2009年3月高口考试NewsQ6-Q10原文+解析
日期:2009-03-17 09:29

(单词翻译:单击)

试题

European Union

A European Union flotilla will begin anti-piracy operations off the coast of Somalia next week, EU Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana said on Tuesday. The six warships and three maritime reconnaissance aircraft will replace a NATO naval force that has been patrolling the region and escorting cargo ships carrying relief aid to Somalia since the end of October. Although the NATO ships have successfully delivered nearly 30,000 tons of humanitarian supplies to the impoverished nation, they have not been able to stem the upsurge in pirate attacks on foreign shipping in one of the most important shipping lanes in the world. (101 words)

New Delhi, India

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged Pakistan yesterday to cooperate "fully and transparently" in investigations into the Mumbai attacks that have upset India-Pakistan relations. India has said the 10 militants who rampaged through its financial capital killing 171 people were from Pakistan, including one surviving gunman. If Pakistan fails to act swiftly against those responsible, India has threatened to pull out of a nearly five-year-old peace process between the nuclear rivals. "This is the time for everybody to cooperate and to do so transparently, and this is especially a time for Pakistan to do so," Rice told a press conference in New Delhi. (103 words)

Ottawa, Canada

Canada's minority Conservative government may seek the temporary suspension of Parliament to stop opposition parties from voting it out and taking power, an aide to Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Tuesday. The Liberals, New Democrats and Bloc Quebecois signed a deal on Monday committing them to bringing down the government, just seven weeks after it won re-election with a strengthened minority, and forming a coalition government to replace the Conservatives. The opposition says Harper is not doing enough to tackle the fallout from the financial crisis, so they proposed forging a coalition of Liberals and New Democrats, with the separatist Bloc promising its support. (105 words)

Manila, the Philippines

Philippine lawmakers allied to President Gloria Arroyo quashed an impeachment motion against her yesterday, shielding her from opposition moves to unseat her for the fourth time in as many years. Eleven opposition lawmakers walked out of the chamber when it became apparent that an overwhelming majority of the 238-member House of Representatives would throw out the impeachment complaint. Voting 183-21, with three abstaining, the House of Representatives adopted a report by a congressional justice panel dismissing the impeachment complaint for lack of substance, blocking a possible trial in the Senate. The complaint against Arroyo, due to serve until mid-2010, were based on charges of corruption, bribery and human rights abuses. Apart from surviving four impeachments, she has also escaped three attempts by troops since 2003 to seize power. (128 words)

Cambridge, United States

Harvard University says its endowment has tumbled $8 billion in the four months since the end of the last fiscal year. The school’s endowment is the largest in higher education. The estimated 22 percent decline is the school's sharpest endowment drop in modern history. The endowment was valued at $36.9 billion on June 3. The school has said its U.S. stock portfolio and foreign equity portfolio had taken hard hits recently. The university's president warned that the estimated drop may be conservative because some money managers have yet to report figures.

Question 6: What can we know about the world’s efforts to fight pirate attacks?

Question 7: At a press conference in New Delhi, what did US Secretary of State Rice urge Pakistan to do?

Question 8: What is Canada’s Minority Conservative Government likely to do according to the news?

Question 9: Which of the following statements is true about the political situation in the Philippines according to the news?

Question 10: At least how much has Harvard University’s endowment dropped since the end of the last fiscal year?

答案解析

本次新闻题选材自China Daily, Reuters等国内外权威英语媒体,时间点为2008年12月初的新闻。

考题分布依然遵守“4+1”,即4题为主旨大意,1题为数字细节。

5篇新闻分别关于

· 欧盟舰队开赴索马里打击海盗

· 美国国务卿敦促巴基斯坦配合恐怖主义袭击调查

· 加拿大保守党政府与议会的斗争

· 菲律宾总统躲过议会弹劾

· 哈佛所获捐赠资金大幅减少

这次新闻题的绝大多数关键词:

anti-piracy operation 打击海盗

humanitarian aid 人道主义援助

US Secretary of State 美国国务卿

Mumbai attacks 孟买袭击

rampage 肆虐

peace process 和平进程

transparently 透明地

Parliament 议会

Conservative 保守党

coalition government 联合政府

impeachment 弹劾

opposition 反对派

House of Representatives 众议院

endowment 校友捐赠

fiscal year 财年

portfolio 投资组合

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重点单词
  • overwhelmingadj. 势不可挡的,压倒的
  • aircraftn. 飞机
  • suspensionn. 悬挂,悬浮液,暂缓,未决,中止
  • oppositionn. 反对,敌对,在野党
  • trialadj. 尝试性的; 审讯的 n. 尝试,努力,试验,试
  • minorityn. 少数,少数民族,未成年
  • substancen. 物质,实质,内容,重要性,财产
  • apparentadj. 明显的,表面上的
  • conservativeadj. 保守的,守旧的 n. 保守派(党), 保守的人
  • votingn. 投票 动词vote的现在分词形式