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could jeopardize its chance of passage。 The trade agreement； hammered out last November after years of negotiation； calls for China to slash tariffs and other barriers in a wide range of markets； from agriculture and automobiles to telecommunications。 The agreement is backed by big business and free…trade Republicans； but is under fire from labor union leaders and many of their Democratic allies in Congress； who see more trade with China as a threat to U。S。 jobs。
In return for China opening its markets； Congress must grant Beijing permanent NTR status and do away with its annual review process。 That process has become increasingly controversial with lawmakers often speaking out against China’s human rights record and recently on allegations that China stole U。S。 nuclear secrets。 A White House official said the high…tech executives also discussed the “digital divide”—the growing division in the United States between those with easy access to the Internet and those without—in their talks with Podesta。 “Both the administration and the CEOs said it was a very positive meeting；” he said。 “Both sides pledged to work together。”
1。What does “blessing” mean in the context？
A。 An act of asking or receiving God’s favor； help or protection。
B。 A gift from God； something one is glad of 。
C。 Approval； encouragement。
D。 Something not very pleasant； which however is really a good thing after all。
2。The importance of “getting normal trade relations on China worked through” is 。
A。 the normal trade relations with China is important to the American economy
B。 the normal trade relations with China is important to the idea that the US can continue its prosperity and its economy expansion
C。 the normal trade relations with China is important to the big businesses and trade
D。 all of the above
3。Which of the following are the two sides that were present at the meeting？
A。 Clinton； President the US…Cisco Systems； Dell computer Corp； Intel Corp； Compaq Computer Corp； Hewlett； NCR Corp； Silicon Graphics Inc。
B。 Clinton and Podesta…leaders of some major U。S。 high…tech companies。
C。 Clinton； Podesta； Joe Lockhart…Cisco systems CEO； Dell Computer Corp CEO； Intel Corp Chairman； Compay computer Corp CEO； Hewlett…Packard CEO； NCR Corp CEO； Silicon Graphics Inc； Chairman and CEO。
D。 Podesta…John Chambers； Michael Dell； Andrew Grove； Mike Capella； Carly Fiornia； Lars Nyberg； Robert Bishop。
4。 The reason for labor union’s disapproval to NTR status for China is probably 。
A。 out of political consideration
B。 for the fear that China’s low labor cost may cause more unemployment in America。
C。 unreasonable and ridiculous
D。 for the fear of more business conflict between America and China as partners
5。What conclusion can we draw about the meeting ；according to the passage？
A。 It was a positive meeting and both sides are willing to work together on the landmark trade agreement。
B。 The trade agreement is backed by big business and free…trade Republicans； but the labor union leaders and many of their Democratic allies in Congress are against it。
C。 The high…tech executives discussed the “digital divide” …the growing division in the United States between those with easy access to the Internet and those without。
D。 Clinton and his cabinet would launch a major campaign to convince congress to approve permanent NTR status for China。
Vocabulary
1。exec n。 execute的简写；执行；运行
2。enlist vt。 征募；参与；谋取
vi。 从军；应募；赞助
3。uphill adj。 上坡的；向上的
adv。 上坡地；向上地
4。jeopardize vt。 危害；使受危困；使陷危地
5。slash vt。 vi。 猛砍；乱砍
n。 猛砍；乱砍
n。 斜杠
6。tariff n。 关税；关税表；价格表；收费表
vt。 征收关税
7。controversial adj。 争论的；论争的；被议论的
8。allegation n。 指控；硬说；断言；主张；陈述；辩护；理由
9。digital n。 数字；数字式
adj。 数位的；数字的
10。pledge n。 保证；誓言；抵押
vt。 保证；使发誓；抵押；典当；举杯祝……健康
11。positive adj。 确实的；明确的；积极的；肯定的；
长难句解析
①【解析】“not only…but also”译为“不仅……而且……”
【译文】不仅仅是对他们的某些生意非常重要，当然这点是显而易见的，而且对美国的经济和我们能够持续繁荣，我们可以继续经济扩张的理念也很重要。
②【解析】“which…”引导的一个定语从句修饰“status”，“clear the way”译为“扫清道路”。
【译文】白宫方面说，克林顿和他的内阁将发起一个大型运动来说服国会通过对中国的永久正常贸易关系地位，这将扫清中国加入世界贸易组织的障碍。
答案与详解
【短文大意】文章主要讲的是美国总统克林顿召集全美几家主要高科技公司首脑商谈，要求获得他们的支持以保证十一月份与中国签署贸易协定时能得到国会的批准。
1。C词汇题。阅读全文可知，克林顿总统召集全美几家主要的高科技公司首脑商谈的主要目的是获得他们的支持以保证十一月份与中国签署贸易协定通过国会的批准。所以blessing这个词应是批准的意思。在新闻类文章中常常使用一些非正式的语言，或者是口语、俚语、俗语甚至随意复合新词，以吸引读者，所以在阅读此类文章时要注意一些词的特殊用法，否则容易引起误解文章的意思。第一项是指祝福、祈福；第二项是赐福、恩赐，可喜之事，第四项应为a blessing in disguise，祸中得福，塞翁失马焉知非福。
2。D细节题。恢复与中国的贸易关系对美国的经济发展具有重要的意义，特别是对大公司企业的产品出口，占领国外市场都具有特殊的意义。克林顿总统说这对于美国继续保持繁荣，经济增长的梦想是非常重要的，所以三项都应选。
3。B细节题。此题很简单，但必须要仔细。其实有一部分试题不在于考考生的推理分析能力，而是在考查从文章中获取信息的能力以及掌握信息的速度和准确率，此题就是一个例子。考生应在这方面多作些训练，根据文章，会谈双方应选B。
4。 B推断题。由文中第三段末可知，工会对给中国贸易通常贸易伙伴关系主要是害怕造成过分的本土失业。因为中国的人力成本对国外企业是有相当吸引力的。
5。A推断题。从文中我们可以推测，总统及内阁和高科技公司将共同努力，支持与中国恢复正常贸易伙伴关系，因为对于大的商业和贸易公司来说，这将带来更多的利润和机会。其他几项已经是既成事实，所以不必推测，不符题意，故排除。
第一篇 人文篇Passage 14
Passage 14建议用时：6分钟From：To：
When school was out； I hurried to find my sister and get out of the schoolyard before seeing anybody in my class。 But Barbara and her friends； had beaten us to the playground entrance and they seemed to be waiting for us。 Barbara said； “So now you’re in the A class。 ”
She sounded impressed。
“What’s the A class？” I asked。
Everybody made superior yet faintly envious giggling sounds。 “Well； why did you think the teacher moved you to the front of the room； dopey？ Didn’t you know you were in the C class before； way in the back of the room？”
Of course I hadn’t known。 『The Wenatchee fifth grade was bigger than my whole school which had been in North Dakota； and the idea of subdivisions within a grade had never occurred to me。』① The subdividing for the first marking period had been done before I came to the school； and l had never； in the six weeks I’d been there； talked to anyone long enough to find out about the A； B； and C classes。
I still could not understand why that had made such a difference to Barbara and her friends。 I didn’t yet know that it was shameful and dirty to be a transient laborer and ridiculous to be from North Dakota。 I thought living in a tent was more fun than living in a house。
I didn’t know that we were gypsies； really （how that thought would have excited me then！ ）； and that we were regarded with the suspicion felt by those who plant toward those who do not plant。 It didn’t occur to me that we were all looked upon as one more of the untrustworthy natural phenomena； drifting here and there like mists or winds； I didn’t know that I was the only child who had camped on the Baumann’s land ever to get out of the C class。 I didn’t know that school administrators and civic leaders held conferences to talk about the problem of transient laborers。
I only knew that for two happy days I walked to school with Barbara and her friends； played hopscotch and jumped rope with them at class intervals； and was even invited into the house for some ginger ale—a strange drink I had never tasted before。
1。The tone of this passage as a whole is。
A。 reflective B。 enthusiastic
C。 impersonal D。 defensive
2。The narrator had most probably been placed in the C class because 。
A。 she was a poor reader
B。 she had come from a small school
C。 the marking system confused her
D。 all children of transient laborers were placed in the C class
3。The basic reason why the people in the community distrusted the transient workers was that the transient workers。
A。 tended to be lawbreakers