However, the Pentagon memo released yesterday, claimed, falsely, that its prisoner policies already generally complied with the Geneva Conventions - the sole exception being the military commissions created by President Bush and struck down by the high court. That disingenuousness may have simply been an attempt to save face. If so, it was distressing but
ultimately not all that
significant. What really matters is that Congress bring the military prisons back under the rule of law, and create military tribunals for terrorism suspects that will meet the
requirements of the Constitution and the Geneva Conventions.
The other thing that really matters is that the White House actually agrees to obey the law this time. Yesterday, the Senate Judiciary Committee held the first of three hearings scheduled this week on this issue, and the early results were mixed. Most of the senators, including key Republicans, said they were committed to drafting legislation that did more than merely rubber-stamp the way Mr. Bush
decided to set up Guantánamo Bay.
The government's witnesses, including top lawyers from the Justice and Defense Departments, seemed most interested in arguing that the military commissions were legal. They argued for what would be the worst possible
outcome: that Congress just approve what Mr. Bush did and enact exceptions to the Geneva Conventions.
But Lt. Cmdr. Charles Swift of the Navy, who represented Salim Ahmed Hamdan, the prisoner whose case was before the Supreme Court, provided damning evidence about how utterly flawed those commissions were - from military prosecutors. He quoted one, Capt. John Carr of the Air Force (since promoted to major), who condemned "a halfhearted and disorganized effort by a
skeleton group of
relativelyinexperienced attorneys to
prosecute fairly the low-level accused in a process that appears to be rigged. "
The administration has professed its
allegiance to the
humane treatment of prisoners and to the rule of law before. But repairing the
constitutional balance of powers and America's
profoundly damaged global image demands more than lip service.
Questions 21-25 are based on Passage Five.
21. Which of the following adjectives can best describe the author's attitude towards the Supreme Court's act?
A. Doubtful.
B. Approving.
C. Neutral.
D. Concerned.
22. The author argues that______.
A. all the three hearings on the issue are very
fruitfulB. Geneva Conventions should be obeyed by all nations
C. Supreme Court has the lightest authority over the military
D. the Defense Department's claim is insincere and
dishonest23. The word "administration" in the last paragraph refers to______.
A. the Supreme Court
B. the Geneva Conventions
C. the Air Force
D. the White House
24. By
saying that they would draft legislation that did more than merely rubber-stamp the way Mr. Bush
decided to set up Guantánamo Bay, the senators meant that______.
A. they would not just draft law to help pave way for Bush's decision
B. they would
reject Mr. Bush's decision through legislation.
C. they would see to it that the military commissions were legal
D. they would make sure that the prisoners be treated
decently
25. Which of the following is true about the US government and the Defense Department?
A. They were quite honest with what they did.
B. They always obeyed the Geneva Conventions.
C. They ignored the Geneva Conventions for years.
D. They refused to obey the Supreme Court.
II. Vocabulary. ( 10 points, 1 point for each)
Directions: Scan the following passage and find the words which have
roughly the same meanings as those given below. The number in the
bracket after each word
definition refers to the number of paragraph in which the
target word is. Write the word you choose on the Answer Sheet.
Self
esteem, self confidence and self respect are all
related. Self
esteem is also defined as the judgments a person makes about himself and is
affected by self confidence and respect. Self confidence is believing in our ability to take action and meet our goals. Self respect is the degree to which we believe we deserve to be happy, have rewarding relationships and stand up for our rights and values. All these factors affect whether or not we will have a healthy body image.
The images of men and women in ads today do not promote self
esteem or
positive self image. They' re intended to sell products. In the U. S.
billions of dollars are spent by
consumers who pursue the perfect body. The message "thin is in" is sold thousands of times a day through TV, movies, magazines, billboards, newspapers and songs. Advertising conveys the message "You're not OK. Here's what you need to do to fix what's wrong."Girls and boys believe it and react to it. In a 1997 Body Image Survey, both girls and boys reported that "very thin or
muscular models" made them feel insecure about themselves.
The diet/fitness craze is mind boggling. It's not just dieting, it's diet foods, and diet commercials. Everybody's counting fat grams. Listen to the conversation in the lunch room, locker room or on the bus to school. The talk centers around dieting, fat thighs or tight "abs" and how many pounds can be lost with the latest diet. This kind of
intense focus on food and fat can lead to abnormal eating habits or
disordered eating - a precursor to eating
disorders, which is
taking it to the extreme.
Awareness of eating
disorders got a big boost in 1995 when Princess Diana began talking
openly about her struggles with bulimia. Actress Tracy Gold, still struggling with her eating
disorder, continues to help others by discussing her eating
disorder with the media. Recently many organizations have initiated an effort to
expand awareness of eating
disorders and promote a
positive body image and self
esteem.
26. belief in one's own abilities ( Para. 1 )
27. explained the meaning of ( Para. 1 )
28. be worthy of ( Para. 1 )
29. bring about ( Para. 2 )
30. a mental picture of somebody ( Para. 2 )
31. most excellent ( Para. 2 )
32. advertisements ( Para. 3 )
33. the
status of being far from what is usual ( Para. 3 )
34. a mental illness from eating
disorders ( Para. 4 )
35. make greater in scope ( Para. 4 )
Ⅲ. Summarization. ( 20 points, 2 points for each )
Directions: In this part of the test, there are ten paragraphs. Each of the paragraphs is followed by an
incomplete phrase or sentence which summarizes the main idea of the paragraph. Spell out the missing letters of the word on your Answer Sheet.
Paragraph One
The latest survey found that half the hospitals in England which admit children have no teachers. A further quarter has only a part-time teacher. The special children's hospitals in major cities do best; general hospitals in the country and holiday areas are worst off.
36. The survey showed that hospital teaching d ______ across the country.
Paragraph Two
The owners of the land provide the farmers with land, seed, and equipment and lend the farmers money to live on until the crops are harvested. The farmers do all the work. When the crops are harvested, a share of the crop goes to the owners, and a share goes to the farmers. These farmers are called sharecroppers.
37. Sharecroppers are farmers who do not own their own 1 ______.
Paragraph Three
People on Pacific islands once exchanged shells for goods. The Chinese used cloth and
knives. In Africa, elephant tusks or salt were used. Even today, some people in Africa are still paid in salt. Coins were first invented by the Chinese.
They were round pieces of metal with a hole in the center.
38. In the past, many different things were used as c ______.
Paragraph Four
Interview is always used to select candidates. The argument against it is that through interview, employers do not choose the best candidate, but the one who gives them a good first impression. The argument in favor of it is that an employer pays more attention to the suitability of candidates' personality for the particular work situation.
39. Arguments f ______ and against the interview as a
selectionprocedure.
Paragraph Five
There is a man like this: Never for one minute did he look at the world or at people, except in relation to himself. He was not only the most important person in the world for himself; in his own eyes he was the only person who existed.
40. He was self-c ______.
Paragraph Six
A good amount of sleep is as important to health as diet and exercise. Most people need seven to nine hours of sleep each night. Less than that can interfere with mental and physical abilities. It can lead to more serious problems, including severe sleeplessness or sleep apnea meaning
temporary stop of breathing in sleep.
4l. S ______ of a good amount of sleep.
Paragraph Seven
Some Hawaiians just want greater autonomy within the state - as enjoyed by many American Indian natives over matters such as education. More ambitious is the Ka Lahui group (one part of Hawaiian natives), which declared itself a new nation in 1987 and wants full, official independence from the US.
42. The Hawaiian natives are not u ______ in their demands.
Paragraph Eight
Psychologists agree that I.Q. contributes only about 20 percent of the factors that determine success. A full 80 percent comes from other factors, including what I call emotional intelligence. Following are two of the major qualities that make up emotional intelligence: self-awareness and mood management.
43. Emotional intelligence plays an important r ______ in achieving success.
Paragraph Nine
Richard Wagner's
liking for his friends was measured
solely by the completeness of their devotion to him, or by their
usefulness to him, whether financial or
artistic. The minute they failed him - even by so much as refusing a dinner invitation - or began to
lessen in
usefulness, he cast them off without a second thought.
44. Richard Wagner was completely s ______ in his personal relationships.
Paragraph Ten
International applications are down 23% since 2003 for the universities. This was the result of increased security in the United States after the terrorist attacks in 2001. This increased security made it more difficult for students to get permits, or visas, to enter the US. Security measures also increased the time to process these visas.
45. It becomes h _______ for foreigners to study in the US.
IV. Translation. (20 points, 4 points for each)
Directions : In the following passage, there are five groups of underlined sentences. Read the passage carefully and then
translate these sentences into Chinese. Write the Chinese
version on your Answer Sheet.
They earn and spend, buy and sell, work and play. (46) It's a mass of individuals, struggling to satisfy often-conflicting goals, who set the pace for the American system.
Whether the nation's huge business machine sputters or steams ahead depends on millions of individual
consumers, the real "bosses" of the American economy.
People's decision on where to live and work, what to buy or pass over, how much to save are at the heart of the free market system. (47) Business and government take their cues from
consumers, changing plans to meet their wants and needs.
Every day, the nation's 218 million
consumers spend more than 3
billion dollars. Their purchases account for almost two-thirds of all the money spent each year, with government and business responsible for the rest. The trouble is that while people's needs are almost endless, their incomes aren't.
Where money goes? About 70 per cent of the average household's spending goes for necessities such as housing, food, clothes and health care. (48) To be able to afford these items and still have money left for nonessentials such as travel and entertainment, most families find themselves economizing and watching their pennies. The same problem of matching
limited resources with
seemingly endless demands confronts businesses and public agencies.
That is what the economy is all about - making choices on how to use
limited resources of money, manpower, machinery and materials, whether it involves a shopper deciding what to buy in the supermarket or a manufacturer deciding what line of goods to produce.
(49) Choices made in the economy involve a continuous tug-of-war between
consumers and
producers over price.
If many businesses are
offering a product and there is plenty of it to satisfy the needs of all
consumers, a
producer will be forced to sell at a price not far above costs in order to keep from being stuck with a lot of unmarketable supplies. This is why, for example, prices for fresh fruit and vegetables drop during the summer months when such produce is in great number.
However, a low price - especially if it falls below what it costs a
seller to make the goods - will discourage production, perhaps drive the high-cost
producers out of business or force them to make something else.
Again using an example from agriculture, farmers periodically plant less wheat or raise fewer cattle if the prices for those commodities give too little return for the costs involved.
On the other hand, if there is great demand for a product and supplies are tight, business will be able to raise prices, their profits will increase and they will invest in new equipment to increase output. Other firms may be attracted by the hopes of good profits to produce the scarce item, thus adding new competition.
That, in the simplest form, is the way the law of supply and demand works in free-market economy. (50)Price becomes the guidepost, telling
producers what they can expect to sell at a price that more than covers their costs. At the same time, posted prices tell the
consumer what he can expect to pay.
关键字:
自考英语生词表: