III 阅读（共两节，满分40分）
第一节阅读理解（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分） 阅读下面短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡卷上将该项涂黑。
Your Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I take great pleasure in formally welcoming you and Madam Liu to Buckingham Palace on the occasion of your State Visit to the United Kingdom. You are certainly no stranger to the United Kingdom. This will be your second visit this year, and I also met Your Excellency when you visited as Vice-President in 2001.
It is now almost twenty years since I visited China. Since then China’s development has caught the world’s attention and admiration. It matters to all of us what kind of country China’s people will build, what role they will play in the world of the twenty-first century, and how this will be sensed by others.
China’s growth brings with it difficult challenges for you and your government, but also great opportunities. During her visit in September, the Princess Royal saw both the flagship cities of Beijing and Shanghai and the efforts of government and non-governmental organizations to reduce poverty in rural areas of Anhui and Gansu. I am delighted that China was able to join discussions earlier this year on poverty relief in Africa, sharing with the global community your own remarkable experience in this area.
In those twenty years, the world has changed too. When I visited China in 1986, we had no inkling that the Cold War was so close to its end and we knew little then of the significance of global warming. Now we are able to work together and in the international community to solve problems of environmental protection and sustainable (可持续的) development ...
May I now ask all our guests to raise their glasses and drink a toast:
To His Excellency the President of the People’s Republic of China and Madam Liu and the Chinese people.
1. The speech was most probably given in _________.
A. 1986 B. 1995 C. 2001 D. 2005
2. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?
A. The hostess cares much about China’s development.
B. China is faced with both difficult challenges and opportunities.
C. China attended the discussion earlier that year whose topic was how to relieve poverty in rural areas of Anhui and Gansu.
D. China used his own successful experiences to help African people to reduce poverty.
3. The underlined word “inkling” means ____________.
A. slight knowledge B. suggestion C. impression D. doubt
4. The paragraphs which are left out probably talk about ___________.
A. the history of the two countries
B. things they disagree with each other
C. what the partnership between the countries is like today
D. development of the two countries
5. Which of the following best summarizes the tone of the speech?
A. Formal. B. Excited. C. Casual. D. Personal.
