SECTION C NEWS BROADCAST
Directions: In this section you will hear everything ONCE ONLY. Listen carefully and then answer the questions that follow. At the end of each news item, you will be given 10 seconds to answer the questions.
听力原文: A new data shows that the global AIDS epidemic will cause a sharp drop in life expectancy in dozens of countries, in some cases, declines of almost three decades. Several nations are losing a century of progress in extending the length of life. Nations in every part of the world, 51 in all, are suffering declining life expectancies because of an increasing prevalence of HIV infection. The impact is occurring in Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, but is the greatest in Sub-Sahara Africa, a region with only ten percent of the world's population, but 700% of HIV infections.
Seven African countries have life expectancies of less than 40 years. For example, in Botswana, where 39% of the adult population is infected with HIV, life expectancy is 39 years. But by 2010, it will be less than 27 years. Without AIDS, it would have been 44 years. Life expectancies throughout the Caribbean and some central American nations will drop into the 60s by 2010, when it would otherwise be in tile 70s without AIDS. In Cambodia and Burma, they are predicted to decline to around 60 years old, for what would have been in the mid-60s. Even in countries where the number of new infections is dropping, such as Thailand, Uganda and Senegal, small life expectancy drop is forecast. Back in the early 1990s, we never would have suspected that population growth would turn negative because of AIDS mortality. In less than 10 years, we expect that 5 countries will be experiencing negative population growth because of AIDS mortality, including South Africa, Mozambique, Lesotho, Botswana and Swaziland.
Which of the following regions in the world will witness the sharpest drop in life expectancy?
A. Latin America.
B. Sub-Saharan Africa.
C. Asia.
D. The Caribbean.
2 Agricultural production in most poor countries accounts for up to 50% of GDP, compared to only 3% in rich countries. But most farmers in poor countries grow just enough for themselves and their families. Those who try exporting to the West find their goods whacked with huge tariffs or competing against cheaper subsidized goods. In 1999 the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development concluded that for each dollar developing countries receive in aid they lose up to $14 just because of trade barriers imposed on the export of their manufactured goods. It's not as if the developing world wants any favours, says Gerald Ssendawula, Uganda's Minister of Finance. "What we want is for the rich countries to let us compete."
3 Agriculture is one of the few areas in which the Third World can compete. Land and labour are cheap, and as farming methods develop, new technologies should improve output. This is no pie-in-the-sky speculation. The biggest success in Kenya's economy over the past decade has been the boom in exports of cut flowers and vegetables to Europe. But that may all change in 2008. when Kenya will be slightly too rich to qualify for the "least-developed country" status that allows African producers to avoid paying stiff European import duties on selected agricultural products. With trade barriers in place, the horticulture industry in Kenya will shrivel as quickly as a discarded rose. And while agriculture exports remain the great hope for poor countries, reducing trade barriers in other sectors also works: America's African Growth and Opportunity Act, which cuts duties on exports of everything from handicrafts to shoes, has proved a boon to Africa's manufacturers. The lesson: the Third World can prosper if the rich world gives it a fair go.
4 This is what makes Bush's decision to increase farm subsidies last month all the more depressing. Poor countries have long suspected that the rich world urges trade liberalization only so it can wangle its way into new markets. Such suspicions caused the Seattle trade talks to break down three years ago. But last November members of the World Trade Organization, meeting in Doha, Qatar, finally agreed to a new round of talks designed to open up global trade in agriculture and textiles. Rich countries assured poor countries, that their concerns were finally being addressed. Bush's handout last month makes a lie of America's commitment to those talks and his personal devotion to free trade.
By comparison, farmers ______ receive more government subsidies than others.
A. in the developing world
B. in Japan
C. in Europe
D. in America
According to the third paragraph, which might be one of the consequences of working longer
A. Rise in employees' working efficiency.
B. Rise in the number of young offenders.
C. Rise in people's living standards.
D. Rise in competitiveness.
听力原文: The European Union has drafted a list of US products to be hit with import taxes in retaliation for tariffs the US has imposed on European steel. EU member governments will review the list before the EU submits it to the World Trade Organization which arbitrates international trade disputes. EU officials will not say which American products will be hit by the EU sanctions. But diplomats monitoring the most recent trans Atlantic trade dispute say they include textiles and steel products. Earlier this month, the Bush administration imposed tariffs of about 30% on some steel imports including European products. The EU has appealed to the WTO to get those duties verturned. But the WTO decision on the matter will take up to a year or more. EU officials say that under WTO rules, the EU has the right to impose retaliatory measures in June, but they say the US can avoid the EU's possible counter-measures if it pays more than 2 billion dollars in compensation to the EU for imposing the steel tariffs in the first place. The officials say Washington could also escape retaliation by lowering US import duties on other EU products. The Bush administration says it will not pay compensation.
The trade dispute between the European Union and the US was caused by ______.
A. US refusal to accept arbitration by WTO.
B. US imposing tariffs on European steel.
C. US refusal to pay compensation to EU.
D. US refusal to lower import duties on EU products.