TEXT SEVENTEEN

Boosted by booming international financial markets, the City of London has not had it so good since the end of the dotcom bonanza in the late 1990s. Basking in double-digit growth rates, London's law firms have both contributed to that success and benefited from it. The earnings of top City lawyers can now exceed £2m a year.

Having opted to expand and go global ahead of most others, Britain's leading law firms tend to be bigger than their American rivals. Indeed, according to a survey of the world's top 50 law firms, compiled by Legal Business, a British trade paper, five of the world's top six law firms—in terms of turnover—are now British (if DLA Piper, the result of an Anglo-American merger, is included). But they have tended to lag behind in terms of their profitability. That is now changing.

The profit margins of the City's five “magic circle” firms—Clifford Chance, Slaughter and May, Allen & Overy, Linklaters and Freshfields—have soared in recent years and are now comparable with, if not higher than, those of New York's “white shoe” elite. Slaughter and May, the only one of the five not to have gone global, has the joint second-highest profit margin among the top 50.

3.The phrase “white shoe” (Line 3, Paragraph 3) most probably means____.

[A] white collars

[B] first-class law firms

[C] financial agencies

[D] international banks

3.The phrase “white shoe” (Line 3, Paragraph 3) most probably means____.

3. “白鞋子”這個短語(第三段第三行) 最有可能指_____。

[A] white collars

[A] 白領

[B] first-class law firms

[B] 一流的律師事務所

[C] financial agencies

[C] 金融機構

[D] international banks

[D] 國際銀行

[答案] B

[難度系數] ☆☆☆

[分析] 猜詞題。根據上下文，主要談論的都是律師事務所，并沒有涉及到其他的行業，因此可以推測這里應該指的是美國相應業界的同行，這樣才有可比性，那么選項中B最為符合題意。

Not so long ago, a London surgeon could expect to earn as much as a City lawyer. But even the recent big rises in hospital consultants' earnings pall in comparison with those enjoyed by London lawyers. At Slaughter and May, for example, average profits per equity partner (PEP) jumped by almost a third (in dollar terms) last year to $2.75m—more than at any other of the top 50 law firms bar two in New York where PEP averaged $2.8m and $3.0m respectively. Some senior partners get a lot more of course.

Competition for the best lawyers is fierce and poaching frequent. Hence the need to keep headline PEP figures up—even at the cost of getting rid of equity partners, leaving a bigger share of the bounty for the remaining ones. Freshfields is in the process of shedding around 100 of its equity partners. Other leading firms are also undertaking painful restructuring.

Newly qualified lawyers' salaries have also been shooting up in the search for the best talent. Both Freshfields and Allen & Overy now pay their first-year associates £65,000, rising to around £90,000 after three years. (First-year associates at America's top law firms get the equivalent of £80,000.)

But, as many other top-rank City employers have discovered, big earnings do not necessarily guarantee big satisfaction. According to a YouGov poll, published by the Lawyer earlier this month, a quarter of Britain's lawyers (including a fifth of law-firm partners) would like to leave the profession. The disgruntled complained about cripplingly long hours, intense competition and the impersonality of the biggest firms (some with more than 3,000 lawyers). So why don't they quit? Because, say three-quarters, of the pay.

1. Which one of the following is TURE of the status quo of London’s economy?

[A] London is enjoying its best time of economic development since 1990s.

[B] The growth rate of London is doubled since the beginning of the 1990s.

[C] The growth rate started to boost since the end of the dotcom era.

[D] The current economy of London is mostly driven by its legal instead of financial market.

2. The world’s top 50 law firms are graded according to _____.

[A] their annual margin

[B] their profitability

[C] their sale volume

[D] their quantity of business

4. In order to be competitive, the law firms take the following measures except_____.

[A] dismissing equity partners

[B] carrying out restructuring

[C] having their best lawyers turn more competitive.

[D] raising salaries for recruiting talents

5. From the YouGov poll, it can be inferred that____.

[A] this profession is far from satisfactory

[B] most lawyers will leave the profession sooner or later

[C] most lawyers are satisfied with the profession because of the fat pay

[D] high salary is always contradictory to big satisfaction

詞匯注釋：

bonanza n. 富礦帶, 帶來好運之事, 幸運 bask v. 曬太陽(享受溫暖), 感到溫暖, 愉快或舒適

turnover n. 營業額 cipplingly adv. 臨界地，極限地

pall v.覆蓋, 使平淡無味 bounty n. 獎金，補助金

disgruntled adj. 不高興的，不滿意的

文章剖析：

這篇文章介紹英國倫敦律師事務所的現狀。第一段講述因為倫敦經濟增長迅速，律師業也受益匪淺；第二段、第三段講述倫敦律師事務所在世界上的排名；第四段講述倫敦事務所律師的工資待遇；第五段、第六段講述律師事務所的競爭手段；第七段講述對該行業的滿意度。

難句突破：

(1) Indeed, according to a survey of the world's top 50 law firms, compiled by Legal Business, a British trade paper, five of the world's top six law firms—in terms of turnover—are now British (if DLA Piper, the result of an Anglo-American merger, is included).

[主體句式] Five of the world’s top six law firms are now British.

[結構分析] 這是一個簡單句。前面according to引導的是狀語，狀語種compile by …做前面a survey的定語，而a British trade paper是Legal Business的同位語。

[句子譯文]實際上，根據英國商業報紙《法律商業》的一項世界領先50家律師事務所的調查，世界領先的六家律師事務所（按營業額計算）有五家是英國事務所（算上英美合資的DLA Piper事務所）。

(2) At Slaughter and May, for example, average profits per equity partner (PEP) jumped by almost a third (in dollar terms) last year to $2.75m—more than at any other of the top 50 law firms bar two in New York where PEP averaged $2.8m and $3.0m respectively.

[主體句式] Average profits per equity partner jumped by almost a third.

[結構分析] 這是一個簡單句，破折號后面的是前面$2.75m的定語。

[句子譯文] 比如在Slaughter and May,去年PEP平均收入以275萬美元為基數漲了1/3（以美元計算），這要比任何全球前50名律師事務所或美國的律師界工資都高，其PEP平均為280萬美元和300萬美元。

題目分析：

1. Which one of the following is TURE of the status quo of London’s economy?

1.下列哪一個是關于倫敦經濟現狀的正確表述？

[A] London is enjoying its best time of economic development since 1990s.

[A]倫敦現在正在享受其自20世紀90年代末以來經濟最好的時候。

[B] The growth rate of London is doubled since the beginning of the 1990s.

[B] 倫敦的經濟增長率翻倍了。

[C] The growth rate started to boost since the end of the dotcom era.

[C] 倫敦經濟從網絡時代末尾的時候開始興盛。

[D] The current economy of London is mostly driven by its legal instead of financial market.

[D] 倫敦現在經濟的繁榮主要是由其司法市場、而不是金融市場驅動的。

[答案]A

[難度系數] ☆☆☆☆

[分析]細節題。這題關鍵要看對于文章第一句話的理解，Boosted by booming international financial markets, the City of London has not had it so good since the end of the dotcom bonanza in the late 1990s. “have it good”是一個詞組，意思為“過得優裕”，那么這句話意思就是倫敦在20世紀90年代末享受過經濟很好的一段時間后，一直到現在才又開始經濟很好。選項A最為符合該句意思，是正確答案。C選項的時間概念不正確，而D選項則是無中生有。

2. The world’s top 59 law firms are graded according to _____.

2. 世界前50強律師事務所是依據_____來劃分的。

[A] their margin

[A] 他們的利潤

[B] their profitability

[B] 他們的收益率

[C] their sale volume

[C] 他們的銷售額

[D] their quantity of business

[D] 他們的業務數量

[答案]C

[難度系數] ☆☆☆

[分析] 細節題。文章第二段提到five of the world's top six law firms—in terms of turnover，可以看出是以turnover（營業額）來評定的。如果不知道turnover的意思，也可以用排除法來選擇。因為第二段提到，要是用收益率來衡量，那么它們排名就不會那么前了，因此A和B可以排除。D的業務數量又從來沒有提及?？梢圆鲁鯟可能是正確選項。

4. In order to be competitive, the law firms take the following measures except_____.

4.為了讓自己更有競爭力，律師事務所采取了以下除選項_____外的措施。

[A] dismissing equity partners

[A] 解雇了股東合作人。

[B] carrying out restructuring

[B] 實行重組。

[C] having their best lawyers turn more competitive

[C] 讓最好的律師變得更加有競爭力。

[D] raising salaries for recruiting talents

[D] 提高工資以吸引更多人才。

[答案]C

[難度系數] ☆☆☆

[分析] 細節題。題干相關的內容在文章第五、第六段有提及。第五段提到，各律師事務所為了爭奪最優秀的律師采取了許多措施，不得已都要解雇股東合作人，這樣就可以將比較大的利潤給剩下有限的人分配，從而保證頂尖律師的利潤，有的還進行重組。而第六段提到為了找到最好的人才，還不惜提高新律師的工資。因此，選項中C是沒有提到的。

5. From the YouGov poll, it can be inferred that____.

5. 從YouGov的民意調查結果可以看出_____。

[A] this profession is far from satisfactory

[A] 這個職業是讓人不滿意的。

[B] most lawyers will leave the profession sooner or later

[B] 大多數律師遲早都會離開這個職業。

[C] most lawyers are satisfied with the profession because of the fat pay

[C] 大多數律師因為收入高的原因對這個職業滿意。

[D] high salary is always contradictory to big satisfaction

[D] 高工資和滿意度總是相對立的。

[答案]A

[難度系數] ☆☆☆

[分析] 推理題。從文章最后一段可以看出，該民意調查中有1/4的律師表明想要離開這個行業，因為種種不滿意的地方，但還有3/4不會離開就是因為高工資原因。因此，可以看出，律師這個行業并不讓人滿意，吸引人的只是高收入而已。A反映了這一點。B選項不符合文章最后一段，因為大多數律師表示都不會離開；D單單從律師行業的這個調查不能反映所有行業的情況、表述過于絕對。因此，答案為A。

參考譯文：

雖然受到急速發展的國際金融市場的推動，倫敦自20世紀90年代末網絡富源之后還沒有享受過這樣的好日子。倫敦的律師行業一直享受著雙位數增長速率的成績，一方面對經濟的成功貢獻了自己的力量，另一方面也得益于經濟成長。目前倫敦市一流的律師一年的薪水超過了200萬英鎊。

英國的頂尖律師事務所選擇了不斷擴大，走在世界前列，現在要比美國同類的事務所大一些。實際上，根據英國商業報紙《法律商業》的一項世界領先50家律師事務所的調查，世界領先的六家律師事務所（按營業額計算）有五家是英國事務所（算上英美合資的DLA Piper事務所）。但是就盈利能力來講，他們卻滯后了。不過目前這種情況正在改變。

倫敦五家“魔力圈”事務所（Clifford Chance, Slaughter and May, Allen & Overy, Linklaters and Freshfields）的利潤近年來飛速上升，現在不能說超過，也可以說可以和紐約“白鞋子”精英相抗衡了。Slaughter and May是五家中唯一沒有走向世界的事務所，目前已經成為全球50家第二高利潤事務所。

不久前，一個倫敦的外科醫生還有望和一個市律師掙得一樣多。但是盡管最近醫院會診醫生的收入有了大的漲幅，但和倫敦律師的工資漲幅比起來還是相形見拙。比如在Slaughter and May,去年PEP平均收入以275萬美元為基數漲了1/3（以美元計算），這要比任何全球前50名律師事務所或美國的律師界工資都高，其PEP平均為280萬美元和300萬美元。當然一些資深律師收入更高。

爭取最好律師的競爭是激烈的，挖角時有發生。因此，有必要保持名人的PEP數字上升，有時甚至以消滅股東為代價，從而將獎金的更大一部分留給剩下的人。Freshfields目前就正在裁減大約100名股東左右。其他領先的事務所也同樣經歷重組的痛苦。

新的資格律師也因尋找最好的天才，其工資大漲。Freshfields 和 Allen & Overy支付給他們第一年的律師工資為6萬5千英鎊，三年后升至9萬英鎊。（在美國頂尖律師事務所第一年律師工資為8萬英鎊。）

但是，正如倫敦許多其他頂尖的雇主所發現的，高工資并不意味著高滿意度。根據本月初刊登在《律師》上的一項YouGov民意調查，英國律師有1/4（包括1/5的律師搭檔）都想要離開這個行業。那些不滿意的人抱怨幾近極限的工作時間、激烈的競爭和最大事務所（擁有3000名以上雇工）的非人性化。那么他們為什么不放棄這個工作呢？因為工資，3/4的人這樣回答。