We’re moving into another era, as the toxic(有毒的) effects of the bubble(泡沫) and its grave consequences spread through the financi

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问题     We’re moving into another era, as the toxic(有毒的) effects of the bubble(泡沫) and its grave consequences spread through the financial system. Just a couple of years ago investors dreamed of 20 percent returns forever. Now surveys show that they’re down to a "realistic" 8 percent to 10 percent range.
    But what if the next few years turn out to be below normal expectations? Martin Barners of the Bank Credit Analyst in Montreal expects future stock returns to average just 4 percent to 6 percent. Sound impossible? After a much smaller bubble that burst in the mid-1960s Standard & Poor’s 5000 stock average returned 6.9 percent a year (with dividends reinvested) for the following 17 years. Few investors are prepared for that.
    Right now denial seems to be the attitude of choice. That’s typical, says Lori Lucas of Hewitt, the consulting firm. You hate to look at your investments when they’re going down. Hewitt tracks 500,000 401 (k) accounts every day, and finds that savers are keeping their contributions up. But they’re much less inclined to switch their money around. "It’s the slot-machine (老虎机) effect," Lucas says. "People get more interested in playing when they think they’ve got a hot machine"—and nothing’s hot today. The average investor feels overwhelmed.
    Against all common sense, many savers still shut their eyes to the dangers of owning too much company stock. In big companies last year, a surprising 29 percent of employees held at least three quarters of their 402 (k) in their own stock.
    Younger employees may have no choice. You often have to wait until you’re 50 or 55 before you can sell any company stock you get.
    But instead of getting out when they can, old participants have been holding, too. One third of the people 60 and up chose company stock for three quarters of their plan, Hewitt reports. Are they inattentive? Loyal excessively? Sick? It’s as if Lucent, Enron and Xerox never happened.
    No investor should give his or her total trust to any particular company’s stock. And while you’re at it, think how you’d be if future stock returns—averaging good years and bad—are as poor as Barnes predicts.
    If you ask me, diversified stocks remain good for the long run, with a backup in bonds. But I, too, am figuring on reduced returns. What a shame. Dear bubble, I’ll never forget. It’s the end of a grand affair.
It can be inferred from the text that Lucent, Enron and Xerox are names of_________.

选项 A、successful businesses
B、bankrupted companies
C、stocks
D、huge corporations

答案B

解析 推理题。题干中的几个专有名词出现在第六段末,该句用虚拟语气指出,就好像朗讯、安然和施乐的事情从来未发生过一样。联系上下文,上文作者对雇员购买公司股票的行为表示质疑,下文则提出不应完全信任任何一家公司。由此可推出,这是三家作为反面例子的公司,由于它们的破产,使持有这些公司股票的人受到很大的损失。B项最恰当。
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