[研究生入学考试题库]考研英语(二)模拟题44.docxVIP

[研究生入学考试题库]考研英语(二)模拟题44 Section Ⅰ Use of EnglishDirections: Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D on ANSWER SHEET.  Times are tough in Africa. Ebola, in addition to 1 many lives, has also damaged economies. Tourism is suffering as 2 foreigners stay away. Falling commodity prices are also taking a 3 . Investors are pulling money out of riskier spots, prompted by the 4 of rising interest rates in America. So is the unfolding public-debt crisis in the Gambia, which has suffered from all these 5 , a harbinger (预兆) of things to come?  In mid-January the IMF 6 that it is considering a bail-out for the Gambia. In part, the problems of the tiny west African country of 2m 7 from a 60% fall in tourism, the source of 30% of its export earnings. Falling commodity prices mean that 8 of wood and nuts will also bring in less. No 9 the local currency, the Dalasi, fell by 12% 10 the dollar last year.  A weak currency is a worry, since Gambians rely 11 on imported food. But it is mismanagement of the governments finances 12 has pushed the Gambia over the edge. From 2009 to 2014 its debt-to-GDP ratio increased by 18 percentage points, more than all other countries in sub-Saharan Africa except Cape Verde and Ghana. Now 80%, it is one of the highest in the region. It is likely to increase further thanks to the latest budget, 13 in December, which boosts spending by 11%.  The Gambias debts are not just growing, they are of unusually short maturity. The cost of servicing them has 14 jumped very quickly as rates have risen. A rule of thumb favoured by the IMF suggests that a poor countrys debt is 15 when the government is devoting more than 20% of its revenue to paying it back. In 2009 the Gambia devoted 15% of revenue to debt-service; in 2014, 23%.  A few other African economies are under 1