Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

Before 1933, and particularly during the period 1929-33, bank failures were not uncommon. _1_ a bank overextended itself in creating credit or if several of its important loans could not be _2_, depositors in the bank would frequently become panicky and begin to make large withdrawals. __3__ the bank had only a small number of its deposits backed by currency, the band would soon be unable to meet withdrawals, and most depositors __4__ their money. Most frequently a bank merely needed time to improve its cash position by __5__ some of its loans and not making additional ones. In 1933, the number of bank failures __6__ a peak, forcing the federal government to intervene and __7__ the banks temporarily. To help restore the public's confidence __8__ banks and strengthen the banking community, Congress passed legislation setting up the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. __9__ corporation, an agency of the federal government, now insures over 90 percent of all mutual savings and commercial bank deposits for __10__ $100,000 per deposit. The FDIC has __11__ its insurance fund by charging member institutions one-twelfth of 1 percent of their total deposits.

As a result of the protection provided by the FDIC and through other kinds of supervision, bank failures have been __12__ to a few isolated instances. When deposits are federally insured, people __13__ rush to withdraw their money if they __14__ the financial condition of their bank. The delay gives the banks the necessary time to adjust their cash credit balance, and this action helps to reduce the __15__ of bankruptcy. For an example of the value of the FDIC, note that the failure in 1974 of the huge Franklin National Bank did not touch off a panic, and that depositors lost no money as Franklin was taken over by another bank.

EXERCISE:

1. A) Although B) Even if C) If D) Because.

2. A) repaid B) deposited C) found D) saved.

3. A) Because B) Because of C) As a result D) considering.

4. A) lost B) had lost C) will lose D) would lose.

5. A) calling on B) calling for C) calling off D) calling in.

6. A) fell from B) reached C) climbed up D) arrived.

7. A) closed B) closing C) close D) has closed.

8. A) to B) in C) of D) into

9. A) For the B) This C) As a D) A

10. A) up to B) as much C) as many as D) equal.

11. A) built up B) build up C) been built D) build.

12. A) growing B) increased C) reduced D) disappeared.

13. A) no B) any more C) no longer D) not.

14. A) become concerned about B) become concerned withC) become concerned in D) concern

15. A) likely B) possibility C) possibly D) opportunity.

Kennedy’s Death

Senator Edward Kennedy, a legendary politicalfigure in the United States, died on Tuesday after a year long battle withmalignant glioma(神经胶质瘤), the most common type of braincancer among adults. Although he had the most up-to-date treatments - surgeryat Duke University Medical Center, chemotherapy and radiation - he was not ableto survive the disease. Doctors still don't know what causes brain tumors andthe National Cancer Institute says the outlook for patients with malignantgliomas is poor.

Senator Kennedy's brain tumor was diagnosed inMay 2008 after he had a seizure(突发), a frequent symptomof brain cancer. At Duke University Medical Center, he had surgery to removethe tumor. His doctors said it was a success and Kennedy was discharged sixdays later.

Kennedy had what's called a craniotomy, whichinvolves opening the skull to expose the surface of the brain. Surgeons thendetermine the exact location of the tumor, often with the help of an MRI or CT(cat) scan. During part of the procedure, patients can be brought back toconsciousness. That helps the doctors avoid cutting in areas that control speech."The brain will not feel any pain, so you can stimulate while the patientis awake and test the motor function, the speech functions while the patient isawake which allows very accurate determination of where these eloquent areas ofthe brain are," Dr. Caputy explains.

Doctors still don't know what causes braintumors. They do know what the risk factors are and Senator Kennedy had themall. Men are more likely to get brain tumors than women, as are white peopleand those 70 years or older.

Doctors caution that even with treatment, theseaggressive tumors always come back. What's not known is when

1.Which of the following is true about SenatorEdward Kennedy’s death

A.Senator Edward Kennedy died right after hehad the tumor.

B.Senator Edward Kennedy died of an unknowndisease.

C.Senator Edward Kennedy died because he didn’t get up-to-date treatment.

D.Senator Edward Kennedy died of a most commontype of brain cancer after a year long up-to-date treatment

2.What is the experts’ attitude towards the outlook for patients with malignant gliomas

A.Optimistic.

B.Pessimistic.

C.Indifferent.

D.Not mentioned

3.Which of the following is NOT one of Kennedy’s experiences after he got the cancer

A.He had a surgery at Duke University MedicalCenter.

B.His skull was opened to examine where thetumor was.

C.He made a speech about craniotomy.

D.His surgery at Duke University was successfuland he was discharged

4.Which statement is NOT true about the riskfactors that cause brain tumors

A.Men are more likely to have brain tumors thanwomen.

B.Kids are more likely to have brain tumorsthan adults.

C.White people are more likely to have braintumors than black people.

D.70-year-old or older people are more likelyto have brain tumors than those under 70

5.Which statement is true according to thepassage

A.Experts have already figure out the exactcause of brain cancer.

B.It is believed that once treated brain tumorswill not come back again.

C.Patients usually remain sleeping during acraniotomy.

D.None of the above