全國英語等級考試PETS-4閱讀歷年真題

1、全國英語等級考試PETS-4閱讀歷年真題篇一：President Clintons decision on Apr.8 to send Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji packing without an agreement on Chinas entry into the World Trade Organization seemed to be a massive miscalculation. The President took a drubbing from much of the press, which had breathlessly reported t

2、hat a deal was in the bag. The Cabinet and Whit House still appeared divided, and business leaders were characterized as furious over the lost opportunity. Zhu charged that Clinton lacked “the courage” to reach an accord. And when Clinton later telephoned the angry Zhu to pledge a renewed effort at

3、negotiations, the gesture was widely portrayed as a flip-flop.In fact, Clinton made the right decision in holding out for a better WTO deal. A lot more horse trading is needed before a final agreement can be reached. And without the Administrations goal of a “bullet-proof agreement” that business lo

4、bbyists can enthusiastically sell to a Republican Congress, the whole process will end up in partisan acrimony that could harm relations with China for years.THE HARD PART. Many business lobbyists, while disappointed that the deal was not closed, agree that better terms can still be had. And Treasur

5、y Secretary Robert E. Rubin, National Economic Council Director Gene B. Sperling, Commerce Secretary William M. Daley, and top trade negotiator Charlene Barshefsky all advised Clinton that while the Chinese had made a remarkable number of concessions, “were not there yet,” according to senior offici

6、als.Negotiating with Zhu over the remaining issues may be the easy part. Although Clinton can signal U.S. approval for Chinas entry into the WTO himself, he needs Congress to grant Beijing permanent most-favored-nation status as part of a broad trade accord. And the temptation for meddling on Capita

7、l Hill may prove over-whelming. Zhu had barely landed before Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss) declared himself skeptical that China deserved entry into the WTO. And Senators Jesse A. Helms (R-N.C.) and Emest F. Hollings (D-S. C.) promised to introduce a bill requiring congressional approva

8、l of any deal.The hidden message from these three textile-state Southerners: Get more protection for the U. S. clothing industry. Hoping to smooth the way, the Administration tried, but failed, to budge Zhu on textiles. Also left in the lurch: Wall Street, Hollywood, and Detroit. Zhu refused to open

9、 up much of the lucrative Chinese securities market and insisted on “cultural” restrictions on American movies and music. He also blocked efforts to allow U. S. auto makers to provide fleet financing.BIG JOB. Already, business lobbyists are blanketing Capitol Hill to presale any eventual agreement,

10、but what theyve heard so far isnt encouraging. Republicans, including Lott, say that “the time just isnt right” for the deal. Translation: Were determined to make it look as if Clinton has capitulated to the Chinese and is ignoring human, religious, and labor rights violations; the theft of nuclear-

11、weapons technology; and the sale of missile parts to Americas enemies. Beijings fierce critics within the Democratic Party, such as Senator Paul D. Wellstone of Minnesota and House Minority leader Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri, wont help, either.Just how tough the lobbying job on Capitol Hill will

12、 be become clear on Apr. 20, when Rubin lectured 19chief executives on the need to discipline their Republican allies. With business and the White House still trading charges over who is responsible for the defeat of fast-track trade negotiating legislation in 1997, working together wont be easy. An

13、d Republicans-with a wink-say that theyll eventually embrace Chinas entry into the WTO as a favor to Corporate America. Though not long before they torture Clinton. But Zhu is out on a limb, and if Congress overdoes the criticism, he may be forced by domestic critics to renege. Business must make th

14、is much dear to both its GOP allies and the Whit House: This historic deal is too important to risk losing to any more partisan squabbling.篇二：The striving of countries in Central Europe to enter the European Union may offer an unprecedented chance to the continents Gypsies (or Roman) to be recognize

15、d as a nation, albeit one without a defined territory. And if they were to achieve that they might even seek some kind of formal place-at least a total population outnumbers that of many of the Unions present and future countries. Some experts put the figure at 4m-plus; some proponents of Gypsy righ

16、ts go as high as 15m.Unlike Jews, Gypsies have had no known ancestral land to hark back to. Though their language is related to Hindi, their territorial origins are misty. Romanian peasants held them to be born on the moon. Other Europeans (wrongly) thought them migrant Egyptians, hence the derivati

17、ve Gypsy. Most probably they were itinerant metal workers and entertainers who drifted west from India in the 7th century.However, since communism in Central Europe collapsed a decade ago, the notion of Romanestan as a landless nation founded on Gypsy culture has gained ground. The International Rom

18、any Union, which says it stands for 10m Gypsies in more than 30 countries, is fostering the idea of “self-rallying”. It is trying to promote a standard and written form of the language; it waves a Gypsy flag (green with a wheel) when it lobbies in such places as the United Bations; and in July it he

19、ld a congress in Prague, The Czech capital. Where President Vaclav Havel said that Gypsies in his own country and elsewhere should have a better deal.At the congress a Slovak-born lawyer, Emil Scuka, was elected president of the International Tomany Union. Later this month a group of elected Gypsy p

20、oliticians, including members of parliament, mayors and local councilors from all over Europe (OSCE), to discuss how to persuade more Gypsies to get involved in politics.The International Romany Union is probably the most representative of the outfits that speak for Gypsies, but that is not saying a

21、 lot. Of the several hundred delegates who gathered at its congress, few were democratically elected; oddly, none came from Hungary, whose Gypsies are perhaps the worlds best organized, with some 450 Gypsy bodies advising local councils there. The union did, however, announce its ambition to set up

22、a parliament, but how it would actually be elected was left undecided.So far, the European Commission is wary of encouraging Gypsies to present themselves as a nation. The might, it is feared, open a Pandoras box already containing Basques, Corsicans and other awkward peoples. Besides, acknowledging

23、 Gypsies as a nation might backfire, just when several countries, particularly Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, are beginning to treat them better, in order to qualify for EU membership. “The EUs whole premise is to overcome differences, not to highlight them,” says a nervous Eurocrat.But t

24、he idea that the Gypsies should win some kind of special recognition as Europes largest continent wide minority, and one with a terrible history of persecution, is catching on . Gypsies have suffered many pogroms over the centuries. In Romania, the country that still has the largest number of them (

25、more than 1m), in the 19th century they were actually enslaved. Hitler tried to wipe them out, along with the Jews.“Gypsies deserve some space within European structures,” says Jan Marinus Wiersma, a Dutchman in the European Parliament who suggests that one of the current commissioners should be res

26、ponsible for Gypsy affairs. Some prominent Gypsies say they should be more directly represented, perhaps with a quota in the European Parliament. That, they argue, might give them a boost. There are moves afoot to help them to get money for, among other things, a Gypsy university.One big snag is that Europes Gypsies are, in fact, extremely heterogeneous. They belong to many different, and often antagonistic, clans and tribes, with no common language or religion, Their self-proclaimed leaders have often proved quarrelsome and corrupt. Still, says, Dimitrina