BEIJIG—The two-day visit to Washington has been heavy for British Prime Minister Gordon Brown as he attempts to improve ties with Washington and promote his international image ahead of the upcoming G-20 economic summit in London.
Special Relationship
Brown had been praising the “ special relationship” between Britain and the United States before he traveled to Washington. “There is no international partnership in recent history that has served the world better than the special relationship between Britain and the United States,” Brown said in an article in The Sunday Times of London. Su
ch enthusiasm was quickly responded by Barak Obama, the new leader of the world’s largest economy. “The special relationship between the United States and Great Britain is one that is not just important to me, it is important to the American people,” told reporters after meeting with Brown.
Brown was the first European leader to meet Obama at the White House, and this might help the British leader make his image smooth among countrymen in a turbulent(动荡)time and put him in a bette
r position to appear side by side with Obama at the April G-20 summit that will consider the international economic crisis.
Global New Deal
The talks between Brown and Obama were expected to focus mainly on measures to jump-start international economic growth in the most serious downturn in decades. Brown will first promote his “goal new deal” with Obama before taking the G-20 talks. The prime minister, who is chairing the G-20 gathering, has said he would push for deep adjustable changes and joint efforts from all of the world’s major economies, developed and developing, to correct financial rules and inspire the global economy.
However, as pointed out by many analysts, there is the potential for bitterness between Britain and the United States. That’s because no small number of Britons believe themselves to be victims of a crisis which they say was set off by the United States. Meanwhile, analysts say it was unrealistic to expect another honeymoon for British-US ties as Obama seems to have attached more importance to the Pacific region than to Europe.
1 Brown paid the two-day visit to Washington in order to _______.
A. improve the ties with the US and his image
B. make Obama’s international image better
C. congratulate Obama on coming into power
D. prepare for the coming G-20 economic summit
2. The April G-20 summit will mainly focus on how ________.
A. to solve the international energy crisis
B. to solve the international economic crisis
C. to relax current international tension
D. to achieve the double-win goal lately
3. According to many analysts, there is the potential for bitterness between the UK and the US because___________.
A. Obama is less friendly to Brown than Brown to Obama
B. Obama hasn’t visited the UK yet as a new president
C. Obama seems to have attached more importance to Europe than to the Pacific region
D. many Britons believe themselves to be the victims of a crisis caused by the US
4. The underlined part in the last paragraph suggests that___________.
A. Britons expect too much from Obama
B. Britain and USA used to have close relationship
C. the relationship between the two countries will break up
D. Obama and the first lady will not spend their honeymoon in Britain
The use of the word imitation（模仿） reminds me that we ought to make some more comments on the risk of people imitating what they see on the screen in the way of crime（犯罪） or violence．First there was always a risk of children acting out scenes which could be dangerous．For example,I remember a woman who was head of a middle school telling me that she had happened to look out of her window when the children were on th
e playground and had seen them putting a small boy on a chair with a rope round his neck and the rope over the branch of a tree;fortunately she was in time to get there before the child was hanged．I remember a film in particular in which the hero who was imprisoned had escaped by electrocuting（通电触死） his guard,the technique of doing this being shown in detail．This was the kind of scene which we could cut for these reasons．
In films for young people and adults we always tried to keep off the screen the details of criminal techniques,such as how to open a locked door with a piece of hard plastic or how to open a safe;if we were consulted（请教） before production,I used to advise that the details should not be shown．When I gave talks in prisons about film checking I had full support for this,since fathers who were in prison for criminal offences did not want their children to get on crime．
Every time I gave a talk in a prison someone used to mention the French film Rififi．made by Jules Dassin in 1954．This remarkable film showed in great detail a robbery of a jeweller’s shop,the robbery lasting about half an hour and being backed by only natural sound．．．one of the most brilliant film sequences（连续镜头） of all time．I remember our discussion at the time．We thought that the robbery was finished only with the use of advanced and obviously expensive equipment and that only the most experienced and skilled criminals could possibly imitate it;we believed therefore that it was relatively safe．When talking in prisons some years later I learned that there had been several robberies in which the techniques had been copied,so perhaps we were wrong．The writer thinks that______．
| A．the details of the criminal technique should be kept |
| B．the details of the crime should not be shown on the screen |
| C．children should not imitate what they see on the screen |
| D．it is dangerous to imitate what they see on the screen |
What is the writer’s attitude（态度） towards the film in which the hero had escaped by electrocuting the guard?
| A．The writer likes it very much． |
| B．The writer is strongly against it． |
| C．The writer thinks the film has some value． |
| D．The writer does not show his/her attitude． |
All the following statements about“Rififi”are true EXCEPT______．
| A．that the robbery shown needs experience and skills |
B．that some very good tools were used in the r obbery |
| C．that the film showed the technique in detail |
| D．that the technique of the robbery was not imitated |
It can be inferred from the passage that______．
| A．it is hard for children to tell the differences between real life and the imaginary |
B．only people in prison support film checking |
| C．only children imitate what they have seen on the screen |
| D．the writer used to advise the details of crime should be shown |
For many in the United States,Arab-Americans are an invisible part of the population．Though Arab-Americans as a community have made great contributions to American society in fields from literature to politics to medicine,many Americans know very little about Americans of Arab backgrounds．
Arab history in the United States goes back to the late 1800’s when large numbers of Arab immigrants first began making their journey to a land known simply as“Amreeka”．
Historians generally describe Arab immigration to America in two waves．The first wave took place between 1860 and 1924．The first wave consisted of Lebanese and Syrian,and some Egyptian immigrants．These new immigrants,who were mostly Christian,came to America in search of better opportunities．Even the doomed Titanic,which set sail for America in 1912,had close to a hundred Arab passengers aboard．The majority of Arab-Americans today are descendents of the first wave of immigrants;they are the thir
d or more generation American
s．
The second wave of immigrants followed after World War Ⅱ,caused by political unrest in the Middle East．This second wave of immigrants consists of mainly Arab Muslims（穆斯林）and continues to this day．
Arab-Americans make up 3 million of the population in the United States,according to demographers．And quite different from popular belief,64 percent of them are American-born．Eighty-two percent of Arab-Americans are US 
citizens．
Arab-Americans are beyond the national average in both education and income．Education is important among Arab-Americans;82 percent have high school diplomas,36 percent have bachelor’s degrees or higher,and 15 percent have graduate degrees．The-median（中位数的） average income among Arab-Americans is $39 580,which is higher than the US average． What would be the best title for the text?
| A．Arabs in America． | B．The Two Arab Immigration Waves to America． |
| C．Arab-Americans,Contributions to America | D．Arab-Americans,Education and Income． |
The first wave of immigrants took place because______．
| A．all Arabs were Christian at that time | B．Arabs wanted to hunt for a better development |
| C．the Second World War broke out | D．Arabs wanted to gain higher income |
The writer of this passage mentioned
Titanic______．
| A．to tell us that taking ship at that time was dangerous |
| B．because Titanic became a well-known disaster |
| C．to show us there were many Arabs flocking into America at that time |
| D．to inform us that Arabs are brave enough |
From the last paragraph we can infer that______．
| A．Arab-Americans are much more clever than native Americans |
| B．Arab-Americans are hard-working people |
| C．the higher education you receive,the higher income you will get in America |
D．Arab-Americans play the most important role in the American average in both education and in come |
If women are mercilessly exploited(剥削) year after year, they have only themselves to blame. Because they tremble at the thought of being seen in public in clothes that are out of fashion, they are always taken advantage of by the designers and the big stores. Clothes which have been worn only a few times have to be put aside because of the change of fashion.
Changing fashions are nothing more than the intentional creation of waste. Many women spend large sums of money each year to replace clothes that have hardly been worn. Women who cannot afford to throw away clothing in this way, waste hours of their time changing their old-fashioned dresses. Skirts are lengthened or shortened; neck-lines are lowered or raised, and so on.
No one can claim that the fashion industry contributes anything really important to society. Fashion designers are rarely concerned with necessary things like warmth, comfort and durability (耐用). They are only interested in outward appearance and they take advantage of the fact that women will put up with any amount of discomfort, as long as they look right. There can hardly be a man who hasn't at some time in his life smiled at the sight of a woman shaking in a thin dress on a winter day, or picking her way through deep snow in high heeled shoes.
When comparing men and women in the matter of fashion, the conclusions to be drawn are obvious. Do the constantly changing fashions of women's clothes, one wonders, reflect basic qualities of inconstancy and instability? Men are too clever to let themselves be cheated by fashion designers. Do their unchanging styles of dress reflect basic qualities of stability and reliability(稳定耐用)? That is for you to decide.Designers and big stores always make money_________.
A．by mercilessly exploiting wome n workers in the clothing industry |
| B．because they are capable of predicting new fashions |
| C．by constantly changing the fashions in women’s clothing |
| D．because they attach great importance to quality in women’s clothing |
To the writer, the fact that women change their old-fashioned dresses is seen as ___________.
| A．a waste of money | B．a waste of time |
| C．an expression of taste | D．an expression of creativity |
New fashions in clothing are created for ___________.
| A．the commercial exploitation of women |
| B．the women’s strength of character |
| C．basic qualities of inconstancy and instability |
| D．an important contribution to society |
By saying “the conclusions to be drawn are obvious” (Line One to Line Two, Paragraph Four), the writer means that ___________.
| A．women’s inconstancy in their choice of clothing is often laughed at |
| B．women are better able to put up with discomfort |
| C．men are also exploited greatly by fashion designers |
| D．men are more reasonable in the matter of fashion |
Have you ever been afraid to talk back when you were treated unfairly? Have you ever bought something just because the salesman talked you into it?
Many people are afraid to assert（维护，坚持） themselves. Dr. Robert Albert, author of STAND UP, SPEAK OUT and TALK BACK, thinks it is because their self-respect is low. “There’s always a superior around------ a parent, a teacher, a boss who knows better.” But Albert and other scientists are doing something to help people assert themselves.
They offer assertiveness training courses, A. T. for short. In the A. T. course people learn that they have a right to be themselves. They learn to speak out and feel good about doing so. They learn to be aggressive without hurting other people.
In one way, learning to speak out is to get rid of fear. A group taking an A. T. course will help the timid person to lose his fear. But A. T. uses an even stronger motive to share the need. The timid person speaks out in the group because he wants to tell how he feels.
Whether or not you speak up for yourself depends on your self-respect. If your face is more important than you, you may feel less of a person. You start to doubt your answers to problems. However, once you get to feel good about yourself, you can learn to speak out.The problem the writer talks about is that ________________.
| A．some people buy things they don’t want |
| B．some people are afraid to speak up for their rights |
| C．there are too many superiors |
| D．some people don’t think enough of themselves |
The cause of the problem talked about in the text is that _________.
| A．some people have a low self-respect |
| B．there is always someone around who knows better |
| C．salesmen talk people into buying things they don’t want |
| D．people don’t share enough |
The underlined word “timid” probably means “___________” in Chinese
| A．胆小的 | B．优秀的 |
| C．勇敢的 | D．无知的 |
One thing the A.T. course doesn’t do is to _____________.
A. share the need of people B. show people they have a right to be themselves
C. help people overcome fear D. help people to assert themselves even if others suffer
This year 2,300 teenagers (young people aged from 13-19 ) from all over the world will spend about ten months in U.S. homes. They will attend U.S. schools, meet U.S. teenagers, and form impressions (印象) of the real American teenagers. American teenagers will go to other countries to learn new languages and have a new understanding of the rest of the world.
Here is a two-way student exchange in action. Fred, nineteen, spent last year in Germany with George’s family. In return, George’s son, Mike, spent a year in Fred’s home in America.
Fred, a lively young man, knew little German when he arrived, but after two months’ study, the language began to come to him. School was completely different from what he had expected — much harder. Students rose respectfully (尊敬地) when the teacher entered the room. They took fourteen subjects instead of the six that are usual in the United States. There were almost no outside activities.
Family life, too, was different. The family’s word was law, and all activities were around the family rather than the individual (个人). Fred found the food too simple at first. Also, he missed having a car.
“Back home, you pick up some friends in a car and go out and have a good time. In Germany, you walk, but you soon learn to like it.”
At the same time, in America, Mike, a friendly German boy, was also forming his idea. “I suppose I should criticize (批评) American schools.” he says. “It is far too easy by our level (水准). But I have to say that I like it very much. In Germany we do nothing but study. Here we take part in many outside activities. I think that maybe your schools are better in training for citizens (市民). There ought to be some middle ground between the two.”The whole exchange program is mainly to ____.
| A．help teenagers in other countries know the real America |
| B．send students in America to travel in Germany |
| C．let students learn something about other countries |
| D．have teenagers learn new languages |
What did Fred and Mike agree on?
| A．American food tasted better than German food. |
| B．German schools were harder than American schools. |
| C．Americans and Germans were both friendly. |
| D．There were more cars on the streets in America. |
What is particular (特别的) in American schools?
| A．There is some middle ground between the two teaching buildings.. |
| B．There are a lot of after-school activities. |
| C．Students usually take 14 subjects in all. |
| D．Students go outside to enjoy themselves in a car. |
What did Mike think after experiencing the American school life?
| A．A better education should include something good from both America and Germany. |
| B．German schools trained students to be better citizens. |
| C．American schools were not as good as German schools. |
| D．The easy life in the American school was more helpful to students. |