It came as something of a surprise when Diana, Princess of Wales, made a trip to Angola in 1997, to support the Red Cross’s campaign for a total ban on all anti-personnel landmines. Within hours of arriving in Angola, television screens around the world were filled with images of her comforting victims injured in explosions caused by landmines. “I knew the statistics,” she said. “But putting a face to those figures brought the reality home to me: like when I met Sandra, a 13-year-old girl who had lost her leg, and people like her.”
The Princess concluded with a simple message: “We must stop landmines.” And she used every opportunity during her visit to repeat this message.
But, back in London, her views were not shared by some members of the British government, which refused to support a ban on these weapons. Angry politicians launched an attack on the Princess in the press. They described her as “very ill-informed” and a “loose cannon”(乱放炮的人).
The Princess responded by brushing aside the criticisms:“This is a distraction(干扰) we do not need. All I’m trying to do is help.”
Opposition parties, the media and the public immediately voiced their support for the Princess. To make matters worse for the government, it soon emerged that the Princess’s trip had been approved by the Foreign Office, and that she was in fact very well-informed about both the situation in Angola and the British government’s policy regarding landmines. The result was a severe embarrassment for the government.
To try and limit the damage, the Foreign Secretary, Malcolm Rifkind, claimed that the Princess’s views on landmines were not very different from government policy, and that it was “working towards” a worldwide ban .The Defense Secretary, Michael Portillo, claimed the matter was “a misinterpretation or misunderstanding.”
For the Princess, the trip to this wartorn country was an excellent opportunity to use her popularity to show the world how much destruction and suffering landmines can cause. She said that the experience had also given her the chance to get closer to people and their problems.
1.Princess Diana paid a visit to Angola in 1997.
A. to clarify the British government’s stand on landmines
B. to establish her image as a friend of landmine victims
C. to investigate the sufferings of landmine victims there
D. to voice her support for a total ban of landmines
2.What did Diana mean when she said “...putting a face to those figures brought the reality home to me” (Lines 5-6, Para. 1)?
A.Meeting the landmine victims in person made her believe the statistics.
B.She just couldn’t bear to meet the landmine victims face to face.
C.The actual situation in Angola made her feel like going back home.
D.Seeing the pain of the victims made her realize the seriousness of the situation.
3.Some members of the British government criticized Diana because.
A. she had not consulted the government before the visit
B. she was ill-informed of the government’s policy
C. they were actually opposed to banning landmines
D. they believed that she had misinterpreted the situation in Angola
4.How did Diana respond to the criticisms?
A. She made more appearances on TV.
B. She paid no attention to them.
C. She met the 13-year-old girl as planned.
D. She launched an attack on the members of the British government.
5.What did Princess Diana think of her visit to Angola?
A. It had caused embarrassment to the British government.
B. It had greatly promoted her popularity.
C. It had brought her closer to the ordinary people.
D. It had affected her relations with the British government. 参考答案
1.D 细节题
第一段第一句说威尔士王妃戴安娜去安哥拉旅行的目的是支援红十字会运动，全面禁止杀伤性地雷。这与D项声援全面禁止地雷属同义重述。其他选项与文意不符。
2.D 语义题
第一段第三句她说她知道地雷炸伤人数的统计数字，当她面对着地雷的受害者，那被地雷炸掉一条腿的13岁的小女孩，以及其他类似的受害者时，使她对这严重的现实深信不疑。
A项说相信统计数字，与原文中的现实相比，较片面。故A不是答案。B项的内容在原文不存在。C项的事实与原文不符。只有D项与文章内容一致，故D为答案。
3.C 细节推论题
文章第三段第一句说，回到伦敦，戴安娜的观点得不到政府某些官员的赞同，因为他们拒绝支持禁止这些武器，愤怒的政治家甚至在报纸上攻击她。
A项说因为出访前未与政府商量，与文章内容不符。B项说她不了解政府的方针政策，与原文也不符。C项说事实上政府官员们反对禁止地雷。与文章中他们拒绝支持禁止这些武器属同义转述。D项也与文章意思不符。故C为答案。
4.B细节题
文章第四段首句，王妃对那些批评不予理睬。B项与文章内容完全吻合，故B为答案。
5.C细节题
文章末段说，对王妃来说，安哥拉之行，是利用她的名望来展示地雷给人们造成的破坏与痛苦的一个极好的机会。她说：“这次经历，是她能够更近地接触人民和更近地了解他们的困境的机会”。
C项说这使她更加靠近普通百姓与文章末段内容相同，故C为答案，其他诸项与文不符。
全文翻译：
当威尔士王妃安娜于1997年造访安哥拉，为的是支持红十字会的运动，全面禁止杀伤性地雷，这件事情立刻引起了轰动。在到达安哥拉的数小时里，全世界的电视屏幕都满是她安抚地雷爆炸受伤者时的形象。“我知道统计数字，”她说，但亲眼看到被炸断了一条腿的13岁女孩Sandra和像她这样的受害者让我对事实有了深切的体会。
于是王妃用简单的一句话总结道：“我们必须禁止地雷”。后来她利用一切出访的机会来重申这一观点。
但是，她回到伦敦后，她的观点不能被英国政府的一些官员所接受，他们拒绝支持对这些武器的禁止。愤怒的政治家们在报纸上向王妃发起了攻击，把她描述成“见识浅薄，乱放炮的人”。
王妃对批评不予理睬：“这是我们不需要的干扰，我要努力做的就是帮助。”
反对党、媒体及公众马上声援王妃。让政府的处境更糟精的是，媒体很快批露出王妃此次出行是得到了政府外交部同意的，事实上，关于杀伤性地雷，她对政府的方针政策，对安哥拉的形势都很清楚。结果政府落得个十分尴尬的下场。
为了试图减少损失，外交大臣麦克姆宣称王妃对地雷的观点与政府的政策区别不大，政府正“致力于”在世界范围的禁止。国防大臣迈克尔•波蒂略宣称，该问题是“一个解释或理解上的失误”。
对王妃来说，去这个被战争分裂的国家旅行是利用她的影响，来向世界展示地雷给人们造成的伤害与痛苦的极好的机会。她说，这次去安哥拉的经历给了她接近人民和了解人民困境的机会。 |
