After stepping down this summer as the head of the EPA， the embattled Christine Todd Whitman is once again in the hot seat. This time it's over her role in the downplaying of health hazards for New York City residents after 9/11. A report by the EPA inspector general says that Whitman assured the public that the air was safe before testing was conclusive. She's also under fire for allowing EPA statements to be filtered through the White House and screened by the Council on Environmental Quality， which is chaired by James Connaughton， a lawyer who formerly represented the asbestos industry.
The long-term effects of inhaling contaminated air is unknown. But New York Rep. Jerrold Nadler accuses the administration of covering up a potential health danger in order to get the economy up and running. “Many people will die early because of this，” says Nadler.
In her first interview since the release of the report， Whitman tells NEWSWEEK that she did not object when the White House edited out cautionary notes by EPA scientists. “We didn't want to scare people，” she said， explaining that spikes in asbestos readings tended to return quickly to acceptable levels. She believes that much of the data were open to interpretation， and that the public wasn't harmed by the White House's decision to adopt the more reassuring analysis. But New York Sen. Hillary Clinton is calling for an investigation， saying she knows how the White House works and that somebody surely leaned on the EPA to lie. “We were not told to lie，” says Whitman.
Firefighters and other rescue workers suffering health problems continue to blame the EPA for failing to make them aware of the risks. The EPA advised wearing protective clothing and masks， Whitman says， but many working on the site rejected the gear as too cumbersome. “We couldn't force them to do it，” says Whitman. In addition， residents returning to the area say they weren't told to have their homes professionally cleaned. “Maybe there was one press release where we didn't say that， but then we said it over and over，” says Whitman.
EPA's former ombudsman said soon after 9/11 that Whitman had a conflict of interest because of her husband's connection to Citigroup， which owns Travelers Insurance. By pronouncing lower Manhattan safe， critics say， Whitman saved the insurance giant millions in cleanup costs. Whitman was cleared of the conflict by the EPA inspector general. “There's no way in hell——excuse my language——that I would ever， ever play games with this kind of information.” 注(1)：本文选自Newsweek; 9/8/2003， p8; 注(2)：本文习题命题模仿对象2003年真题Text 4;
1. What conclusion can we make from the first paragraph?
[A]White House shouldn‘t be informed of the EPA statements.
[B]Whitman shouldn‘t have made such a hasty conclusion about the air.
[C]The public had strong objection against Whitman‘s doings after 9/11
[D]Whitman had got unfair treatment.
2. The author uses the example of firefighters and other rescue workers‘ suffering to show that ______.
[A]someone should be responsible for their health condition.
[B]they should have been warned against the possible results in advance.
[C]it was their own fault for not wearing the protective clothes and masks.
[D]their equipments are out of date and fail to function well.
3. Hillary Clinton‘s attitude toward Whitman’s remarks is one of ________.
[A]reserved consent
[B]strong disapproval
[C]slight contempt
[D]enthusiastic support
4. Facing charges against her， Whitman seemed to defend herself quite _________.
[A]extravagantly
[B]cautiously
[C]flexibly
[D]forcefully
5. The text intends to express that __________.
[A]Whitman has been proved innocent in this event.
[B]everything connected with 9/11 should be exposed
[C]Whitman has a good defense for what she has done
[D]Whitman shouldn‘t be blamed for her doings. 答案：CABDC
On this one point George W. Bush and Al Gore would agree： our schools need more Marilyn Whirrys. For 35 years， Whirry has inspired high school students to think deeply about great literature and to use its devices in their writing. She is the kind of teacher that students come back to visit decades later in her classroom in Manhattan Beach， Calif. Last May a national educators' group named her its Teacher of the Year. And with the nation's public schools planning to hire 2.5 million new teachers over the next decade， Whirry is excited that each presidential candidate is pushing ways to recruit， train and reward better teachers. “They're both talking about teacher quality，” she says. “We have a real opportunity right now.”
Bush's plan combines most existing federal funds for professional development and class-size reduction into a flexible new fund for teacher training and recruitment， and he adds $400 million a year in new money. Bush would allow states to spend the funds as they see fit——so long as they establish teacher-accountability systems. This is similar to what Ronald Reagan did in the 1980s. But then， says Emily Feistritzer， president of the Center for Education Information， “the money disappeared.” Under Bush's plan， she says， “I worry that the money won't go where it's intended to once it reaches the states.”
Bush would expand funding from $2.4 million to $30 million for the Troops to Teachers program， which places veterans who want to teach in public schools. The program makes use of people like Arthur Moore， who retired in 1994 after 21 years in the Army and knew he wanted to teach. “There are a lot of people who would make excellent teachers but are discouraged by the bureaucracy of the certification process，” says Moore， 45， who began teaching fourth grade in Baltimore and now tests students for special education. “Troops to Teachers is an excellent way to tap their potential by lowering the barriers.” Bush would also expand loan forgiveness for math and science majors who teach in needy schools.
Gore's plan， endorsed by the teachers' unions， would spend $8 billion over 10 years to help recruit 1 million new teachers， with provisions for college aid， loan forgiveness and signing bonuses. Gore would spend an additional $8 billion to provide raises of as much as $5，000 each to teachers in poor districts that have adopted aggressive plans to improve teacher quality， plus as much as $10，000 each to teachers certified by a national board. Gore would also require states to ensure that all new teachers pass rigorous assessments. Says Feistritzer： “Gore's proposal might be a little excessive in the number of teachers he wants to recruit， but his teacher testing is exactly what we need.” 注(1)：本文选自Time;11/06/2000， p88， 2/3p， 1c 注(2)：本文习题命题模仿对象2005年真题text 1第一题(1)，2001年真题text 4第2题(2)和第3题(4)，text 3第1题(5)和第2题(3)
1. In the opening paragraph， the author introduces his topic by________.
[A] quoting the Teach of the Year
[B] citing an example
[C] making an assumption
[D] posing a contrast
2. According to Emily Feistritzer， Bush‘s plan might_________.
[A] be handicapped by the states
[B] give the states too much freedom
[C] help states recruit more teachers
[D] be too flexible
3. The basic problem many veterans encounter when they seek the teaching profession is _____.
[A] their lack of training and experience
[B] their background
[C] that they do not have the making of a teacher
[D] the barriers in the certification process
4. From paragraph 4 we can infer that__________.
[A] Gore‘s plan is better than Bush’s plan
[B] poor districts will receive more funding from Gore‘s plan
[C] Gore‘s plan focuses on the number of teachers while Bush’s plan on the accountability
[D] Gore‘s plan gives qualified teacher generous paycheck
5. What is the passage mainly about?
[A] The competition between Bush and Gore.
[B] Two presidential candidates‘ plans of teacher training， recruitment and rewarding.
[C] The increasing importance of the teaching profession.
[D] The differences between Bush‘s plan and that of Gore’s. 答案：C A D D B
By modern standards， the hostile summit of Mount Llullaillaco， in the Argentine Andes， is no place fro kids. The ancient Inca saw things differently though， and so it was that one day， some 500 years ago， three children ascended the frigid and treacherous upper slopes of the 22，000-ft. peak. The three had spent time at the 17，000-ft. level， taking part in rituals that can only be guessed at. Now， accompanied by a retinue of adults， they moved steadily upward. They would not return. Once at the summit， the children-two girls and a boy， between eight and 15 years old-would be ritually sacrificed and entombed beneath 5 ft. of rocky rubble. They may even have been buried alive.
And there the story might have ended but for the tireless efforts of Johan Reinhard， an independent archaeologist funded by the National Geographic Society. Reinhard's specialty is scaling the Andes in search of sacrificial remains; he had already located 15 bodies， including the famed ice maiden he found in 1995. But these three， whose discovery he announced last week， are by far the most impressive. They were frozen solid within hours of their burial. Two of the bodies are almost perfectly preserved; the third was evidently damaged by lightening. The children's internal organs are not only intact but also still contain blood. Says Craig Morris， an expert on Andean archaeology at New York City's American Museum of Natural History： “It is truly a fantastic discovery.”
What makes it so fantastic is not just the bodies themselves， but also the wealth of artifacts that were buried along with them： 36 gold and silver statues， small woven bags， a ceramic vessel， leather sandals， a small llama figure and seashell necklaces. One of the girls， says Reinhard， “Has a beautiful yellow， geometrically designed cover laid over her.” Her head sports a plume of feathers and a golden mask.
Some of the bodies were provisioned with bundles of food wrapped in alpaca skin， which indicates that the children came from the Incan social elite-not surprising， since only people of high status would have been considered worthy of sacrifice. Little is known about the sacrificial ceremony itself; these objects， along with others found at the lower camp， should tell archaeologists plenty.
The preserved bodies， meanwhile， will give scientists an unprecedented look at Incan physiology. Reinhard and his team took care to pack the children in plastic， snow and insulating foam before hauling them down the mountain， and the Argentine military whisked them off to the nearby town of Salta. There， experts will analyze their stomachs to find out what they ate for their last meal， their organs for clues about their diet and their DNA to try and establish their relationship to other ethnic groups. Reinhard will head back into the mountains. There is no telling how many more bodies remain to be found. 注(1)：本文选自Time; 04/19/1999， p46; 注(2)：本文习题命题模仿对象为2002年真题(1、2、4题模仿Text4对应题;第3、5题模仿Text3的第3、4题);
1. From the first paragraph we learn that _____?
[A] the summit of Mount Llullaillaco was not hostile in the past
[B] ancient Incans used to hold sacrificial rituals on top of the mountain
[C] burying children alive was a common practice in ancient Incan society
[D] the three children made the mountain climbing by themselves
2. Which of the following statements is true according to the text?
[A] Johan Reinhard works with the National Geographic Society.
[B] Archaeological discoveries depend on the independent work of archaeologists.
[C] The Andes is a treasure for archaeologists in search of sacrificial remain.
[D] Andean archaeology focuses on unearthing human bodies.
3. Rehinhard's discovery shows that _____?
[A] ancient Incans were masters of body-preservation
[B] the children suffered a lot before they were buried
[C] Incan children from rich families were often made sacrifices
[D] ancient Incans had grasped a high level of craftsmanship
4. Which of the following best define the word “unprecedented”(line 1， paragraph 5)?
[A] unexampled
[B] unusual
[C] precious
[D] unpredictable
5. We can draw a conclusion from the text that _____?
[A] Johan Reinhard's discovery will shed light on the study of ancient Incans
[B] Reinhard will find a lot more bodies in the future
[C] Experts can now describe the sacrificial ceremony in detail
[D] Argentine military are also interested in archaeological activities 答案：B C D A A 2014年各月考研时事政治热点汇总 报名入口》》全国报考点汇总网上报名常见问题考研招生简章
发表于 2016-7-14 15:57:02