New York and London may be dominant, but other financial centers in America and Europe have managed to carve out useful speciali

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问题    New York and London may be dominant, but other financial centers in America and Europe have managed to carve out useful specialist niches for themselves. Chicago, for instance, consolidated its financial position earlier this year with the merger of CME (formerly the Chicago Mercantile Exchange) and the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT). Now known as the CME Group, the former cross-town rivals trade everything from Treasury bond futures to pork bellies.
   Europe has developed a diverse set of financial centers ranging from big cities to island ports such as Jersey and niche markets such as Luxembourg and Dublin. Edinburgh, an established banking centre, is now advertising itself as a low-cost alternative for financial operations.
   Among the larger centers, Frankfurt is an important center for banking and derivatives trading through Eurex, a German-Swiss exchange, with significantly lower costs than London. Fifteen years ago, Frankfurt aspired to become a global financial center, but these days German financial giants such as Deutsche Bank and Allianz do much more business in London than in Frankfurt. The exchange has had a difficult few years, including a couple of failed attempts abroad.
   Switzerland’s twin financial centers, Geneva and Zurich, have done well in their specialties of private banking, wealth management and, in Zurich, insurance. About 40% of the banks operating there are foreign. Hedge funds, private equity and traders in structured products are also moving in. The main attractions are low taxes, stability and a reputation for discretion. Urs Roth, of the Swiss Bankers Association, says that given its tiny domestic market, Switzerland has had to fight for open markets on an international scale. But it is now facing competition from places such as Singapore.
   Paris has long lagged far behind London, dogged by a reputation for excessive regulation and high taxes. Yet Paris has many advantages: a large number of international banks, from BNP-Paribas to Credit Agricole; more international companies than Frankfurt; and easy access to regulators. It also has the largest market in Europe for trading in mutual funds. Few would dispute that it offers an attractive quality of life, and it has good transport links.
   What makes Paris a place to watch just now is the NYSE’s recent merger with Euronext. The combined group will base its international equities business in the French capital. Euronext, which operates exchanges in five European countries, also illustrates the importance of a common language. Although senior European executives at the merged exchange are based in Paris, it has adopted English as its official language. But several financiers lament that French government ministers tend to stick to French in public. One honorable exception to this French rule is Christine Lagarde, the new finance minister. She spent some years in Chicago and sprinkles her speeches with English phrases.
   Financial executives around the world increasingly view Europe as a single market. On November 1st a new European rule called MiFID (Markets in Financial Instruments Directive) is due to be implemented. This aims to increase competition among and transparency within financial markets. Financiers in other parts of the world are wondering how to achieve a similar degree of cross-border financial integration.
   [A] suggests that a common language is of significance for exchanges.
   [B] attempts to promote financial market’s transparency and competition.
   [C] has consolidated its position by acquiring both CME and CBOT.
   [D] holds that Swizerland has to compete for the global open market.
   [E] delivers speeches in French but mixed with some English phrases.
   [F] has many types of trade ranging from Treasury bond futures to pork bellies.
   [G] adopts both English and French as its official languages.
Euronext

选项

答案A

解析 Euronext出现在文中第六段。该段说到,欧洲期货交易所在欧洲五个国家经营交易所,这种经营方式同样显现了通用语言的重要性。换言之,通用语对交易所是有重要意义的。A项表达了这个意思,其中is of significance for意为“对……有重要意思”,是对文中illustrates the importance of的转述,故本题答案选A。
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