China's Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei says China can best help the world economy by stabilizing its own. \economy makes up a large part of the world economy,\he said. \or not China's economy is able to maintain stability and continue growing, whether or not China's domestic economy is stable, is very important not only to China's but also to the world's economy.\
Analysts say the government spending package will to some degree help exporters, but is mainly aimed at increasing domestic consumption.
Part 2 Passage
Rise and Fall of Egypt
1. The Nile River was a kind friend but occasionally a hard taskmaster of the people who lived along its banks.
2. In due course of time, one man who grew more powerful than most of his neighbors became their King.
3. Provided he was not obliged to pay more taxes to his King than he thought just, he accepted the rule of pharaoh as accepted the rule of Mighty Osiris.
4. It was different however when a foreign invader came and robbed him of his possessions.
5. Egypt regained a semblance of independence when one of
Alexander's generals set himself up as king of a new Egyptian state.
The Nile River* was a kind friend but occasionally it was a hard taskmaster*. It taught the people who lived along its banks the noble art of \They depended upon each other to build their irrigation trenches and keep their dikes in repair. In this way they learned how to get along with their neighbors and their mutual-benefit-association quite easily developed into an organized state.
Then one man grew more powerful than most of his neighbors and he became the leader of the community and their commander-in-chief when the envious neighbors of western Asia invaded the prosperous valley. In due course of time he became their King and ruled all the land from the Mediterranean to the mountains of the west.
But these political adventures of the old pharaohs* (the word meant \toiling peasant of the grain fields. Provided he was not obliged to pay more taxes to his King than he thought lust, he accepted the rule of pharaoh as accepted the rule of Mighty Osiris *.
It was different however when a foreign invader came and robbed him of his possessions.
After twenty centuries of independent life, a savage Arab tribe of
shepherds, called the Hyksos*, attacked Egypt and for five hundred years they were the masters of the valley of the Nile. They were highly unpopular and great hate was also felt for the Hebrews who came to the land of Goshen* to find a shelter after their long wandering through the desert and who helped the foreign usurper* by acting as his tax-gatherers and his civil servants.
But shortly after the year 1700 B.C., the people of Thebes* began a revolution and after a long struggle the Hyksos were driven out of the country and Egypt was free once more.
A thousand years later, when Assyria* conquered all of western Asia, Egypt became part of the empire of Sardanapalus*. In the seventh century B.C., it became once more an independent state
Exercise A Pre-listening Question
,It is the Great Pyramid of Giza probably. The great pyramid is believed to have been built over a 20-year period. The site was first prepared, and blocks of stone were transported and placed. An outer casing (which disappeared over the years) was then used to smooth the surface. Although it is not known how the blocks were put in place, several theories have been proposed. One theory involves the construction of a straight or spiral ramp that was raised as the
construction proceeded. This ramp, coated with mud and water, eased the displacement of the blocks which were pushed (or pulled) into place. A second theory suggests that the blocks were placed using long levers with a short angled foot.
1.Exercise B Sentence Dictation
Directions: Listen to some sentences and write them down. You will hear each sentence three times.
Exercise B Sentence Dictation Exercise C Detailed listening Directions: Listen to the passage and choose the best answer to complete each of the following sentences.
1. C 2.B 3.B 4.A 5.A 6.B 7.D 8.C
Exercise D After-listening Discussion Directions: Listen to the passage again and discuss the following questions.
1.The last Egyptian queen, Cleopatra, tried her best to save the country when the Romans came in the year 39 B. C. Her beauty and charm were more dangerous to the Roman generals than half a dozen Egyptian army corps. She was successful twice in her attacks upon the hearts of her Roman conquerors. In the year 30 B.c., Augustus landed in Alexandria and destroyed her armies. She killed herself by taking poison. 2(Open)