考研英語閱讀理解B型題(十六)

　　Directions:

　　In the following article, some sentences have been removed. For Questions 1-5, choose the most suitable one from the list A―G to fit into each of the numbered blank. There are two extra choices, which do not fit in any of the gaps.

　　If the 20th century has been the American century, then there are plenty of people saying watch this space: the twenty-first century will be different. The distinguishing characteristic of the post-cold-war world is that there is only one superpower. 1)

　　The military muscle-flexing we have seen from China over the last few years could be an indication of how things are likely to go, although it has to be said that to many people's surprise the Chinese have been quite constructive over East Timor. But I think we must assume that the main struggle in the 21st century will be with China, already the world's largest nation. Happily, the Chinese seem to have no global pretensions One can't see them interfering in some far-distant conflict, and in both military and economic terms they are still light years behind America.

　　2）

　　Europe is already the largest trading block in the world, 3） It's worth remembering that while Europe spends 60 per cent of what the USA does in defence, it has only 10 per cent of the Americans' firepower.

　　In the Middle East, in a relatively short space of time, bubbling conflicts have moved closer to resolution. The Arab-Israeli dispute has been reduced to its core essentials, while agreement between Syria and Israel remains the strategic prize for peace. Iran is undergoing a slow transformation but the outstanding political issue here is Iraq and Saddam Hussein's extraordinary survival. The international community remains bitterly divided about what to do.

　　Africa, I fear, is going to remain a disaster area ,simply because it does not figure on people's mental maps. Currently there is war raging in six countries around the Congo, yet there's very little sense the international community will do anything about it. There is, though, some good news. If you look back a year ago to Algeria, it was drowning in its own blood. Now it seems to be back on the right track.

　　4） For many years the non-proliferation regime actually worked surprisingly well, but India and Pakistan going nuclear has been a great blow to the status quo. And now there are new biological and chemical weapons―undreamed-of horrors―not to mention the whole legacy of the cold war which hasn't been cleaned up, such as Russian nuclear waste in the Arctic.

　　The fundamental problem is that there are countries that are simply being left behind by the onward march of globalisation. Global issues such as the environment and drugs―and perhaps even human rights ― are going to come much more to the fore. 5）

　　[A]It is called to be an economic giant, especially when the euro has been issued.

　　[B]but while the euro could help it become an economic giant, and even challenge the dollar, it looks likely to remain a political and military pygmy.

　　[C]And there's only one candidate on the horizon to challenge the US ― China.

　　[D]As the world shrinks, so we shall have an increasing sense of the need for an international humanitarian order. Globalisation may be a good thing, but it has a dark underbelly.

　　[E]Russia is a powerful country which owns military superiority

　　[F]We must also assume the continued decline of Russia. It shows how far things have gone (and how quickly) when what was once the second most powerful country in the world is being battered by Islamic rebels from the Caucasus. Now we have a Russian state which simply cannot cope.

　　[G]I do think arms control will be a big item on the agenda in future.

　　答案及詳解

　　1. C。文章開頭就提出“20世紀是美國的世紀，冷戰(zhàn)后只有一個超級大國”，而從下文第二段的開始我們可以看到，作者對中國在軍事外交等方面顯示出的力量表示贊揚，由此可以推斷出，此處需要一個由“美國的世紀”平滑過渡到對中國的實力的重視上去，所以選項C“而且只有一個國家有可能會挑戰(zhàn)美國，那就是中國”。正好滿足了這個過渡條件。

　　2. F。 空處根據下文銜接可以推斷出是在評價世界其他各國的經濟軍事實力，而第四段主要討論了歐盟的，軍事方面的弱勢，所以此處適宜，舉一個軍事實力強大而經濟發(fā)展不盡如人意的國家，選項F對俄羅斯的概括分析正好符合上下文的要求為正確答案。

　　3. B?？仗?，從上下文推斷是關于歐洲的經濟的評價，這一段最后一句的“only”表明作者并不看好歐洲的經濟發(fā)展，從選項中可以看到有兩項是關于歐洲經濟的一個認為。自從歐元發(fā)行后，歐洲經濟巨人的地位進一步鞏固了而另一個則用“but”一轉，指出、雖然歐元有可能使之成為經濟巨人，但是仍然是政治和軍事的侏儒。與下文歐美防工開支的對比，絲絲入扣，合情合理。

　　4. G。 在討論了中東和非洲的戰(zhàn)患后，作者很自然轉入了軍備問題，提出核武器，生化武器，以及冷戰(zhàn)遺留問題等等，此處空白需要一個提綱挈領的句子，而選項G正符合了這一要求。

　　5. D。 作者在最后總結全文，提出根本問題是全球化過快引致的，選項D中正好也提到了全球化，再進一步分析上下文的褒貶口氣，不難確定這個就是符合要求的正確選項。

　　中心思想

　　本文主要討論了在二十一世紀，什么才是影響人類社會發(fā)展的主要因素，在分別否定了美國一擎撐天，中國不愿稱霸，俄羅斯與歐洲發(fā)展不平衡以及中東非洲的戰(zhàn)禍連連后，作者總結認為，在大力控制軍備問題的同時，一定要著重關注全球化的進程問題，全球化是一把懸在人類頭上的達摩克利斯之劍。