III. Reading comprehension 15% For investors around the globe, putting their money into the market was like taking a roller coaster in the past decade. In
the year 2000, due to overly rapid development in the Internet, investors lost more than half of their assets in the dot-com
bubble burst. In the year 2003, global economy was shattered by a contagious respiratory disease, SARS. After that, the
sub-prime mortgage crisis starting in 2007 caused a sharp plunge in the stock market. Thanks to bailout project, Dow Jones
and other indexes gradually climbed back. Then, the economy experienced two years of glory until the so-called PIGS
(Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Spain) threw another bomb into the market.
Compared to the sub-prime mortgage crisis which emerged as a consequence of individuals failing to pay their debts,
the PIGS storm struck because the four countries involved had more debts than they could ever pay off. Take Greece for
example. With most of its debts due between February and April in the year 2012, it was facing bankruptcy as the deadline
drew closer. In a race to save its economy, Greece proposed that its bond holders swap their old bonds with new ones with a
53.5 percent lower face value. If more than 75% of the holders agreed to the swap, Greece would be able to cut 107 billion
euros off its national debt and get a second round of bailout money. Like a miracle, the swap proposed worked and more
than 85 percent of holders accepted it. The market responded with a boost of confidence and most indexes rising. It seemed
that the crisis was over for the moment.
It is clear that if a person spends more than he makes, his life will be chaotic. The same rule applies to a nation.
Although Greece can take a breath now, if its national expense continues to surpass the income, the day will come when no
one can do anything anymore.
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