Susan Rice said that the draft resolution calls for strengthening existing sanctions on North Korea as well as breaking new ground.Some of the new measures include targeting diplomats,banking activities and cash transfer,she said.This will be the fourth round of UN sanctions against North Korea aimed at halting its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.The draft is a response to Pyongyang's recent nuclear test and was negotiated between the US and China,North Korea's ally on the Security Council.Ms.Rice spoke after circulating the text to council members.A vote is expected later this week.
1.Which of the following is not included in the new sanctions?
2.What is main idea of the news?
News Item 6
答案:BD
原文:A new American intelligence report this week predicted Asia's economic power rising in the coming years.The report says that by the year 2030,the United States will no longer be the superpower it is today.It says that no action will have that kind of influence,with power instead redirected to coalitions between countries.
The report comes from the National Intelligence Council of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.The document was researched and written by experts from outside the government.They say the findings are meant to help policymakers in their long-term planning on major issues.
The report says the world will look different by 2030.The economy in Asia will be larger than that of North America and Europe combined.China will have the largest economy in the world.And the Chinese economy will be 140 percent greater than Japan's economy.
Some observers say China needs to take steps before it can become the world's biggest economy.Patrick Chovanec is with Tsinghua University's School of Economics and Management in Beijing.He believes that several things could affect the country's economic growth.
1.Which of the following may be the largest economy in the future?
2.Which of the following statement is wrong?
News Item 7
答案:DD
原文:Australia's resources-powered economy is facing a year of challenges.Although the mining sector continues to soar,other industries-most notably manufacturing,tourism and finance-are shedding jobs in an increasingly two-speed economy.Although Australia has managed to avoid the worst of the global economic crisis,the government warns that 2012 is likely to be a particularly tough year for employment.
Australia's economy has been the envy of the developed world.But the"Wonder Down Under"is beginning to show a few cracks.
The Australian government says it is confident the economy will grow at a solid rate this year,although the Manufacturing Minister Kim Carr concedes that there will be some pain along the way.
"The fact of the matter is that the high Australian dollar is causing great,great damage to our international markets,to our export program,because it is pushing the price up for Australian goods.And,as a consequence,the demand for Australian products is falling,"said Kim Carr.
Australia avoided the worst of the global slowdown thanks to a mining boom fueled by sales of iron ore to China.However,there are concerns that any easing of Chinese demand will cause problems.
"Australia is going to basically find that the global financial crisis that they thought they'd dodged is coming home to roost.Australia's got problems on the commodity front through the Chinese slowing,"said author and analyst Satyajit Das.
1.Which sector of Australia is still soaring?
2.What helped Australia avoid the global slowdown?
News Item 8
答案:DD
原文:Americans are buying more products and services than ever before through the Internet.And experts say the popularity of online sales is likely to spread to other countries.
Online sales now represent as much as one-tenth of all retail sales in the United States.This has led traditional stores to seek new ways to keep their customers loyal.
Lynne Shaner used the Internet to buy everything she needed for her wedding and holiday gifts for her husband and step-daughter.Other than food,90 percent of her purchases were made on her home computer.
"I find that,by being able to go online and choose the things that I need to choose,and have them delivered to me right at my doorstep,I eliminate all the driving,all the crowds,all the noise of that,and I usually get a better selection."There are a lot of people like her.
1.What will Lynne Shaner not buy online?
2.Why do people like to shop online?
News Item 9
答案:AA
原文:The head of the International Monetary Fund,Christine Lagarde,has called on the world's developed nations to increase the agency's resources for responding to financial crises like those affecting several Eurozone nations.She was speaking at the annual general meeting of the Associated Press in Washington.Here's our economics correspondent Andrew Walker.
"The financial situation in Europe is less acute than it was,but the crisis has not been resolved.The Eurozone countries have taken steps of their countries.Now they've done it,Ms.Lagarde says the IMF should do so,too.She said she's having discussions with the member countries about the idea.Many of them and Ms.Lagarde herself thought it was essential that Europe make the first move.Now they've done so,the IMF could provide an additional safety net."
1.Who is the head of the International Monetary Fund?
2.What is the main idea of this news report?
News Item 10
答案:BC
原文:The International Monetary Fund says it needs to raise hundreds of billions of dollars so it can give out new loans to countries in urgent need of financial support.The IMF said it was exploring options for raising the extra money.From Brussels,Chris Morris reports.
"The IMF estimates that it needs about $500 billion in additional funding to try to ensure that the instability swirling around the Eurozone doesn't create further problems for the global economy.Countries which use the euro have pinned their hopes for some time on a build-up in IMF resources.They want it to help create a much larger financial firewall to prevent the Eurozone debt crisis engulfing larger economies,such as Italy and Spain.EU countries-not including Britain-have already agreed to contribute about $200 billion to the IMF,but that leaves a considerable gap to be filled."
1.Why does the IMF need to raise extra money?
2.Which country has not agreed to contribute to the IMF?
News Item 11
答案:CC
原文:Amanda Pease is one of almost forty volunteers serving in rural schools in Sierra Leone.Ms.Pease teaches science at Saint Joseph's,a high school in eastern Sierra Leone.She studied chemical engineering at the University of California,Los Angeles.She decided to serve for two years in the Peace Corps after she finished her degree.
More than eight thousand Peace Corps volunteers are currently serving around the world.Volunteers become part of the community where they work and live.
Travis Bluemling from Pennsylvania teaches English in a rural Indonesian community.
"Even if some of these kids can't get to college,learning English and at least having some knowledge of the language can separate themselves from the people next to them when they are looking for a job or meeting people."
Mr.Bluemling's family expressed concern for his safety in a country where Islamic militants have sometimes attacked Westerners.But what concerned him,he says,was the thought that leaders in his village might not welcome him.
"However,I could not have been more wrong.They have allowed me to enter their house.I joined them in their Muslim meetings.I joined them with fasting and I have even entered the mosque."
1.What does Travis Bluemling teach in a rural Indonesian community?
2.What can we learn from the news?
News Item 12
答案:DD
原文:A new report says more and more international students are attending colleges and universities in the United States.It also notes a large increase in the number of international students from China.
These findings are from the latest edition of the Open Doors Report.The report is a joint project of the State Department and the Institute of International Education,a non-profit educational and training organization.
The report documents the record number of international students in the United States during the twenty-eleven,twenty-twelve school year.It says more than 764400 such students were attending American colleges and universities during that period.That represents an increase of almost six percent compared to one year earlier.
By comparison,the number of Americans studying overseas increased by one percent.
The report says 194000 students at American colleges and universities were from China.That is an increase of more than twenty-three percent over the year before.
Peggy Blumenthal is an aide to the president of the Institute of International Education.She described the effect of the increase in Chinese students.
"Now they have been coming for some time.But this year was the highest level ever,and it really showed in the figures,driving the whole global,international undergraduate enrollment to be higher than the graduate students."
1.Which statement is true about the news report?
2.Which of the following is Not the effect of the increase in Chinese students?
News Item 13
答案:DD
原文:Researchers have been trying to reproduce the extraordinary sense of smell that real dogs are born with.Now,officials at the Glasgow airport in Scotland are testing a new security device called an"electronic sniffer dog."The electronic sniffer dog represents one of the latest developments in the area of smell technology.
A Scottish company,Cascade Technologies,joined with the French security company Morpho to develop it.The device uses lasers to identify explosive material in gases in the air.The purpose is to identify explosives that may be hidden on a person's body.
The machine looks similar to the metal detectors now used at airports.Passengers walk through the machine as the lasers test the surrounding air.
People are not required to take off their coats,belts or shoes as part of the security process.And,unlike full-body scanners,the new device does not show images of the passenger.
Officials at Cascade Technologies say the machine can process one person per second and produce almost immediate results.They say future developments could cut security processing times at airports by screening all passengers at walking speed.
1.According to the news report,which of the following is true?
2.What can we learn from the news?
News Item 14
答案:BA
原文:Massive open online courses or MOOCs,these higher education courses are mostly free and,so far,largely in technical areas like computer science.MOOCs are usually open to anyone and can have thousands of students around the world.Entrepreneurs and educators are studying the different business possibilities.One idea is to make money by offering credits or certificates to students willing to pay.Another is to charge employers for connecting them with students who get top scores on online tests.Some top universities are starting to offer their own MOOCs.For example,this week the University of California,Berkeley,announced it has joined a nonprofit enterprise called edX.Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology started edX and have each invested thirty million dollars.MIT professor Anant Agarwal is the president of edX.He says the goal is to reinvent education worldwide and on campus.Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau says the goals are to bring higher education to more people and to enrich the quality of campus-based education.
1.Which of the following is true about MOOCs?
2.What is the goal of the MOOCs?