Today, US government funding favors ______ rather than ______ research.

aint against European' subsidies for the aircraft maker Airbus. Both the US and the European Union had filed complaints with the World Trade Organization accusing each other of subsidizing aircraft companies. The US said the European governments were providing cheap loans to help Airbus develop new aircraft. The EU said that the US subsidizes the Boeing Company by giving it government contracts and Washington State tax breaks. Both sides had agreed to suspend their cases in January while they tried to find a negotiated settlement. Today Trade Representative Rob Portman said the EU has continued its cheap loans to Airbus forcing the US to go back to the WTO.

What's the main idea of the news？

A．The EU government provides cheap loans to help Airbus develop new aircraft.

B．The US government subsidizes the Boeing Company by giving it government contracts.

C．The Eli and the US try to find a negotiated settlement on trade war.

D．US make a new complaint against EU subsidies for the aircraft maker Airbus.

to grant US officials access to Eugene Hasenfus. He's the survivor of Sunday's plane crash inside Nicaragua. State Department spokesman Charles Redmond said, "Our representative was not received by the Nicaraguan government And we view this with the utmost seriousness. The rendering of consular services is an essential part of the function of an embassy. The Sandinista government has once again taken action to make that function difficult and has raised the question of whether, indeed, a US embassy can function normally within Nicaragua. We frankly cannot accept the delay in granting consular access since the Sandinista government has apparently gone to some lengths to parade Mr. Hasenfus before the press, and considering the fact that a government spokesman stated clearly on American television that access would be granted. "Meanwhile President Bush today denied that the downed plane allegedly carrying arms to Contra rebels was operating under official US orders. He also acknowledged that the government has been aware that private American groups and citizens have been helping the anti-government forces in Nicaragua.

The US criticized the Nicaraguan government because ______.

A．the latter interfered in consular services of the US embassy.

B．the latter didn't receive one representative of US officials.

C．the former was mad at deeds of the Sandinista government.

D．the former worried about the safety of Eugene Hasenfus.

听力原文： US FAMILIES TODAY

In the early days of America, the family held together for economic reasons./Father, mother and children all worked together to build the pioneer family or family business./But today, about one out of three marriages ends in divorce,/and more and more of them involve children./ The divorce rate in America is still the highest in the world,/but 75% of the women and 83% of the men who divorce remarry within 3 years./ The children from the broken families join up to produce a new kind of unit called the blended family. / About 18 million children are now living with their step-brothers and sisters in such an arrangement./

Perhaps the most significant trend today is toward the single-parent household./Of all children under 18, 17% are now living with only one parent./Business and government officials are looking for new ways/to help parents meet their family responsibilities as well as to increase their income./

(1)

s below the poverty line. A recent report states that as much as 30% of Americans have trouble making ends meet and other advocates have made supporting claims that the rate of actual poverty in the US is far higher than that calculated by using the poverty line. While the poverty line is updated for inflation every year, the basket of goods used to determine what constitutes being deprived of a socially acceptable minimum standard of living has not been updated since 1955.

A.The issue of understating poverty is especially pressing in the states with both a high cost and a high poverty rate such as California.

B.The poverty line lost all connection over time with current consumption patterns of the average family.

C.Many sociologists and government officials have argued that poverty in the US is understated.

D.The official poverty line today is essentially what it takes in today's dollars to purchase the same poverty-line level of living half a century ago.

听力原文： In 1863, President Lincoln made a law. This law said that only the United States government could print money. The law gave us the kind of money we have today. At that time, people could take their money to banks. At the banks they could get a certain amount of silver in exchange for the money. In 1873, the banks began to give gold for paper money. The idea worked if too many people didn't go to the banks at the same time. Banks didn't always have enough gold. The government stopped this about 60 years ago. We can no longer go to banks to get gold for our money. The government will not exchange anything for paper money.

The value of money we use today is not the same as animals or food. It is not the same as an amount of silver, gold, or copper. The way people used money a long time ago may have been easier than it is to day. They know what it meant. Today the money in our pocket means different things at different times.

(33)

A．In 1853.

B．In 1863.

C．In 1860.

D．In 1873.

Permit me to say that I am deeply moved.

I wish to thank each and every one of you who have come here today to take a stand against violence and for peace. This government, which I am privileged to head, together with my friend Shimon Peres , decided to give peace a chance—a peace that will solve most of Israel's problems.

I was a military man for 27 years. I fought as long as there was no chance for peace. I believe that there is now a chance for peace, a great chance. We must take advantage of it for the sake of those standing here, and for those who are not here—and they are many.

I have always believed that the majority of the people want peace and are ready to take risks for peace. In coming here today, you demonstrate, together with many others who did not come, that the people truly desire peace and oppose violence.

Violence erodes the basis of Israeli democracy. It must be condemned and isolated.

This is not the way of the State of Israel. In a democracy there can be differences, but the final decision will be taken in democratic elections, as the 1992 elections which gave us the mandate to do what we are doing, and to continue on this course.

I want to say that I am proud of the fact that representatives of the countries with whom we are living in peace are present with us here, and will continue to be here: Egypt, Jordan, and Morocco, which opened the road to peace for us. I want to thank the President of Egypt, the King of Jordan, and the King of Morocco, represented here today, for their partnership with us in our march towards peace.

But, more than anything, in the more than three years of this Government's existence, the Israeli people has proven that it is possible to make peace, that peace opens the door to a better economy and society; that peace is not just a prayer.

Peace is first of all in our prayers, but it is also the aspiration of the Jewish people, a genuine aspiration for peace.

There are enemies of peace who are trying to hurt us, in order to torpedo the peace process.

I want to say bluntly, that we have found a partner for peace among the Palestinians as well: the PLO, which was an enemy, and has ceased to engage in terrorism. Without partners for peace, there can be no peace.

We will demand that they do their part for peace, just as we will do our part for peace, in order to solve the most complicated, prolonged, and emotionally charged aspect of the Israeli-Arab conflict: the Palestinian- Israeli conflict.

This is a course which is fraught with difficulties and pain. For Israel, there is no path that is without pain.

But the path of peace is preferable to the path of war.

I say this to you as one who was a military man, someone who is today Minister of Defense and sees the pain of the families of the IDF soldiers. For them, for our children, in my case for our grandchildren, I want this Government to exhaust every opening, every possibility, to promote and achieve a comprehensive peace. Even with Syria, it will be possible to make peace,

This rally must send a message to the Israeli people, to the Jewish people around the world, to the many people in the Arab world, and indeed to the entire world, that the Israeli people want peace, support peace.

For this, I thank you.

prices in urban areas such as San Francisco and Los Angeles being higher than the state average it is almost impossible for not just the poor but also the lower middle class workers to afford decent housing and no possibility of home ownership. The majority of the population lacks a college education, and the median home price was determined to be $723,790, requiring an upper middle class income which only roughly 20% of all households in the county boast. Such fluctuations in local markets are however not considered in the Federal poverty line and thus leave many who live in poverty-like conditions out of the total number of households classified as poor.

A.Many sociologists and government officials have argued that poverty in the US is understated.

B.The poverty line lost all connection over time with current consumption patterns of the average family.

C.The issue of understating poverty is especially pressing in the states with both a high cost and a high poverty rate such as California.

D.The official poverty line today is essentially what it takes in today's dollars to purchase the same poverty-line level of living half a century ago.

ime at work than at any time since World War Ⅱ. In 1950, the US had fewer working hours than any other【53】country. Today, it【54】every country but Japan, where industrial employees log 2, 155 hours a year compared【55】1, 951 in the US and 1, 603【56】West employees. Between 1969 mad 1989, employed Americans【57】an average of 138 hours to their yearly work schedules. The work-week【58】at about 40 hours, but people are working more weeks each year.【59】, paid time off-holidays, vacations, sick leave--【60】15 percent in the 1990s.

As corporations have【61】stiffer competition and slower growth in productivity, they【62】employees to work longer. Cost-cutting layoffs in the 1980s【63】the professional and managerial ranks, leaving fewer people to get the job done. In lower-paid occupations【64】wages have been reduced, workers have added hous【65】over-time or extra jobs to【66】their living standard. The Government estimates that more than seven million people hold a second job.

For the first time, large【67】of people say they want to cut【68】on working hours, even if it means earning less money. But most employers are【69】to let them do so. The government, which has stepped back from its traditional【70】as a regulator of work time, should take steps to make shorter hours possible.

(46)

A．as regards to

B．regardless of

C．with regard to

D．in regard to

ates economic embargo against Cuba. But Washington ignored the demand, insisting the sanctions are a bilateral issue.

Cuba's National Assembly president opened the debate at the United Nations by announcing Havana's new legal campaign against the US embargo. Ricardo Allorcon said his country will Erie a US $ 100 billion law suit against Washington. The case seeks compensation for the enormous suffering inflicted by the 37-year-old economic blockade on the Cuban people. After the debate, the UN General Assembly voted 155 to 2 to demand an end to the sanctions for the eighth straight year. Only the US and Israel opposed the resolution. Washington's key allies, Japan, Canada and the European Union supported the calls for the lifting of the blockade. Washington has ignored the non-binding UN resolutions, insisting its embargo is a bilateral trade policy towards Cuba.

In Bogota, Columbia, today, a mass of car bomb, packed with shrapnel, exploded on a busy street. Eight people are dead, forty-five others injured. Police believe that drug lords put the bomb there, angry that the government is sending suspected narcotics traffickers to the United States for trial.

Questions:

6.What is the American government referred to as in the news？

7.How much does Cuba ask for from America as compensation in this law suit？

8.Why does America ignore the UN's resolution？

9.How many people were killed and injured in the car bomb in Bogota, Columbia？

10.What is the suspected reason for the accident according to the police？

(26)

A．U.S. government.

B．Washington.

C．National Assembly.

D．General Assembly.

Part A

Directions: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. (40 points)

Eight months after Sep. 11, it is becoming increasingly apparent that various arms of the US government had pieces of information that, if put together, might have provided sketchy advance warning of the terrorist strikes to come.

The White House now acknowledges, that the CIA told President Bush in August that suspected members of A1 Qaeda had discussed the hijacking of airplanes. At the same time, FBI agents were increasingly suspicious of some Middle Eastern men training at US flight schools. Yet the US government didn't pay attention to this information.

"There are always these little indicators that come in—of one sort or another—that don't get enough decibels to receive attention," say former CIA Director Stansfield Turner.

"The possibility of a traditional hijacking—in the pre-9.11 sense—has long been a concern of the government," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said. But "this was a new type of attack that was not foreseen." In deed, he said the warnings did not suggest commercial airliners would be used as missiles and that the general assumption was that any attack would occur abroad, not in the US.

Still, the White House says it did quietly alert several government agencies to the threat.

Meanwhile, FBI agents were getting hints of the terrible plot. A classified memo drafted by the bureau reportedly warned in blunt language that Osama bin Laden might be linked to Middle Eastern men taking lessons at US flight schools.

Mr. Turner sees this as a painful and avoidable mistake. The basic reason for the lack of coordination and communication is "a very large intelligence bureaucracy that is very compartmentalized," says Charles Penia, a senior defense analyst at the Cato Institute.

Today, the disclosures raise a crucial question: Have recent reforms boosted Washington's ability to pull together information from its many agencies—and thus disrupt future attacks？ Indeed, since Sep. 11, the government has struggled to improve coordination.

One change: FBI data is now merged with CIA intelligence in the president's daily briefing.

Another: A new command center near Washington was set up by White House Homeland Security. It's one place the CIA, the FBI, the Defense Intelligence Agency, and others are able to coordinate and share information. It's not clear yet whether they actually will.

Which conclusion can NOT be drawn from the first three paragraphs？

A．The U.S. government should be partly responsible for 9.11.

B．9.11 event could have been avoided.

C．The U.S. government should have paid more attention to the warnings.

D．The CIA is inevitably responsible for its incorrect information.