CET6

　　US president George W. Bush knows he’s unpopular. But he thinks he has done his best to solve the financial crisis, in which "… the excesses of the past have caused a lot of folks to hurt when it comes to their 401(k)’s or jobs," Bush said in an interview with Fox News Channel last week.
　　What is a 401(k)? This is the name of a retirement savings plan initiated by the US federal government. Employees can choose to put a certain amount of their salary into an account and withdraw the money when they retire. The money is invested collectively. The financial crisis has shrunk many people’s 401k funds.
　　The fund’s name comes from the section of US law that initiated it: the 401(k) section of the US Internal Revenue Code, passed into law in 1978.
　　Here are some other numbers that carry special significance in American English:
　　101
　　Pronounced "one-oh-one", it refers to courses intended for beginners – "English 101" (英语入门课), for example.
　　The university offers 101 courses for those freshmen and sophomores who have little knowledge of mathematics.
　　411
　　When someone says 411, they are referring to information about something; 411 is the number Americans dial to find people’s telephone numbers. The number 114 is used for this service in China.
　　So what’s the 411 on your recent job interview? [What’s the news about your recent job interview?]
　　9 times out of 10 = most of the time
　　Nine times out of 10, she will cook a delicious meal.
　　put 2 and 2 together = think about something
　　I think if you put two and two together you will make the right decision.

（责任编辑：中大编辑）