Rich Immigrants in Asia's financial capitals generally have life pretty easy. But this summer, those in Hong Kong and Singapore are starting to sweat. The problem? Sizzling real-estate markets that make even bankers blink, and international schools packed like the Tokyo subway at rush hour. One-bedroom flats in Hong Kong's most fashionable buildings now go for $5,000 per month. Office rents in Singapore have shot up 105 percent in the past year—the fastest appreciation rate in the world. For workers with kids, the picture is particularly bleak. Incoming students at international schools now land not in classes but on long waiting lists—unless their parents jump the queue by purchasing debentures that have sold for as much as $120,000 in Hong Kong.
Asia's dueling financial hubs invest a lot of capital—real and emotional—in what's often cast as a zero-sum contest for the affection of foreign companies. Yet both cities have done so well wooing them of late that the major threat facing each isn't the other, but bottlenecks in the foreign infrastructure common to both. High-end housing costs are pushing past records set before the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, prompting Singapore's founding father, Lee Kuan Yew, to lament, "We must check this hike in rents or we will lose our competitiveness."
Talent is getting tougher to find as both economies near full employment. Office rents are driving even the richest investment banks to seek cheaper alternatives to prime downtown addresses. And as both cities increase their populations by luring hundreds of thousands of additional outsiders over the coming decade, locals are getting squeezed. "There may be a political cost if Singaporeans feel priced out by foreigners," warns Charles Chong, head of a parliamentary committee on national development in Singapore.
Both cities are, in a sense, victims of their success. Each ranks among the most efficient spots on the planet to register new businesses. They boast world-class banking, accounting and legal services, undergirded by respect for contracts and commercial codes not found in the rest of Asia. In a region awash in cash from record trade surpluses, Chinese expansion and a flood of new stock listings, the cities have posted incredible GDP growth numbers of late—6.8 percent and 7.9 percent for Hong Kong and Singapore, respectively, last year.
Given that local fertility rates are falling, both hubs hope to continue to fuel that boom via immigration. Singapore's Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan expects the city-state's population to hit 6.5 million by 2027, up 2 million from today—which implies a yearly influx of 100,000 foreigners over the next two decades. Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang has said he envisions his city's population eventually surpassing 10 million—a 30 percent increase from today's total—thanks to "an injection of new blood from all nationalities." As the hubs grow more receptive to outsiders, new factors are ensuring that immigrants arrive in large numbers. Whereas globalization was once confined to big multinationals, today's expatriates work disproportionately for smaller-and medium-size companies. Nor are they predominantly European or North America anymore; China, India and South Korea are just three of the many countries now sending professionals abroad.
注（1）：本文选自Newsweek, 08/06/2007
注（2）：本文习题命题模仿对象：第1题模仿1994年真题Text 4第3题，第2 题模仿2004年真题Text45第2题，第3、5 题分别模仿2002年真题Text 5第3题和Text 3第4题，第4题模仿1998年真题Text 2第4题。
1． Foreigners in Hong Kong begin to sweat because _______.
[A] the real-estate market is cooling down.
[B] they cannot afford children’s tuition fee at international schools.
[C] the city is over-populated.
[D] the hiking rents are making life tougher.
2． We learn from the second paragraph that _______.
[A] Hong Kong and Singapore consider each other as competitors.
[B] both the two cities should not import foreigners.
[C] the two cities share no common problem.
[D] Lee Kuan Yew’s comment shows that he’s optimistic.
3． According to the text, local people in the two cities _______.
[A] do not welcome overseas talents.
[B] are facing worse living conditions.
[C] are unsatisfied with the government.
[D] are in full employment.
4． Which of the following is NOT the reason of the region’s abundance of capital?
[A] efficiency of business registration
[B] China’s development
[C] booming stock market
[D] benefit from trade
5． We can draw a conclusion from the last paragraph that _______.
[A] the conflict between population and rent in the two cities might be more serious.
[B] most of the foreigners work in big multinational companies.
[C] both cities will adopt measures to control population.
[D] the influx of foreigners can damage local economy.
篇章剖析
本文是一篇说明文，介绍了香港和新加坡这两个欣欣向荣的亚洲金融中心地价和房租飞涨的情况及其具体原因。文章第一段介绍了香港和新加坡令人乍舌的高房租给人们的工作生活带来的困难；第二、三段进一步地阐发问题所在及其严重性；第四、五段则分析了造成这种局面的根本原因在于两座城市的成功。
词汇注释
sizzle [sizl] vi.咝咝的响，烧灼 lure [ljuE] v. 引诱
blink [bliNk] v. 眨眼 squeeze [skwi:z] v. 压榨, 挤, 挤榨
pack [pAk] vi. 挤, 群集 boast [bEust] v.自夸, 以有...而自豪
bleak [bli:k] adj.荒凉的, 凄凉的 undergird [`Qnd`gE:d] v.加强, 巩固...的底部
debenture [di`bentFE] n. 债券 awash [E`wCF] adj. 被浪冲打的
duel [djuEl] v. 决斗，双方抗争 fertility [fE:`tiliti] n. 人口生产
hub [hQb] v. 中心 influx [`inflQks] n.