13.A simple flower made headlines (頭條新聞) in the British press last week.How could that be?British Prime Minister David Cameron and his ministers were attending a reception hosted by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.They insisted on wearing poppies (罌粟花) in their buttonholes.
What's wrong with that?
According to the Global Times,Chinese officials clearly had asked the UK delegation(代表團(tuán))not to wear poppies.The British said that poppies meant a great deal to them on that day and they would wear them all the same.
So what's the importance of the poppy?It's a flower which has different cultural and symbolic meanings for British and Chinese people.
From the Chinese point of view,the poppy is a symbol of China's humiliation at the hands of European powers in the Opium Wars of the 19th century.Britain forced China to open the borders to trade-including in the opium-which was made from poppies grown in India.
Yet from the British viewpoint the poppy is a reminder of the killing during World War I.Red poppies grew on the battlefields of Flanders in Belgium where many thousands of British soldiers died or were buried.Since then,Poppy Day (November 11)has become a time in the UK to wear poppies and remember the sacrifices of British soldiers and civilians in times of war.
So you can see that the poppy sets off strong feelings in the hearts of Chinese and British people for different reasons.And it makes sense for us to try to understand each other's standpoint (立場(chǎng)).Of course cultural differences can also be interesting and funny.And what one nation thinks is an acceptable gift may be viewed differently by their guest from overseas.US President Barack Obama gave a gift of an iPod to Britain's Queen-a dull person with no interest in music.Obama also presented Gordon Brown with a fine selection of American movies.But they were in US format(模式)and impossible to play on British DVD players.
Many countries have diploma (外交官) stationed overseas.Diplomats provide information and advice to their governments back home.However,sometimes it would seem that even diplomats can overlook(忽視)the cultural importance of a small flower.
25.Why did the British insist on wearing poppies in their buttonholes?D
A.The poppy is a symbol of China's humiliation.
B.Poppies were grown in India.
C.Red poppies grew on the battlefields of Flanders in Belgium.
D.In memory of those people sacrificing in times of war.
26.British Prime Minister David Cameron probably attended a reception in Beijing inD.
A.October
B.January
C.December
D. November
27.The diplomatic (外交的) problems mentioned in last but one paragraph are mainly caused byB.
A.the different lifestyle
B.the cultural difference
C.the translation mistake
D.the language difference
28.We can infer thatA.
A.Britain's Queen may not like the iPod US President Barack Obama gave her.
B.Gordon Brown was fond of American movies US President Barack Obama sent him
C.US President Barack Obama received a gift for music
D. Britain's Queen is not interested in any gifts given by Americans.
分析 一束小花竟引起了外交爭(zhēng)端.作者認(rèn)為是文化差異導(dǎo)致了這起外交事件.
解答 D DBA
25.D 細(xì)節(jié)理解題 根據(jù)Yet from the British viewpoint the poppy is a reminder of the killing during World War I.可知英國(guó)人佩戴罌粟花是為了紀(jì)念戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)中犧牲的人們,故答案為D
26.D 推理判斷題.根據(jù)第四段第二句The British said that poppies meant a great deal to them on that day and they would wear them all the same及第七段第三句中的Since then,Poppy Day (November 11)has become a time in the UK to wear poppies可以判斷這天應(yīng)該是Poppy Day,即11月11日.
27.B 細(xì)節(jié)理解題.根據(jù)第五段第二句It's a flower which has different cultural and symbolic meanings for British and Chinese people.可知主要是文化差異導(dǎo)致了這次外交事件.文章最后一段也是答案提示.
28.A 推理判斷題.根據(jù)倒數(shù)第二段第二、三句可以判斷英國(guó)女王可能不太喜歡美國(guó)總統(tǒng)奧巴馬送的iPod.
點(diǎn)評(píng) 閱讀理解題測(cè)試考生在閱讀基礎(chǔ)上的邏輯推理能力,要求考生根據(jù)文章所述事件的邏輯關(guān)系,對(duì)未說(shuō)明的趨勢(shì)或結(jié)局作出合理的推斷;或根據(jù)作者所闡述的觀點(diǎn)理論,對(duì)文章未涉及的現(xiàn)象、事例給以解釋?zhuān)忌紫纫屑?xì)閱讀短文,完整了解信息,準(zhǔn)確把握作者觀點(diǎn).