第一段
The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) continues to bleed red ink. It reported a net loss of $5.6 billion for fiscal 2016, the 10th straight year its expenses have exceeded revenue. Meanwhile, it has more than $120 billion in unfunded liabilities, mostly for employee health and retirement costs. There are many bankruptcies. Fundamentally, the USPS is in a historic squeeze between technological change that has permanently decreased demand for its bread-and-butter product, first-class mail, and a regulatory structure that denies management the flexibility to adjust its operations to the new reality.
单词&词组
fiscal a. 财政的
straight a. 一个接一个的，不间断的
revenue n. （公司、组织或政府的）收入
bankruptcy n. 破产
bread-and-butter product 基本产品、主要产品
regulatory a. 监管的，管理的
本段翻译
美国邮政局（USPS）继续亏损。该公司报告称，2016财年净亏损56亿美元，这是其支出连续第10年超过收入。与此同时，该公司还有超过1200亿美元的未备基金负债，主要用于员工健康和退休成本。有许多破产案。从根本上说，美国邮政正处于一个历史性的两难境地：技术变革永久性地降低了对其面包黄油产品、一流邮件的需求，而监管结构却剥夺了管理层根据新现实调整运营的灵活性。
第二段
And interest groups ranging from postal unions to greeting-card makers exert self-interested pressure on the USPS’s ultimate overseer-Congress-insisting that whatever else happens to the Postal Service, aspects of the status quo they depend on get protected. This is why repeated attempts at reform legislation have failed in recent years, leaving the Postal Service unable to pay its bills except by deferring vital modernization.
单词&词组
exert pressure on 向……施压
ultimate a. 最高的，终极的
overseer n. 监督者
the status quo 现状
legislation n. 法律
defer v. 延期，推迟
本段翻译
从邮政工会到贺卡制造商等利益集团对美国邮政最终监管国会施加了自利的压力，坚持认为无论邮政服务发生什么变化，他们所依赖的现状都会得到保护。这就是为什么近年来改革立法的多次尝试都以失败告终，使得邮政部门除了推迟至关重要的现代化建设之外，无法支付账单。
第三段
Now comes word that everyone involved---Democrats, Republicans, the Postal Service, the unions and the system's heaviest users—has finally agreed on a plan to fix the system. Legislation is moving through the House that would save USPS an estimated $28.6 billion over five years, which could help pay for new vehicles, among other survival measures. Most of the money would come from a penny-per-letter permanent rate increase and from shifting postal retirees into Medicare. The latter step would largely offset the financial burden of annually pre-funding retiree health care, thus addressing a long-standing complaint by the USPS and its union.
单词&词组
heaviest user 极重度用户
vehicle n. 交通工具
shift into 使转移
offset v. 补偿，抵消
address v. 解决，处理
本段翻译
现在有消息说，所有参与其中的人——民主党人、共和党人、邮政局、工会和系统中最重要的用户——终于就修复这个系统的计划达成了一致。众议院正在通过一项法案，该法案将在五年内为美国邮政节省286亿美元，这将有助于支付新车以及其他生存措施。大部分资金将来自于永久性地提高每一个字母一便士的利率，以及将邮政退休人员转为医疗保险。后一步将在很大程度上抵消每年预先资助退休人员医疗保健的财政负担，从而解决美国药典及其联盟长期以来的抱怨。
第四段
If it clears the House, this measure would still have to get through the Senate – where someone is bound to point out that it amounts to the bare, bare minimum necessary to keep the Postal Service afloat, not comprehensive reform. There’s no change to collective bargaining at the USPS, a major omission considering that personnel accounts for 80 percent of the agency’s costs. Also missing is any discussion of eliminating Saturday letter delivery. That common-sense change enjoys wide public support and would save the USPS $2 billion per year. But postal special-interest groups seem to have killed it, at least in the House. The emerging consensus around the bill is a sign that legislators are getting frightened about a politically embarrassing short-term collapse at the USPS. It is not, however, a sign that they’re getting serious about transforming the postal system for the 21st century.
单词&词组
measure n. 议案
be bound to 一定，肯定
amount to （意义、效果、价值等方面）等同，趋近
bare a. 勉强
keep... afloat 使……（经济上）维持下去
omission n. 遗漏
eliminate v. 消除，根除
embarrassing a. 令人难堪的
transform v. 改造，改革
本段翻译
如果这项法案在众议院获得通过，这项措施仍需在参议院获得通过——参议院肯定会有人指出，这只不过是维持邮政服务运转所必需的最低限度的措施，而不是全面改革。美国邮政局的集体谈判没有改变，考虑到人事费占机构成本的80%，这是一个重大的疏漏。同时也缺少了任何关于取消星期六寄信的讨论。这种常识性的改变得到了公众的广泛支持，每年将为美国邮政节省20亿美元。但邮政特殊利益集团似乎已经扼杀了它，至少在众议院。围绕这项法案的新共识表明，立法者们对美国邮政局（USPS）在政治上尴尬的短期崩溃感到恐惧。然而，这并不是一个迹象，表明他们正在认真地为21世纪改造邮政系统。
五道题
36. The financial problem with the USPS is caused partly by_____.
[A] its unbalanced budget.
[B] its rigid management.
[C] the cost for technical upgrading.
[D] the withdrawal of bank support.
37. According to Paragraph 2, the USPS fails to modernize itself due to_____.
[A] the interference from interest groups.
[B] the inadequate funding from Congress.
[C] the shrinking demand for postal service.
[D] the incompetence of postal unions.
38. The long-standing complaint by the USPS and its unions can be addressed by_____.
[A] removing its burden of retiree health care.
[B] making more investment in new vehicles.
[C] adopting a new rate-increase mechanism.
[D] attracting more first-class mail users.
39. In the last paragraph, the author seems to view legislators with_____.
[A] respect.
[B] tolerance.
[C] discontent.
[D] gratitude.
40. Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
[A] The USPS Starts to Miss Its Good Old Days
[B] The Postal Service: Keep Away from My Cheese
[C] The USPS: Chronic Illness Requires a Quick Cure
[D] The Postal Service Needs More than a Band-Aid
参考答案
BAACD
答案解析
36、由题干中的financial problem和caused partly by定位到首段。该段最后一句提到，美国邮政服务公司目前正处于历史性的夹缝时期,与技术变革所带来的变化相比,该公司的管理结构不够灵活，不能应对这些新的变化。选项[B]中的rigid management是对原文中a regulatory structure that denies management the flexibility的总结归纳,所以[B]为正确答案。
37、由题干中的Paragraph2, fails 和modernize定位到第二段最后一句，再根据题干中的due to与第二段最后一句中的why向前追溯，重新定位至该段第一句。由第句的句子主干可以看出，interest groups(利益集团)向Congress(国会)施加压力，确保他们的利益受到保护,这是导致美国邮政服务公司无法顺利推进现代化进程的根本原因,所以[A]为正确答案。
38、由题干中的long standing complaint定位到第三段最后一句。该句中的The latter step可以大大去除每年预先融资的退休医疗保健计划所带来的经济负担,从而解决长期以来来自美国邮政服务公司与邮政工会的怨言。由本句再向前查寻,可以重新将定位指向该段第三句,该句中提到新的立法中有两项内容，一是每封信的邮费永久上涨1美分,二是将邮政公司退休人员转入美国医疗保险计划。后者，即转移美国邮政退休人员医疗支出的负担是本题答案,所以[A]为正确答案。
39、由题干中的the last paragraph定位到最后一段,再根据题干中的the author seems to view... with... 可知，本题考查的是作者的态度,不能仅根据哪一句直接作答,需要根据第四段整体内容判断。本段第一句提到，即使第三段中所淡到的，法案能够在众议院得到通过，到了参议院，也会受到质疑。第二、三句说明其受到质疑的原因，那就是该法案没有解决美国邮政服务公司内部始终存在的劳资双方的冲突,以及是否停止周六送件服务。究其原因，只要存在各利益集团,美国邮政服务公司就不可能真正摆脱困境,向21世纪转型。综合判断,这样的解决方案只能是令人不满，所以[C]为正确答案。
40、此题考查对全文主旨大意的归纳。从整篇文章脉络来看，文章第一段直接说明美国邮政服务公司所面临的经济压力，第二段简单分析了美国邮政服务公司无法通过国会获得对其有利立法的原因;第三段指出目前众议院很有可能通过一个对美国邮政服务公司有利的法案,并介绍了该法案的主要内容,说明它对美国邮政服务公司将有可能产生的有利影响;最后一段进一步对法案进行了分析，点明虽然就眼前来看，这一法案对美国邮政服务公司有利，但从长远看来，这是一个治标不治本的法案。对于美国邮政服务公司的根本问题以及一些长期看来能够更加有效的措施，该法案根本就没有涉及。造成这种现象的根本原因在于,不论是相关利益集团,还是国会中的政客们，他们只要短期表面的利好形式，只考虑自己的利益，根本不会从本质上为美国邮政服务公司考虑。综合以上分析可知,美国邮政服务公司目前只得到了一张小小的创可贴似的帮助，远远解决不了它的困境。因此选[D]。
