A simple flower made headlines 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(罂粟花) in their buttonholes.

What’s wrong with that?

According to the Global Times, Chinese officials apparently had asked the UK delegation 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 significance 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 Word 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.

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 and impossible to play on British DVD players.

Many countries have diplomats stationed overseas. Diplomats provide information and advice to their governments back home. However, sometimes it would seem that even diplomats can overlook the cultural significance of a small flower.

(   ) 1..  British Prime Minister David Cameron probably attended a reception in Beijing on         .

    A. October 1            B. November 11      C. December 31      D. January 1

(   ) 2..  The poppy reminds the Chinese of         .

    A. the shame caused by European countries in the 19th century

    B. the British soldiers who were killed and buried during World War I

    C. the Chinese soldiers killed during World War II

    D. the suffering caused by Britain during World War I

(   ) 3.. The diplomatic problem in Beijing is mainly caused by         .

    A. the translation mistake                      B. the language difference 

C. the cultural difference                          D. the different lifestyle

(   ) 4..  We can infer that         .

    A. Britain’s Queen is not interested in art

    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 may not like the iPod US President Barack Obama presented her

(   ) 5..  What is the main idea of the 9th paragraph?

    A. Cultural difference can also be interesting and funny.

    B. Cultural differences can cause a big problem.

    C. US President Barack Obama likes to present gifts to other leaders.

    D. US leaders and British leaders get along well with each other.

 

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BEIJlNG, March 9—The central government will require an additional three years of use for official vehicles for ministers (部长) and governors (政府官员) to reduce the costs of purchasing new cars, media have reported.

The new rule has been applied among all Party and government departments nationwide, the Beijing News reported on Tuesday. The new rule has not yet been made public, said Li, a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference National Committee. Under the old rules, the cars used by minister-level officials could be replaced as often as every five years, Li said. These officials will also continue to use the same cars when they take new posts, he added.

The new rule also reiterated (重申) that officials ranking below minister-or governor-levels should not be allocated cars. The cars possessed by their departments should be used on demand.

“It violates the rules for lower-ranking-even county-level-officials to be allocated cars,” Li said.

Purchases of vehicles for official use have been heavily investigated, as they account for a large expenditure of public funds every year.

A survey on the Web news www.ifeng.com found 64 percent of respondents believed the new rule will be difficult to obey because it is related to officials’ interests.

Local government departments had stopped approvals for requests for such vehicles and had started to limit the number of such cars under the new rules, Li said. “The future reform of official vehicle use will introduce market systems”Li said.

Premier Wen Jiabao said in the annual government work report on Saturday that expenditures on such vehicles will not increase in 2011 compared with a year ago.

Beijing’s standing deputy mayor Ji Lin last week said the municipal government will release the number of vehicles for official use in the capital as early as at the end of this month.

Earlier this month, the Ministry of Finance had published a rule regulating the budgets for such vehicles.

 

About the rules	Cars for official use should be replaced as often as    1    years. The    2    of cars to officials ranking below minister-or governor-levels should be banned.
3    of the new rule	To reduce the cost of buying new cars
Reasons for   4    the new rule	The buying of vehicles for official use    5    for large expenditure of public funds every year.
76    taken and to be taken	Local government had started to    7    the number of cars for official use. The government will    8    public the number of cars for official use. The Ministry of Finance had published a rule   9    the budgets for such vehicles
Problem	Obeying the rule is   10    with officials’ interests.

 

 

French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said on Thursday that his country hopes to deepen ties with China, which have been strained over French President Nicolas Sarkozy's meeting with the Dalai Lama.

"We need China, the world needs China to get out of the recession(衰退) " Fillon told parliament.Relations between the two countries hit a low after Sarkozy refused to call off a meeting with the Dalai Lama in December.

Beijing then pulled out of a summit（峰会） with the European Union (EU) that was supposed to have taken place on Dec 1 in France, which held the rotating EU presidency at the time.

Fillon stressed that Tibet is part of China, but insisted that the French president had every right to meet the Dalai Lama.

"For us, this incident does nothing to distract（转移） from our desire to reinforce our strategic partnership with China."

Former French prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin is scheduled to visit China next week following earlier attempts to improve relations.

China, which has said it is up to France to repair ties with Beijing, agreed with the EU last week to hold a summit soon, after the London G20 summit on April 2.

France was excluded from Premier Wen Jiabao's recent European visit.

"We all know why," Wen said when asked why he had omitted France from his journey, China News Service reported.

"I looked at a map of Europe on the plane. My trip goes around France," Wen said.

"The reason (for not visiting) doesn't lie with China", he told a group of reporters. He urged Paris to "mend and improve ties" with China.

44.Premier WenJiabao didn’t visit France because_______.

A.he promised to visit France later

B.former French prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin is scheduled to visit China soon

C.France didn’t attend the summit of the EU

D.Sarkozy met the Dalai Lama

45.According to France, ____________.

A.the president has the right to meet the Dalai Lama

B.the meeting will strengthen the strategic partnership with China

C.they don’t know why Premier WenJiabao didn’t visit France

D.China don’t care much for the ties with France

46.From paragraphs 2,3 and 4, the important conclusion is that _______.

A. Tibet is part of China

B. France and the world need China

C. Sarkozy refused to call off a meeting with the Dalai Lama in December.

D. Beijing pulled out of a summit with the Dalai Lama in December.

47.The main idea of the news is that_______.

A. It’s France’s fault to affect the relation between the two countries

B. France seeks to repair relations with China

C. Premier Wen urged Paris to “mend and improve ties” with China

D. Relations between China and France are going smoothly.

 

In his speech, Premier Wen Jiabao points out that creativity is ______it takes to keep a nation highly competitive .  

 A. how         B. what         C. which               D. that

Premier Win Jiabao continued his second trip around the quake disaster zone on May 23, 2008, visiting surviving students in Mianyang, one of the worst-hit cities.

In a tent school, where more than 500 students from the destroyed Beichuan Middle School were studying, Premier Wen encouraged them to study harder following the disaster. “let us not forget the earthquake,” he told the students. “Then you will know what life is all about—it is bumpy, as the roads are.  Today, people save us and take good care of us. In the future, we will help them in return.” He wrote on the blackboard to encourage them, “Hardships make a country stronger.”

His first trip to the area was on May 12, just hours after the powerful quake rocked Sichuan at 2:28 pm. During the next four days, Premier Wen set foot in almost all of the worst-hit counties, walking over rocks and tiles, comforting weeping children and encouraging rescuers.

The Chinese Premier says saving lives is the top priority. “We must try all means to get into those areas. The earlier, the better. One person can be saved one second earlier. As long as there is a gleam of hope, we will make efforts 100 times greater than that.’

Chinese are deeply moved by what the Premier has said and done. A mother sent a message to her son in Beijing, saying “The 66-year-old Premier Wen has worked really hard for quake relief. He has comforted and moved us. Pass this on to your friends, pray for him.”

67. What’s the main idea of the passage?

A. Hardships make a country stronger.

B. Premier Wen jiabao went on his first trip around the quake disaster zone.

C. Life is difficult.

D. The Chinese are deeply moved by Premier Wen.

68. By saying “Then you will know what life is all about—it is bumpy, as the

roads are.”, Premier Wen want to tell the students that _______________.

A. Life is filled with various difficulties , we must overcome them

B. roads of the area are rough, we should repair them

C. they should forget the earthquake and study harder

D. earthquakes are common on Sichuan, we shouldn’t be afraid

69. What did Premier Wen do when he first set foot in almost all of the worst-hit

counties EXPECT________________________________.

A. walking over rocks and tiles

B. comforting weeping children

C. encouraging rescuers

D. asking them not to forget the earthquake

70. What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A. The Chinese are grateful for what the Premier has said and done.

B. Chinese are deeply moved by what the Premier has said and done

C. What the Premier has said and done comforted the mother.

D. The mother’s message is moving.