题文
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.
( ) 小题1:. British Prime Minister David Cameron probably attended a reception in Beijing on .A．October 1B．November 11C．December 31D．January 1( ) 小题2:. The poppy reminds the Chinese of .A．the shame caused by European countries in the 19th centuryB．the British soldiers who were killed and buried during World War IC．the Chinese soldiers killed during World War IID．the suffering caused by Britain during World War I( ) 小题3:. The diplomatic problem in Beijing is mainly caused by .A．the translation mistakeB．the language differenceC．the cultural differenceD．the different lifestyle( ) 小题4:. We can infer that .A．Britain’s Queen is not interested in artB．Gordon Brown was fond of American movies US President Barack Obama sent himC．US President Barack Obama received a gift for musicD．Britain’s Queen may not like the iPod US President Barack Obama presented her( ) 小题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. 题型：未知 难度：其他题型
答案
小题1:.B
小题1:.A
小题1:.C
小题1:.D
小题1:.A
解析
小题1:根据They insisted on wearing poppies(罂粟花) in their buttonholes.及下文Since then, Poppy Day (November 11) has become a time in the UK to wear poppies可知日期是November 11，选B。
小题1:根据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 可知中国人认为是件丢脸的事情，故选A。
小题1:根据So what’s the significance of the poppy? It’s a flower which has different cultural and symbolic meanings for British and Chinese people.描述可知主要是中英文化的不同。故选C。
小题1:根据a dull person with no interest in music 可知英国女王可能不喜欢奥巴马的礼物。故选D。
小题1:根据Of course cultural differences can also be interesting and funny. 及下文描述可知选A。
考点
据考高分专家说，试题“A simple flower made.....”主要考查你对 [政治经济类阅读 ]考点的理解。政治经济类阅读
政治经济类文章的概念：
要做好这类阅读，平时就要注意了解国内外发生的政治经济大事，掌握一定背景知识，对这类文章的叙述特点及内容安排有一定了解，还要扩展这方面的词汇。阅读这类文章，要抓住文章的核心，即文章整体和各段主要在说什么，也要注意段落之间的逻辑关系。
如何备考政治经济类阅读理解题：
【题型说明】政治经济类阅读文章是高考常选材料之一。该类文章时代气息浓郁，语言鲜活，但熟字新义词、超纲词及专业词语多，长句、难句多。政治类文章大多数是同学们感性趣的内容，读起来倒有似曾相识的感觉，经济类文章读起来就像是雾里看花，文章看完，一头雾水。再加之这类文章的命题侧重于词义猜测、推理判断和文章主旨，同学们对这类题材是望而生畏。
【备考策略】建立心理优势。针对不同体裁的文章，我们要采取相应的阅读方法和技巧。政治类文章多采用记叙文形式，我们可采取“顺读法”，以便抓关键语句，领会文章主旨；而经济类文章则多采用说明文形式，我们则可以采取“逆读法”，先读试题，再从文章中查找有用信息。若遇到的确难读的材料。千万不用着急，因为你觉得难，其他人也一定是同感。在高考前，我们就要有这种心理准备，高考试卷肯定有一、两篇难以阅读的材料。不过，我们平时可以有意识地从报刊杂志上找一些较难的阅读材料来阅读，以培养自己迎难而上的心理素质。
【答题方法】
1、寻找主干：
根据英语中五种基本句型结构，把句子中的主语、谓语、宾语、表语等主要成分找出来，其他成分如定语、状语、补语等则易于理解。找到了句子主干，句子的意思至少明白了一半。
2、剔除从句：
在一个长句中可能会出现若干个从句，在理解时，如果把各个从句剔除出来单独理解，然后把大意拼凑起来，整个长句的意思就会明白六、七分。
3、辨别分句：
一个长句如果是由几个并列、转折、递进、对比关系的分句组成，句中往往有表示这些分句关系的连接词，只要能弄清楚分句和分句之间的逻辑关系，再把各层分句的意思加以连贯，整个长句的句意基本上能跃然脑中。
4、寻找关键词：
如果一个句子看完，一点句意的感觉也没有，下下策就是抓住句中的关键词，通过关键词大体弄懂这个长句的意思。
