It is the world’s fourth-most-important food crop, after maize, wheat and rice. It provides more calories, more quickly, using less land and in a wider range of climates than any Other plant. It is, of Course, the potato.
The United Nations has declared 2008 the International Year of the Potato. It hopes that greater awareness of the merits of potatoes will contribute to the achievement of its Millennium Development Goals, by helping to alleviate poverty, improve food security and promote economic development. It is always the international year of this or month of that. But the potato’s unusual history means it is well worth celebrating by readers of The Economist because the potato is intertwined with economic development, trade liberalisation and globalisation.
Unlikely though it seems, the potato promoted economic development by underpinning the industrial revolution in England in the 19th century. It provided a cheap source of calories and was easy to cultivate, so it liberated workers from the land. Potatoes became popular in the north of England, as people there specialised in livestock farming and domestic industry, while farmers in the south (where the soil was more suitable ) concentrated on wheat production. By a happy accident, this concentrated industrial activity in the regions where coal was readily available, and a potato-driven population boom provided ample workers for the new factories. Friedrich Engels even declared that the potato was the equal of iron for its "historically revolutionary role".
The potato promoted free trade by contributing to the abolition of Britain’s Corn Laws-the cause which prompted the founding of The Economist in 1843. The Corn Laws restricted imports of grain into the United Kingdom in order to protect domestic wheat producers. Landowners supported the laws, since cheap imported grain would reduce their income, but industrialists opposed them because imports would drive down the cost of food, allowing people to spend more on manufactured goods. Ultimately it was not the eloquence of the arguments against the Corn Laws that led to their abolition-and more’s the pity. It was the tragedy of the Irish potato famine of 1845, in which 1million Irish perished when the potato crop on which they subsisted succumbed to blight. The need to import grain to relieve the situation in Ireland forced the government, which was dominated by landowners who backed the Corn Laws, to reverse its position.
This paved the way for liberalisation in other areas, and free trade became British policy. As the Duke of Wellington complained at the time, "rotten potatoes have done it all. "
In the form of French fries, served alongside burgers and Coca-Cola, potatoes are now an icon of globalisation. This is quite a turnaround given the scepticism which first greeted them on their arrival in the Old World in the 16th century. Spuds were variously thought to cause leprosy, to be fit only for animals, to be associated with the devil or to be poisonous. They took hold in 18th century Europe only when war and famine meant there was nothing else to eat; people then realised just how versatile and reliable they were. As Adam Smith, one of the potato’s many admirers, observed at the time, "The very general use which is made of potatoes in these kingdoms as food for man is a convincing proof that the prejudices of a nation, with regard to diet, however deeply rooted, are by no means unconquerable. " Mashed, fried, boiled and roast, a humble tuber changed the world, and free-trading globalisers everywhere should celebrate it.
What is the ultimate purpose of establishing 2008 the International Year of the Potato

A:Promote the sales volume of potatoes all over the globe. B:Help the farmers that grow potatoes but are still in poverty. C:Promote a greater awareness of the merits of potatoes among the public. D:Alleviate poverty, improve food security and promote economic development.

Text 4
Adam Smith, the Scottish professor of moral philosophy, was thrilled by his recognition of order in the economic system. His book, the Wealth of Nations (1776), is the germinal book in the field of economics which earned him the title "the father of economics".
In Smith’s view, a nation’s wealth was dependent upon production, not agriculture alone. How much it produced, he believed, depended upon how well it combined labor and the other factors of production. The more efficient the combination, the greater the output, and the greater the nation’s wealth.
The essence of Smith’s economic philosophy was his belief that an economy would work best if left to function on its own without government regulation. In those circumstances, self-interest would lead business firms to produce only those products that consumers wanted, and to produce them at the lowest possible cost. They would do this, not as a means of benefiting society, but in an effort to outperform their competitors and gain the greatest profit. But all this self-interest would benefit society as a whole by providing it with more and better goods and service, at the lowest prices.
Smith said in his book: "Every individual endeavors to employ his capital so that its produce may be of greatest value. He generally doesn’t intend to promote the public interest. He intends only his own security, only his gain. And he is in this led by an invisible hand to promote that which was no part of his intention."
The "invisible hand" was Smiths’ name for the economic forces that we today would call supply and demand. Smith agreed with the physiocrats and their policy of "laissez faire", letting individuals and businesses function without interference from government regulation. In that way the "in-visible hand" would be free to guide the economy and maximize production.
Smith was very critical of monopolies which restricted the competition that he saw as vital for economic prosperity. He recognized that the virtues of the market mechanism are fully realized only when the checks and balances of perfect competition are present. Perfect competition refers to a market in which no firm or consumer is large enough to affect the market price. The invisible hand theory is about economies in which all the markets are perfectly competitive. In such circumstances, markets will produce an efficient allocation of resources, so that an economy is on its production-possibility frontier. When all industries are subject to the checks and balances of perfect competition, markets can produce an efficient bundle of products with the most efficient techniques and using the minimum amount of inputs. But when monopolies become pervasive, the remarkable efficiency properties of the invisible economic philosophy disappear.

What is the core of Adam Smith’s economic philosophy（）

A:Self-interest is the life-line of economic activities. B:Government shouldn't intervene in the economy. C:Competition will benefit the society for consumers’ needs are tended. D:Economic forces should be intended to promote public interest.

In one very long sentence, the introduction to the U. N. Charter expresses the ideals and the common aims of all the people whose governments joined together to form the U. N.
"We, the people of the U. N. , determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war which twice in our lifetime has brought untold suffering to mankind, and to reaffirm faith in fundamental rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations, large and small, and to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained, and to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom, and for these ends, to practise tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbours, and to unite our strength to maintain international peace and security, and to ensure, by the acceptance of principles and the institution of methods, that armed force shall not be used, save in the common interest, and to employ international machinery for the promotion of economic and social advancement of all peoples, have resolved to combine our efforts to accomplish these aims."
The name "United Nations" is accredited to U. S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and the first group of representatives of member States met and signed a declaration of common intent on New Year’s Day in 1942. Representatives of five powers worked together to draw up proposals, completed at Dumbarton Oaks in 1944. These proposals, modified after deliberation at the conference on International Organization in San Francisco which began in April 1945, were finally agreed on and signed as the U.N. Charter by 50 countries on 26 June 1945. Poland, not represented at the conference, signed the Charter later and was added to the list of original members. It was not until that autumn, however, after the Charter had been ratified by China, France, the U. S. S. R. U. , the U.K. and the U. S. and by a majority of the other participants that the U. N. officially came into existence. The date was 24 October, now universally celebrated as United Nations Day.
The essential functions of the U. N. are to maintain international peace and security, to develop friendly relations among nations, to cooperate internationally in solving international economic, social, cultural and human problems, promoting respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms and to be a centre for co-ordinating the actions of nations on attaining these common ends.
No country takes precedence over another in the U. N. Each member’s rights and obligations are the same. All must contribute to the peaceful settlement of international dispute, and members have pledged to refrain from the threat or use of force against other states.
Under its Charter, the first stated aim of the U.N. was

A:to promote social progress B:to prevent a third world war C:to revise international laws D:to maintain international peace

Part A
Directions:
Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D．
Text 1

What is the ultimate purpose of establishing 2008 the International Year of the Potato

A:Promote the sales volume of potatoes all over the globe. B:Help the farmers that grow potatoes but are still in poverty. C:Promote a greater awareness of the merits of potatoes among the public. D:Alleviate poverty, improve food security and promote economic development.

In one very long sentence, the introduction to the U. N. Charter expresses the ideals and the common aims of all the people whose governments joined together to form the U. N.
"We, the people of the U. N. , determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war which twice in our lifetime has brought untold suffering to mankind, and to reaffirm faith in fundamental rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations, large and small, and to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained, and to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom, and for these ends, to practise tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbours, and to unite our strength to maintain international peace and security, and to ensure, by the acceptance of principles and the institution of methods, that armed force shall not be used, save in the common interest, and to employ international machinery for the promotion of economic and social advancement of all peoples, have resolved to combine our efforts to accomplish these aims."
The name "United Nations" is accredited to U. S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and the first group of representatives of member States met and signed a declaration of common intent on New Year’s Day in 1942. Representatives of five powers worked together to draw up proposals, completed at Dumbarton Oaks in 1944. These proposals, modified after deliberation at the conference on International Organization in San Francisco which began in April 1945, were finally agreed on and signed as the U.N. Charter by 50 countries on 26 June 1945. Poland, not represented at the conference, signed the Charter later and was added to the list of original members. It was not until that autumn, however, after the Charter had been ratified by China, France, the U. S. S. R. U. , the U.K. and the U. S. and by a majority of the other participants that the U. N. officially came into existence. The date was 24 October, now universally celebrated as United Nations Day.
The essential functions of the U. N. are to maintain international peace and security, to develop friendly relations among nations, to cooperate internationally in solving international economic, social, cultural and human problems, promoting respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms and to be a centre for co-ordinating the actions of nations on attaining these common ends.
No country takes precedence over another in the U. N. Each member’s rights and obligations are the same. All must contribute to the peaceful settlement of international dispute, and members have pledged to refrain from the threat or use of force against other states.

Under its Charter, the first stated aim of the U.N. was（）

A:to promote social progress B:to prevent a third world war C:to revise international laws D:to maintain international peace

Lawyers are regarded as Darth Vaders of the New Age in America. America has become overpopulated with lawyers—the legal profession has transformed the American system into a government of the lawyers, by the lawyers and for the lawyers. This has led to an explosion of litigation(诉讼), which has burdened the paying public with billions in legal bills. These are paid by all the people in the form of higher costs, higher prices and lower productivity.
As a group, lawyers are one of the most reactionary forces in American society. In an age when we need cooperation and self-responsibility, they promote conflict and blame. Where we need unity, they promote division. Where we need honest communications, they practice the art of distortion in an effort to win legal games.
A recent study reported in the San Francisco Chronicle found lawyers bad for the economy. They are obviously bad for the total society; they have been called America’s own home grown terrorists due to their explosive, random, and negative impact on the nation. It has been suggested that nothing would benefit the society more than a five year moratorium(延期偿付) on all civil litigation and locking down the law schools until the next century. Of course, this will never happen. Lawyers are powerful figures in the Receding Age and they will not readily surrender their privileged positions.
Given the negative impact of lawyers on society in general, it is not surprising that they have had a very negative impact upon the employee-employer relationship as well. The number of so-called "wrongful discharge" cases has increased dramatically as lawyers have found a new area to exploit. Some employees now spend more time documenting their cases against their employers for future litigation than they do performing their duties.

Why do we say that lawyers are one of the most reactionary forces in American society（）

A:They practice the art of distortion in an effort to win legal games where we need honest communications. B:They promote conflict and blame when we need cooperation and self-responsibility. C:They promote division where we need unity. D:All of the abov

Today vegetarianism is trendy -25 percent of adolescents even think it’s "cool". The success of vegetarian cosmetics and vegetarian foods like veggie dogs and turkey is a testament to the diet’s popularity. Groups that promote vegetarianism and animal rights, like the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), have tremendous lobbying (游说) power with major companies. But vegetarianism hasn’t always been so generally accepted, nor has it always been linked with the animal - rights movement.
In 17th - and 18th - century Europe, some Protestant groups embraced vegetarianism as a moral directive - a way to be sinless. By the 19th century, European and North American vegetarianism had become a fringe (外围的) health movement. Adherents promoted the dietary benefits of vegetarianism -even coupling it with temperance (戒酒) and anti - tobacco movements. Modem, organized vegetarianism began with the formation of the Vegetarian Society in 1847 by the Bible Christian Sect of England. Within a year, the Society had 478 members.
It wasn’t until the mid 20th century that vegetarianism partnered with animal rights movement. America’s most notorious animal rights organization, PETA, vigorously protests against all meat, animal products and animal testing. It is best known for its bold ad campaigns. The HSUS takes a less strict approach. It accepts that people will eat meat and focus instead on reducing meat consumption, replacing animal products and improving farming techniques. Both PETA and the HSUS, however, are powerful political machines: They hold stock in companies like Tyson, Wal - Mart, McDonald’s and Smithfield’s. The modem vegetarian movement is getting ever more powerful.
Which of the following best describes the groups that promote vegetarianism according to the author

A:They really care for animal rights as well as human rights. B:They are just powerful political machines. C:They make use of major companies to promote vegetarianism. D:The don’ t have much power over people or companies.

第二篇 New U．S．Plan for Disease Prevention Urging Americans to take responsibility for their health，Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson on Tuesday launched a$1 5 million program to try to encourage communities to do more to prevent chronic diseases like heart disease，cancer and diabetes (糖尿病)。 The initiative highlights the COSTS of chronic diseases—the leading causes of death in the United States--and outlines ways that people can prevent them，including better diet and increased exercise． “In the United States today,7 of 1 0 deaths and the vast majority of serious illness，disability and health care costs are caused by chronic diseases，”the Health and Human Services department said in a statement． The causes are often behavioral--smoking，poor eating habits and a lack of exercise． “I am convinced that preventing disease by promoting better health is a smart policy choice for our future．”Thompson told a conference held to launch the initiative． ‘‘Our current health care system is not structured to deal with the rising costs of treating diseases that are largely preventable through changes in our lifestyle choices．” Thompson said heart disease and strokes will cost the country more than$35 1 billion in2003． “These leading causes of death for men and women are largely preventable，yet we as a nation are not taking the steps necessary for US to lead healthier, longer lives，”he said． The$1 5 million is designed to go to communities to promote prevention，pushing for changes as simple as building sidewalks to encourage people to walk more． Daily exercise such as walking can prevent and even reverse heart disease and diabetes，and prevent cancer and strokes． The money will also go to community organizations，clinics and nutritionists who are being encouraged to work together to educate people at risk of diabetes about what they card do to prevent it and encourage more cancer screening． The American Cancer Society estimates that half of all cancers Can be caught by screening，including Pap tests(巴氏试验)for cervical(子宫颈的)cancer mammograms(乳房X线照片)for breast cancer, colonoscopies (结肠镜检查)，and prostate(前列腺的)checks． If such cancers were all caught by early screening，the group estimates that the survival rate for cancer would rise to 95 percent． The purpose of the,S15 million program is to

A:promote disease prevention． B:build more highways． C:help poor communities． D:wipe out chronic diseases．