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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

[答案] B

[难度系数] ☆☆☆

[分析] 猜词题。根据上下文，主要谈论的都是律师事务所，并没有涉及到其他的行业，因此可以推测这里应该指的是美国相应业界的同行，这样才有可比性，那么选项中B最为符合题意。

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

词汇注释：

bonanza n. 富矿带, 带来好运之事, 幸运                  bask v. 晒太阳(享受温暖), 感到温暖, 愉快或舒适

turnover n. 营业额                                                       cipplingly adv. 临界地，极限地

pall v.覆盖, 使平淡无味                                             bounty n. 奖金，补助金

disgruntled adj. 不高兴的，不满意的                                   

文章剖析：

这篇文章介绍英国伦敦律师事务所的现状。第一段讲述因为伦敦经济增长迅速，律师业也受益匪浅；第二段、第三段讲述伦敦律师事务所在世界上的排名；第四段讲述伦敦事务所律师的工资待遇；第五段、第六段讲述律师事务所的竞争手段；第七段讲述对该行业的满意度。

难句突破：

(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).

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

[结构分析] 这是一个简单句。前面according to引导的是状语，状语种compile by …做前面a survey的定语，而a British trade paper是Legal Business的同位语。

[句子译文]实际上，根据英国商业报纸《法律商业》的一项世界领先50家律师事务所的调查，世界领先的六家律师事务所（按营业额计算）有五家是英国事务所（算上英美合资的DLA Piper事务所）。

(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.

[主体句式] Average profits per equity partner jumped by almost a third.

[结构分析] 这是一个简单句，破折号后面的是前面$2.75m的定语。

[句子译文] 比如在Slaughter and May,去年PEP平均收入以275万美元为基数涨了1/3（以美元计算），这要比任何全球前50名律师事务所或美国的律师界工资都高，其PEP平均为280万美元和300万美元。

题目分析：   

[答案]A

[难度系数] ☆☆☆☆

[分析]细节题。这题关键要看对于文章第一句话的理解，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”是一个词组，意思为“过得优裕”，那么这句话意思就是伦敦在20世纪90年代末享受过经济很好的一段时间后，一直到现在才又开始经济很好。选项A最为符合该句意思，是正确答案。C选项的时间概念不正确，而D选项则是无中生有。

[答案]C

[难度系数] ☆☆☆

[分析] 细节题。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（营业额）来评定的。如果不知道turnover的意思，也可以用排除法来选择。因为第二段提到，要是用收益率来衡量，那么它们排名就不会那么前了，因此A和B可以排除。D的业务数量又从来没有提及。可以猜出C可能是正确选项。

[答案]C

[难度系数] ☆☆☆

[分析] 细节题。题干相关的内容在文章第五、第六段有提及。第五段提到，各律师事务所为了争夺最优秀的律师采取了许多措施，不得已都要解雇股东合作人，这样就可以将比较大的利润给剩下有限的人分配，从而保证顶尖律师的利润，有的还进行重组。而第六段提到为了找到最好的人才，还不惜提高新律师的工资。因此，选项中C是没有提到的。

[答案]A

[难度系数] ☆☆☆

[分析] 推理题。从文章最后一段可以看出，该民意调查中有1/4的律师表明想要离开这个行业，因为种种不满意的地方，但还有3/4不会离开就是因为高工资原因。因此，可以看出，律师这个行业并不让人满意，吸引人的只是高收入而已。A反映了这一点。B选项不符合文章最后一段，因为大多数律师表示都不会离开；D单单从律师行业的这个调查不能反映所有行业的情况、表述过于绝对。因此，答案为A。

参考译文：

虽然受到急速发展的国际金融市场的推动，伦敦自20世纪90年代末网络富源之后还没有享受过这样的好日子。伦敦的律师行业一直享受着双位数增长速率的成绩，一方面对经济的成功贡献了自己的力量，另一方面也得益于经济成长。目前伦敦市一流的律师一年的薪水超过了200万英镑。

英国的顶尖律师事务所选择了不断扩大，走在世界前列，现在要比美国同类的事务所大一些。实际上，根据英国商业报纸《法律商业》的一项世界领先50家律师事务所的调查，世界领先的六家律师事务所（按营业额计算）有五家是英国事务所（算上英美合资的DLA Piper事务所）。但是就盈利能力来讲，他们却滞后了。不过目前这种情况正在改变。

伦敦五家“魔力圈”事务所（Clifford Chance, Slaughter and May, Allen & Overy, Linklaters and Freshfields）的利润近年来飞速上升，现在不能说超过，也可以说可以和纽约“白鞋子”精英相抗衡了。Slaughter and May是五家中唯一没有走向世界的事务所，目前已经成为全球50家第二高利润事务所。

不久前，一个伦敦的外科医生还有望和一个市律师挣得一样多。但是尽管最近医院会诊医生的收入有了大的涨幅，但和伦敦律师的工资涨幅比起来还是相形见拙。比如在Slaughter and May,去年PEP平均收入以275万美元为基数涨了1/3（以美元计算），这要比任何全球前50名律师事务所或美国的律师界工资都高，其PEP平均为280万美元和300万美元。当然一些资深律师收入更高。

争取最好律师的竞争是激烈的，挖角时有发生。因此，有必要保持名人的PEP数字上升，有时甚至以消灭股东为代价，从而将奖金的更大一部分留给剩下的人。Freshfields目前就正在裁减大约100名股东左右。其他领先的事务所也同样经历重组的痛苦。

新的资格律师也因寻找最好的天才，其工资大涨。Freshfields 和 Allen & Overy支付给他们第一年的律师工资为6万5千英镑，三年后升至9万英镑。（在美国顶尖律师事务所第一年律师工资为8万英镑。）

但是，正如伦敦许多其他顶尖的雇主所发现的，高工资并不意味着高满意度。根据本月初刊登在《律师》上的一项YouGov民意调查，英国律师有1/4（包括1/5的律师搭档）都想要离开这个行业。那些不满意的人抱怨几近极限的工作时间、激烈的竞争和最大事务所（拥有3000名以上雇工）的非人性化。那么他们为什么不放弃这个工作呢？因为工资，3/4的人这样回答。