第三篇

20、

第三篇

From Ponzi to Madoff

The year was 1920. The country was the United States of America. The man's name was Charles Ponzi. Ponzi told people to stop depositing money in a savings account. Instead, they should give it to him to save for them. Ponzi promised to pay them more than the bank. For example, a savings account might pay you $5 a year for every $100 you deposit. Ponzi, however, would pay you $40 a year for every $100 you gave him to hold. Many people thought this was a good plan. They began to give their money to Ponzi.

How could Ponzi make so much money for people? This is what he did with the money people gave him: He used some of that money to pay other people who gave him money. However, he also kept a lot of the money for himself. Soon he had $250 million. This was a kind of theft, and it was against the law. The people who gave him their money didn't think anything was wrong. Ponzi paid them every month, just like a bank. Ponzi continued this way of working for two years. Then one day, he didn't have enough money to pay all the people. They discovered his crime, and he went to prison for fraud.

Ninety years later, people began to hear about a businessman in New York named Bernard Madoff. People said he gave good advice about money. They said when they gave him their money, he paid them a lot more than the bank. Madoff helped hospitals, schools, and individuals earn money. Over a period of 40 years, people gave him $170 billion. However, no one investigated what he did with the money. The people who gave Madoff their money also didn't think anything was wrong because he paid them every month.

One day, Madoff didn't have enough money to pay all the people he needed to pay. That's when people discovered how Madoff worked: He was taking money from some people to pay other people, just the way Charles Ponzi did. However, this time, instead of losing millions of dollars, people lost billions.

Madoff was accused of fraud, and United States government officials arrested him. He didn't have to go on trial because he said he was guilty. In 2009, a judge sentenced him to 150 years in prison. Bernard Madoff's crime was even bigger than Ponzi's. It was the biggest fraud in history. The lesson of this story is clear: When something seems too good to be true, it probably is!

41. For every $100, Ponzi promised to pay people ____  _  .

A. $5 a year.

B. $20 a year.

C. $40 a year.

D. $100 a year.

42. What did Ponzi do with the money people gave him?

A. He spent it all on things for himself.

B. He deposited it all in a bank.

C. He kept it all to save for a good plan.

D. He used some of it to pay other people.

43. What was Ponzi's crime?

A. He kept a lot of other people's money for himself.

B. He robbed the banks of millions of dollars.

C. He gave people more than the bank did.

D. He did not pay people their interests.

44. How long did Madoff’s tricks last?

A. Four years.

B. Nine years.

C. Forty years

D. Ninety years.

45. Why didn't Madoff have to go on trial?

A. The officials couldn't find any evidence against him.

B. He admitted he was guilty.

C. He had friends in the government who helped him.

D. He returned all the illegal money.

本題分?jǐn)?shù)（15）

41  C  答案在第一段的這個(gè)句子里可以找到：Ponzi, however, would pay you$40 a year for every$100 you gave him to hold.

42  D  Ponzi井沒有把錢都花掉(A)，也沒有把錢存入銀行(B)，也不為某個(gè)計(jì)劃而存錢 (C)，他把一部分錢用來支付給一些借錢給他的人。從下面第二段中的這個(gè)句子可以清楚地看到這一點(diǎn)：This is what he did with the money people gave him：He used some of that money to pay other people who gave him money.

43  A  緊接著上面的那句話作者又說道：However, he also kept a lot of the money for himself.Soon he had$250 million.This was a kjp.d. of theft, and it was against the law．除了把一部分錢還給借錢給他的人外，他留住了大部分的錢，這有違法律，正是他的罪行所在。

44  C  Over a period of 40 years, people gave him $170 billion．從第三段的這句話里可以找到答案。

45  B  最后一段里的He didn't have to go on trial because he said he was guilty。這句話說明了Madoff為什么不用受審，因?yàn)樗呀?jīng)認(rèn)罪了。

（責(zé)任編輯：vstara）

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