Question

It came as something of a surprise when Diana, Princess of Wales, made a trip t Angola in 1997, to support the Red Cross’s campaign for a total ban on all anti-personnel landmine landmines(地雷)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(显现出来)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 Rifkidnd, 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 war-torn 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 an their problems.

Princess Diana paid a visit to Angola in 1997

A. to clarify(澄清)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

What did Diana mean when she said “…putting a face to those figures brought the reality home to me”(Line 5, 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 like going back home.

D. Seeing the pain of the victims made her realize the seriousness of the situation.

Some members of the British government criticized Diana because

A. They were actually opposed to banning landmines.

B. She was ill-informed of the government’s policy.

C. She had not consulted the government before the visit.

D. They believed that she had misinterpreted the situation in Angola.

How did Diana respond to the criticisms?

A. She made more appearances on TV.

B. She paid no attention to them.

C. She rose to argue with her opponents.

D. She met the 13-year-old girl as planned.

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.

Answer 1

【小题1】D

【小题2】D

【小题3】A

【小题4】B

【小题5】C

解析:

【小题1】细节理解题。题目问的是，戴安娜王妃1997年出访安哥拉为的是什么。结合上下文，根据“It came as something of a surprise when Diana, Princess of Wales, made a trip co Angola in 1997, to support the Red Cross’s campaign for a total ban on all anti-personnel landmines”,可得出答案A。

【小题2】语意理解题。结合上下文，根据“‘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.’”特别是提到“statistics”之后“But”的转折以及“like”的运用，都表达出D项的意思。所以答案为D。

【小题3】语义推理题。本题的所有选项在短文中都没有出现，只能采取排除法，结合上下文，根据“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)’。”，意识到批评的目的无非是为自己辩护，就可以得出答案B。

【小题4】词义理解题。文中有一个直接相关的句子“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’.”,但对短语动词“brush aside(置之不理)”的理解非常关键。得出答案为A。

【小题5】细节理解题。本文谈到有关戴安娜王妃看待自己安哥拉之行的共有两处，段首最后一句和段末最后一句；结合起来看，对照选项，显然答案为B。