阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

C

China’s economic growth “hard to predict”

The worsening global economic situation makes it difficult for China to predict its growth for next year, a senior official said on Friday.

“How fast China’s economy will grow next year is uncertain,” Liu He, deputy director of the Office of the Central Leading Group on Finance and Economy Work, told China Daily.

“To a large extent, the rate will be decided by the external(外部) situation,” Liu said during a discussion with Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt and other economists in Beijing.

“This year, GDP is estimated to grow at 9.4 or 9.5 percent, down from 10.6 percent last year,” he said. “However, the impact of the current financial turbulence on our economy is much less than on the rest of the world.”

Nicholas Stern, a former UK government advisor, also told China Daily it will take at least one or two years for the world to recover from the recession, which is now spreading from the US and the UK to the rest of the world.

“We don’t know how long the recession will last, but it is unlikely to be short,” he said.

Liu said China can use the downturn(衰退) as an opportunity to restructure its economy, which has relied heavily on government investment, foreign trade and low-cost technology over the past years.

“When the economy is experiencing fast growth, companies are unwilling to upgrade their technologies,” Liu said.

“The slowdown gives such firms the opportunity to enhance(提高) their competitive edge through better technologies.”

(From China Daily 2009-01-11)

1.How many people are mentioned in this passage?

2.It can be inferred from Liu’s words that the impact of the current financial turbulence on China’s economy is ______.

3.The underlines word “extent” probably means ______.

4. According to the passage, the reason why Liu said this downturn is an opportunity for China to restructure its economy is that ______.

(CNN)-China will sometimes say “no” and the world should get used to it.

That message came through when China joined Russia in blocking action on Syria.

“Do not mistakenly think that because China takes a careful and responsible position on the Syria issue, China will not use its veto power (否决权) or will always abstain（弃权）,” said Cui Tiankai, China’s vice foreign minister, “When China must use its veto power to say no, it will surely use it.”

On Saturday, Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, called the vetoes “disgusting and shameful.”

He Wenping, director of African Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the veto shows China’s confidence in foreign affairs. “A country expressing its true opinion – that’s progress. China opposes the use of threat or force to achieve regime（政权）change in other countries. This agrees with China’s long-standing diplomacy principle. It is also not acceptable for China to rush a U.N. vote without sufficient discussion.”

So why did China use its veto this time?

China’s critics say China’s veto of the U.N. draft proposal(草案) was in part due to Beijing’s fear that allowing a regime change in Syria could encourage the spread of the Arab revolution and eventually threaten China.

He Wenping disagrees, “China has a completely different political system and economic development path. If someone in the international community thinks that the Arab Spring will happen in China, then I think they misjudge the situation in China, exaggerate(夸大) some problems in the Chinese society and underestimate the ability of the Chinese government to control the situation in China.”

1.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. China often uses its veto power on international issues.

B. China never uses its veto power on international issues.

C. China’s normal practice in the U.N. is to abstain rather than veto.

D. China should not have veto power in the U.N.

2.What is the international reaction to China’s veto on the Syria issue?

A. Russia supports China    B. The U.S. feels very unhappy.

C. The international community is used to it.

D. The Arab countries show no concern.

3.Why did China use its veto power this time?

A. Because Russia and China are friends.

B. Because China wants to hold an opposite stand against the U.S.

C. Because China is worried about a chain-action resulting from Syria’s                         revolution.

D. Because China opposes the use of threat or force to achieve regime change in other countries.

4.What can we learn from the passage?

A. China has a firm stand on international issues.

B. The U.N. asks the whole world to get used to China saying no on international       issues.

C. CNN believed that China helped Syria to fight against the U.N.

D. All the member countries of the U.N. supported Susan Rice.

Why does a large education nation like China have so few world renowned scientists as the US? Educationists from China and the US try to find out the answer to questions like this at a forum on the basic education strategy.

   The forum, held recently, was jointly organized by the Education Development Research Center of the Ministry of Education in China and the Postgraduate School of the University of Pennsylvania in the US. It aims to find out similarities and differences that exist between two countries in their educational system.

   While some educationists in China keep a doubtful eye to the country’s educational system in recent years. Their American counterparts give a positive answer to the basic education in China, saying that it is still one of the best in the world.

   An American educationist told reporters that the basic education in the US was criticized in recent years due to its political tendency. On the contrary, Chinese government’s stress on basic education and qualified teachers has set a good example.

   At primary and middle school, pupils in China did better in math and science lessons than the US pupils. However, few grow to be world “masters”. Why? Educationists attributed this to China’s stress on examination rather than students’ interest.

   Deputy Director of the postgraduate school of Pennsylvania University said American teachers encouraged students to focus on their strong points. In China, students are driven to study to pass the entrance examination test and they do not pay much attention to their own interest.

   At the forum, director of the Education Development Research Center Mr. Zhang said in the future, the research center would make its middle and long-term basic education strategy by taking some references from other countries including the US.

He also revealed that for a long time in the future, China would make a breakthrough in setting the policy for quality education.

1.This passage is mainly about _________.

   A. quality education development in the future

   B. why China’s education cultivates(培养) few world masters

   C. China’s good basic education

   D. genius education at the primary stage

2.The underlined word “renowned” in the first paragraph probably means ________

   A. famous         B. active           C. qualified        D. experienced

3.Few pupils in China who did better in math and science lessons than the US pupils grow to be

    world “masters”, because _________

   A. The US government spends more money on basic education

   B. American pupils are cleverer than Chinese pupils

   C. basic education in China is not as successful as that of the US

   D. Chinese people pay less attention to students’ interest

4. China’s educational system will _______ in the future.

   A. help students to study even harder to pass the examination

   B. apply more attention to quality education referring to systems of other countries

   C. allow students to pay more attention to their own interest without their test results

   D. copy the educational system in the US

Global financial big dogs are no match for China's "Da Ma", or housewives, who have crowded into gold stores across China, buying up 300 tons of gold over the past two weeks. No wonder gold prices have steadied after taking a dive.

During the May Day holiday, gold stores were crowded with mostly female customers. Most of them are middle-aged "Chinese housewives". This group of buyers has risen to fame recently. They are big spenders and are desperate to get their hands on a bargain. "I bought some gold jewellery and kept them as a gift for my son when he gets married," said a buyer from Shanghai.

The gold business is skyrocketing. "Our sales are growing by the day. Yesterday we sold more than ten million yuan of gold products," a gold store salesperson said. The gold rush in China started about two weeks ago thanks to a decline in global gold prices. Media reports suggest that Chinese housewives have spent about 100 billion yuan, or about 16 billion US dollars, purchasing 300 tons of gold since mid-April. That has helped support gold prices.

"Gold prices depressed since the middle of last month but have risen gradually. That is mainly due to the strong demand from Asian markets," said foreign trader Zhang Chen from Industrial & Commercial Bank of China. "Some people even joked that Chinese housewives have beaten Wall Street analysts." For Chinese people, with limited investment options, the only thing better than buying gold is buying gold at discount prices.

1.What does the author indicate(表明;预示)in the first sentence of the first paragraph?

A. The global big dogs can’t match with Chinese housewives.

B. Chinese housewives spend a great deal of money on gold

C. China's "Da Ma" help a lot to support the global economic crisis

D. Chinese housewives have a better consumption idea than global financial big dogs .

2.We can infer from the passage that_______________

A. China’s "Da Ma" become the largest gold buyers due to a decline in global gold prices.

B. China's "Da Ma" crowded into stores to get gold as the best gifts for sons when they get married.

C. China's "Da Ma" are bigger spenders and cleverer than global financial big dogs.

D. Chinese housewives are most willing to spend money in buying gold .

3.In the writer’s view, Chinese housewives are desperate to get their hands on a bargain because_____.

A. it is worthy to buy gold.

B .they have a strong demand

C. it is at discount prices.

D they have unlimited investment options

4.The author’s description about the passage is ______.

A. doubtful   B. subjective    C. objective    D. Negative

Global financial big dogs are no match for China's "Da Ma", or housewives, who have crowded into gold stores across China, buying up 300 tons of gold over the past two weeks. No wonder gold prices have steadied after taking a dive.

During the May Day holiday, gold stores were crowded with mostly female customers. Most of them are middle-aged "Chinese housewives". This group of buyers has risen to fame recently. They are big spenders and are desperate to get their hands on a bargain. "I bought some gold jewellery and kept them as a gift for my son when he gets married," said a buyer from Shanghai.

The gold business is skyrocketing. "Our sales are growing by the day. Yesterday we sold more than ten million yuan of gold products," a gold store salesperson said. The gold rush in China started about two weeks ago thanks to a decline in global gold prices. Media reports suggest that Chinese housewives have spent about 100 billion yuan, or about 16 billion US dollars, purchasing 300 tons of gold since mid-April. That has helped support gold prices.

"Gold prices depressed since the middle of last month but have risen gradually. That is mainly due to the strong demand from Asian markets," said foreign trader Zhang Chen from Industrial & Commercial Bank of China. "Some people even joked that Chinese housewives have beaten Wall Street analysts." For Chinese people, with limited investment options, the only thing better than buying gold is buying gold at discount prices.

1.What does the author indicate in the first sentence of the 1st paragraph?

A. The global big dogs can’t match with Chinese housewives.

B. China's "Da Ma" help a lot to support the global economic crisis .

C. Chinese housewives spend a great deal of money on gold

D. Chinese housewives have a better consumption idea than global financial big dogs

2.The whole passage mainly developed_______ ?

A. by comparison      B. by contrast

C. by quotation         D. by time order

3.We can infer about the gold rush in China from the passage?

A. The Chinese housewives are most willing to spend money in buying gold ..

B. China's "Da Ma" crowded into stores to get gold as the best gifts for sons when they get married.

C. China's "Da Ma" are bigger spenders and cleverer than global financial big dogs.

D. China’s "Da Ma" become the largest gold buyers due to a decline in global gold prices.

4.In the writer’s view, Chinese housewives are desperate to get their hands on a bargain because_____.

A. it is worthy to buy gold.

B .they have a strong demand

C. they have unlimited investment options

D it is at discount prices.

5.The author’s description about the passage is ______.

A. objective   B. subjective    C. doubtful    D. negative