70Ìì¹¥¿Ë¿¼ÑÐÓ¢ÓïÔĶÁ DAY59

¡¡¡¡Passage 3

        Whoever said that victory has many fathers and defeat is an orphan, surely had never heard of the World Trade Organization (WTO). In the case of the hapless multilateral trade body and its longª²suffering representatives, the total failure of the opening meeting of the soª²called Millennium trade round has lots of people boasting of their role in the melee. Well£¬ that¬ðs just brilliant. They are proud of being part of a movement that wants to wreck the most important engine of economic growth, prosperity and overall global rising living standards we have ¡ª the freedom of trade and movement of people and goods between nations.

¡¡¡¡The 135ª²member WTO is composed of sovereign governments wishing to further this goal and ease the settlement of international trade disputes. From the sounds emanating from Seattle, though, it would now seem the WTO has now replaced the Trilateral Commission and the Freemasons as candidate NO.1 to take over the world.

¡¡¡¡Everybody has his favorite Seattle story. The city¬ðs police chief will have plenty of time to think about his, having now resigned in disgrace over the loss of control of downtown Seattle. The Seattle business community may be more inclined to brood over theirs; the poor fools invested $9 million to attract the meeting to their fine city. What stands out more? I would nominate the union of steel workers who were marching in protest. It¬ðs an image that will boggle the mind for years to come.

¡¡¡¡The debate now is over just how effective this antiª²globalist coalition will turn out to be. In the heat of the moment, it always looks as though the world as we know it is coming to an end. But the overwhelming likelihood is that we have not actually seen a replay of the antiª²Vietnam War movement, which had much clearer focus, obviously, though its consequences were farª²reaching. How long, after all, can you protest against cheap imports when those same imports are all over your house?

¡¡¡¡No, the real reason for the disaster in Seattle is political, and reports coming out of the meeting point to President Clinton as a major culprit, which may be both good and bad. Taking the long view, other trade rounds have had difficult beginnings, too. It took years to get the Uruguay Round under way, which finally happened in 1986. Thankfully, we will soon be electing another president, and it should be someone whose actions match his rhetoric.

¡¡¡¡Still, it is a disgrace that the world¬ðs greatest trading nation, i.e, the United States, is currently led by a man whose motivations are so narrowly political and egocentric that he has now wrecked any chance of entering the history books as a champion of free trade.

¡¡¡¡1. According to the passage, which of the following statement is TRUE?

¡¡¡¡A. The WTO has already replaced the Trilateral Commission and the Freemason to take over the world.

¡¡¡¡B. The opening meeting of the soª²called Millennium trade round was successful.

¡¡¡¡C. People who wanted to wreck the WTO felt very guilty about their behavior.

¡¡¡¡D. The Seattle business community invested $9 million to attract the meeting to their fine city.

¡¡¡¡2. Which of the following goals that the WTO wants to achieve are NOT mentioned in the passage?

¡¡¡¡A. It wants to promote the world economic growth and bring about prosperity.

¡¡¡¡B. It can ease the settlement of international trade dispute.

¡¡¡¡C. We will have more expensive imports from other countries.

¡¡¡¡D. We have the freedom of trade and movement of people and goods between nations.

¡¡¡¡3. What¬ðs the real reason for the disaster in Seattle?

¡¡¡¡A. The police chief in Seattle has resigned in disgrace because of his incompetence to control the chaos.

¡¡¡¡B. A lot of people are part of a movement that wants to wreck the WTO.

¡¡¡¡C. The President Clinton has his wrong political attitude.

¡¡¡¡D. The Seattle business community lost too much money on this meeting.

¡¡¡¡4. The meaning of the underlined word ¡°melee¡± is.

¡¡¡¡A. a large noisy uncontrolled crowd

¡¡¡¡B. a state of untidiness, dirtiness or lack of organization

¡¡¡¡C. happy or showing enjoyment

¡¡¡¡D. a person¬ðs appearance, esp, the typical expression on their face

¡¡¡¡5. The author has a(n)attitude towards the President Clinton¬ðs handling the WTO issue.

¡¡¡¡A. critical B. objective C. optimistic D. satisfying