题目

The researchers from Ohio University used a database that covered more than 10,000 firms and more than 64,000 different directors between 1989 and 2004. Then they simply checked which directors stayed from one proxy statement to the next. The most likely reason for departing a board was age, so the researchers concentrated on those “surprise” disappearances by directors under the age of 70. They found that after a surprise departure, the probability that the company will subsequently have to restate earnings increases by nearly 20%. The likelihood of being named in a federal class-action lawsuit also increases, and the stock is likely to perform worse.According to the researchers from Ohio University, after an outside director’s surprise departure, the firm is likely to______.A. become more stableB. report increased earningsC. do less well in the stock marketD. perform worse in lawsuits

The researchers from Ohio University used a database that covered more than 10,000 firms and more than 64,000 different directors between 1989 and 2004. Then they simply checked which directors stayed from one proxy statement to the next. The most likely reason for departing a board was age, so the researchers concentrated on those “surprise” disappearances by directors under the age of 70. They found that after a surprise departure, the probability that the company will subsequently have to restate earnings increases by nearly 20%. The likelihood of being named in a federal class-action lawsuit also increases, and the stock is likely to perform worse. According to the researchers from Ohio University, after an outside director’s surprise departure, the firm is likely to______. A. become more stable B. report increased earnings C. do less well in the stock market D. perform worse in lawsuits

题目解答

答案

我们来逐步分析这道题。

题目理解：

题干讲述的是俄亥俄大学的研究人员通过分析大量公司和董事的数据，发现了一个有趣的现象：当外部董事意外离职时，公司随后发生某些负面结果的可能性增加。具体来说：

  • 公司之后更可能需要重述盈利数据（restatement of earnings）；
  • 更可能被卷入联邦集体诉讼（federal class-action lawsuit）；
  • 股票表现变差（stock is likely to perform worse）。

问题问的是：根据研究，当外部董事意外离职后，公司很可能会发生什么？

选项如下：

A. 变得更稳定
B. 报告盈利增加
C. 在股票市场上表现更差
D. 在诉讼中表现更差

关键句分析：

> "...the stock is likely to perform worse."

这句话直接说明了在董事意外离职后，公司的股票表现会变差，这对应选项 C。

排除其他选项：

  • A. 变得更稳定：错误。题干提到的是负面结果，如盈利重述、诉讼、股价下跌，说明公司更不稳定。
  • B. 报告盈利增加：错误。题干说“需要重述盈利”，通常意味着之前的盈利数据有问题，可能被高估或低估，不是盈利增加。
  • D. 在诉讼中表现更差：虽然题干提到公司更可能被起诉，但没有说公司在诉讼中“表现更差”，只是说“更可能被起诉”，所以这个选项不如 C 更直接。

最终答案：

$\boxed{C}$

解析

本题考查对文章细节信息的理解。解题思路是先明确题干核心问题，即外部董事意外离职后公司可能出现的情况，然后仔细阅读文章，找出与各选项相关的描述，通过对比分析来确定正确答案。

  1. 首先明确文章中提到外部董事意外离职后公司会出现的几种情况：
    • 公司随后重述盈利的可能性增加，即 “after a surprise departure, the probability that the company will subsequently have to restate earnings increases by nearly 20%”。
    • 被卷入联邦集体诉讼的可能性增加，即 “The likelihood of being named in a federal class - action lawsuit also increases”。
    • 股票表现变差，即 “the stock is likely to perform worse”。
  2. 接着分析各个选项：
    • A选项：文章中描述的公司重述盈利、被卷入诉讼、股票表现差等情况都表明公司变得更不稳定，而不是更稳定，所以A选项错误。
    • B选项：文中说的是公司需要重述盈利，这通常意味着之前的盈利数据有问题，并非是报告盈利增加，所以B选项错误。
    • C选项：文章明确提到 “the stock is likely to perform worse”，这直接说明了公司在股票市场上表现更差，所以C选项正确。
    • D选项：文章只是说公司更可能被卷入联邦集体诉讼，但并没有提及公司在诉讼中表现更差，所以D选项错误。