A
Earth’s Next Superpower
The following countries have been sitting on hidden talents. And now they’re about to fly.
NIGERIA(尼日利亚)
Nigeria says it pumps out as much oil as the other two oilproducing countries, Kuwait and Iraq. All this oil is cycling cash into the Nigerian economy and creating extremely rich businessmen. Analysts say that if Nigeria can improve its schools and technology, it could balloon into the world’s 13th largest economy by 2050, right between Turkey and Italy. If that reason is not enough for optimism, Nigeria’s president also has the sunniest name of any world leader: Goodluck Jonathan.
VIETNAM(越南)
As agriculture has given way to industry, unemployment in Vietnam has dropped.
What’s Vietnam’s trick? It’s ready to work. Other countries’ laborers aren’t as cheap as they used to be, which makes Vietnam a relative bargain for companies that need new factories abroad. However, the country has almost no railroads, its highways are in poor condition, and its largest city has just one airport, which was built before the Vietnam War. So what’s the use of producing exportready goods if there’s no convenient way to ship them? The good thing is, however, officials are widening highways, building a new airport and so on.
CHILE(智利)
Pipes, computers, motors, and your microwave all have one thing in common: They’re made with copper(铜). Copper makes the world go round.And lucky for Chile, it’s got about a third of the planet’s copper supply. It just needs a way to dig it up and the government is pouring money into the country’s mines.
【解题导语】 本文是一篇应用文。文章介绍了三个极有希望成为下一个经济强国的国家。
21.Which country will Nigeria be expected to follow in respect of economy by 2050?
A．Kuwait. B．Iraq.
C．Turkey. D．Italy.
C 解析：细节理解题。根据NIGERIA(尼日利亚)部分中的it could balloon into the world’s 13th largest economy by 2050, right between Turkey and Italy, 可知答案为C。
22.What’s the problem Vietnam is facing?
A．It doesn’t have money to build new factories.
B．Its people don’t have enough food to eat.
C．It is suffering from the Vietnam War.
D．Its transport system is very poor.
D 解析：细节理解题。根据VIETNAM(越南)部分中的the country has almost no railroads, its highways are in poor condition, and its largest city has just one airport, which was built before the Vietnam War.So what’s the use of producing exportready goods if there’s no convenient way to ship them可以看出， 越南的交通系统非常落后。
23.What will Chile depend on to get developed?
A．High tech.
B．Natural resources.
C．Investments from other countries.
D．The government’s good administration.
B 解析：推理判断题。根据CHILE(智利)部分中的Copper makes the world go round.And lucky for Chile, it’s got about a third of the planet’s copper supply.可知， 铜在当今社会非常重要， 而智利的铜矿资源约占世界铜矿资源的三分之一。由此可推测， 智利的经济发展需要依靠自然资源。
