic form of an insurance policy has been pretty much the same since the Middle Ages. There are four points that were salient then and remain paramount in all policies today. These were outlined in chapter six and will serve as the basis for the rest of today's discussion. Can anyone tell me what one of those points might be?

【参考译文】

我希望你读完指定的章节上保险，所以，你准备好了我们今天讨论的。但是，在我们开始之前，我想提几件事情，不会进入你的文字。这是有趣的，已经存在了很长的时间以某种形式的保险。最早的保险政策，也就是我们俗称的抵押借款合同的。他们，为客商提供运输保障，早在公元前3000年在一般情况下，合同通常不超过口头协议。他们发放的贷款，以商人的理解，如果一个特定的装运货物在海上失踪，贷款并没有偿还。根据不同的贷款利息，这是多么危险的货物运输。在海上重型盗版期间，例如，感兴趣的和成本的政策的量上升很大。所以，你可以看到保险有助于鼓励国际贸易。即使是最谨慎的商人愿意冒险运送他们的产品很长的距离，更不要说在危险的天气情况下，当他们有这种保护。一般来说，保险政策已基本形成了自中世纪以来几乎相同的。有四点是显着的，并保持当今最重要的所有政策。第六章中概述了这些，将作为今天讨论的其余部分的基础。谁能告诉我，这些点可能吗？

1 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

2 varied   

adj.多样的，多变化的

参考例句：

• The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
• The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。

3 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

4 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

5 piracy   

n.海盗行为，剽窃，著作权侵害

参考例句：

• The government has already adopted effective measures against piracy.政府已采取有效措施惩治盗版行为。
• They made the place a notorious centre of piracy.他们把这地方变成了臭名昭著的海盗中心。

6 hazardous   

adj.(有)危险的，冒险的；碰运气的

参考例句：

• These conditions are very hazardous for shipping.这些情况对航海非常不利。
• Everybody said that it was a hazardous investment.大家都说那是一次危险的投资。

7 paramount   

a.最重要的，最高权力的

参考例句：

• My paramount object is to save the Union and destroy slavery.我的最高目标是拯救美国，摧毁奴隶制度。
• Nitrogen is of paramount importance to life on earth.氮对地球上的生命至关重要。