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  3. (1)Was the summit a success? It depends on the standards you use to measure

(1)Was the summit a success? It depends on the standards you use to measure

游客2023-11-25  41
问题     (1)Was the summit a success? It depends on the standards you use to measure it. Certainly by the standards of previous G8 summits this one has achieved a great deal, despite the disruption caused by the bombings in London, writes BBC economics reporter Steve Schifferes in an analysis piece. It is unprecedented to reach substantive deals—such as the $50bn(￡28.8bn)Africa aid boost and debt-cancella-tion deal—at such meetings.
    (2)The G8 summit also agreed to renew efforts to forge a trade deal, pledged $3bn for the Palestinian authority, and said it would increase access to Aids treatment, Schifferes notes.
    (3)The summit broke new ground by bringing poverty campaigners and leaders from developing countries face to face with the world’s eight most powerful leaders. In the words of Tony Blair: "It isn’t the end of poverty in Africa, but it is the hope that it can be ended." Of course, the various deals fall far short of what many campaigners wanted. But they have set an important precedent which could lead to further developments over the course of the year, when other key negotiating meetings are taking place.     (4)Schifferes also points out that of course the G8 summit did not solve all the world’s problems. But there are, he writes, three key meetings later this year where campaigners and others will be able to test the G8’s real resolve. In September, the UN meets in a special session in New York to consider reform and progress towards reaching the millennium development goals. Will the major powers pledge the same increase in aid($25bn)for non-African countries that is required to lift their poor out of poverty by 2015?
    (5)In December, the trade issues will be confronted head-on, as the world trade talks resume in Hong Kong in a last-ditch effort to reach a deal after four years of wrangling. Will rich nations be prepared to eliminate their agricultural subsidies in order to open their markets to the poor countries? And how much will they try to force the poor countries to open their markets first?
    (6)Also in December, the contracting parties to the UN framework convention on climate change will meet in Montreal to discuss what should happen when the Kyoto protocol runs out in 2012. Will they be able to agree a new regime to regulate global emissions that will include both developing countries and the US?
    (7)None of these issues is easy to resolve. But the political will shown at the G8 does at least give some of these negotiations a fighting chance, Schifferes concludes.
    (8)Also on the summit, an editorial in the Business Times Singapore notes that last week’s G8 summit, unlike most past meetings of this wealthy nations grouping, achieved some small measure of progress. In a departure from the past, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the host, got the leaders to personally sign the final communique last week which covered some of the broadest issues such as aid to Africa, climate change and world trade.
    (9)It adds that while aid to Africa is important, the G8 leaders would have done more if they had resolved to tackle the issue of subsidies to their own farmers which places poor countries at a disadvantage.
    The World Bank reckons that a bold tariff reduction could inject funds 10 times the aid flows into the African continent. But when it came to setting time-tables for farm subsidy cuts in their own countries, the leaders’ commitment wore thin. They merely spoke about the need to stop government support for agricultural exports. The tariff issue will come up at the Hong Kong meeting of the World Trade Organization in December and the world will see how far the same leaders will go on that issue, points the editorial.
    (10)On the issue of climate change, the failure was more glaring. The rest of the leaders drew a blank with President Bush, even though seven out of the eight nations have ratified the Kyoto protocol. Though Mr. Blair wanted G8 countries to take the lead on reducing carbon dioxide emissions, the communique avoided setting targets or time tables as set out in the 1997 protocol. For what it’s worth, the US which has consistently challenged the science behind climate change was finally forced to admit that global warming is caused by human activity.
    (11)The editorial concludes that it is increasingly clear mat summits have to go beyond mere statements of intent and rich countries must avoid backsliding on their commitments. Last Thursday’s terrorist attacks in London, which cast a shadow on discussions at Gleneagles, underscore the need for bold action for the development of strong and stable economies in the rest of the world. [br] From the description in the passage, we learn that_____.
选项 A、this G8 meeting enabled advanced countries to cut their agricultural subsidies
B、this G8 summit is only a statement of zeal to meet all the powerful leaders
C、this G8 summit is of great success to some extent in spite of little achievement
D、G8 countries all played a leading role in reducing carbon dioxide emissions
答案 C
解析 文章开头三段充分肯定了这次峰会的成功。但从第4段开始，文章指出峰会不可能解决所有问题、问题也很难解决、领导人在具体目标和时间制定上的犹豫不决等等，可见，这次峰会虽然成功，实效不大。所以选项C是正确答案。
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