考研英语阅读理解B型题(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.

　　答案及详解

　　1. C。文章开头就提出“20世纪是美国的世纪，冷战后只有一个超级大国”，而从下文第二段的开始我们可以看到，作者对中国在军事外交等方面显示出的力量表示赞扬，由此可以推断出，此处需要一个由“美国的世纪”平滑过渡到对中国的实力的重视上去，所以选项C“而且只有一个国家有可能会挑战美国，那就是中国”。正好满足了这个过渡条件。

　　2. F。 空处根据下文衔接可以推断出是在评价世界其他各国的经济军事实力，而第四段主要讨论了欧盟的，军事方面的弱势，所以此处适宜，举一个军事实力强大而经济发展不尽如人意的国家，选项F对俄罗斯的概括分析正好符合上下文的要求为正确答案。

　　3. B。空处，从上下文推断是关于欧洲的经济的评价，这一段最后一句的“only”表明作者并不看好欧洲的经济发展，从选项中可以看到有两项是关于欧洲经济的一个认为。自从欧元发行后，欧洲经济巨人的地位进一步巩固了而另一个则用“but”一转，指出、虽然欧元有可能使之成为经济巨人，但是仍然是政治和军事的侏儒。与下文欧美防工开支的对比，丝丝入扣，合情合理。

　　4. G。 在讨论了中东和非洲的战患后，作者很自然转入了军备问题，提出核武器，生化武器，以及冷战遗留问题等等，此处空白需要一个提纲挈领的句子，而选项G正符合了这一要求。

　　5. D。 作者在最后总结全文，提出根本问题是全球化过快引致的，选项D中正好也提到了全球化，再进一步分析上下文的褒贬口气，不难确定这个就是符合要求的正确选项。

　　中心思想

　　本文主要讨论了在二十一世纪，什么才是影响人类社会发展的主要因素，在分别否定了美国一擎撑天，中国不愿称霸，俄罗斯与欧洲发展不平衡以及中东非洲的战祸连连后，作者总结认为，在大力控制军备问题的同时，一定要着重关注全球化的进程问题，全球化是一把悬在人类头上的达摩克利斯之剑。