BEIJING - The country's top health officials state that an international charity's decisions not to give millions of dollars to Chinese organizations that fight AIDS and other diseases will not bring about the end of those organizations. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria announced on Monday that it will withhold $95 million from the $270 million in grants it had planned to give China. That decision came as the result of months of discussion between the charity and Chinese officials. On the mainland, a large number of programs meant to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS have received money from the Global Fund. Many observers now fear that the announced cut will undermine those organizations' work. Chen Zhu, the minister of health, said officials have found a way to limit the harm. "In the coming five years, the Chinese government will constantly increase its financial support of social organizations, particularly those that work to control and prevent HIV/AIDS." Chen said while addressing the 6th Experience Exchange Conference of International Cooperation Program on HIV/AIDS in China on Monday. In a recent survey of more than 200 organizations taking part in the fight against HIV/AIDS on the mainland, nearly 80 percent of them said they had received grants from the Global Fund. About 83 percent of them said they will find it difficult to continue operating without financial support from abroad, it said. Official statistics showed the Global Fund has given China $548 million in grants since 2003. Xia Jing, leader of a Beijing-based grassroots organization dedicated to controlling AIDS, said: "We were like children fostered by foreign milk. As foreign money began to be withdrawn from China, we were faced with serious financial hardships." Han Mengjie, executive director of Global Fund China Programs, said the Chinese government has fully recognized the important role social organizations play in controlling diseases. "The work done and efforts made by such organizations must be sustained for... Which sentence is the closest to the title of the passage? A) China will have to fight against AIDS alone, though facing financial hardship. B) Chinese organizations of fighting against AIDS and other diseases won't receive money from international charity. C) The fight against AIDS won't be stopped by the withdraw of money from charity in China. D) Chinese organizations of fighting against AIDS and other diseases will be reduced to despair.
C
Well, parents, surprise! Lots of us are using Twitter and Facebook to thumb rides, and not just to school. It's awkward to be refused when you call a friend and ask for a ride. But with Twitter, you just look for other people heading the same way. It may sound risky, so many teens stay within their own social circles to find rides, and don't branch out beyond friends when asking on Twitter just like me, but to some young people, especially those taking longer trips, stranger danger is less of a concern. "I think the digital connection of young people is really key, because younger generations grew up sharing things on line, sharing files, photos, music, etc, so they've been very used to sharing," said Juliet Schor, a sociology professor at Boston College. The sharing economy got big during the recession , allowing people to access more goods, services using technology and even to share costs. And that technology, for me, is what the car was for my mom, a gateway to more freedom, like what my friend Earl says, "The symbol of freedom isn't the car any more because there's technology out there connecting you to a car." According to the researchers at the University of Michigan, 30 years ago, eight in ten American 18-year-olds had a driver's license compared to six in ten today. So it's not that surprising that on my 16th birthday I wasn't rushing to get a license but an iPhone. "Driving, for young people, does mean they have to disconnect from their technology, and that's a negative. So if they could sit in the passage side and still be connected, that's going to be a plus." Schor continued. To me, another plus is that ridesharing represents something, something much bigger than trying to save money. I see it as evidence that people still depend on each other. My generation shares their cars and apartments the way neighbors used to share cups of sugar. For the system to work, some of us still need our own cars. But until I get my own version of the silver Super Beetle, you can find me on Twitter. We can learn from the text that _ . A) Twitter is a website for teens to make friends and achieve goals B) ridesharing can be seen as a sign that people still count on each other C) driving cars for teens means a plus and connecting with technology D) having a car and cost-sharing symbolize more freedom for the author's mother
B
Q: We spent a day in the country, picking wild flowers. With the car full of flowers we were going home. On our way back my wife noticed a cupboard outside a furniture shop. It was tall and narrow. "Buy it," my wife said at once. "We'll carry it home on the roof rack . I've always wanted one like that." What could I do? Ten minutes later I was PS20 poorer; and the cupboard was tied on the roof rack. It was six feet long and eighteen inches square, quite heavy too. In the gathering darkness I drove slowly. Other drivers seemed unusually polite that evening. The police even stopped traffic to let us through. Carrying furniture was a good idea. After a time my wife said, "There's a long line of cars behind. Why don't they overtake, I wonder?" In fact a police car did overtake. The two officers inside looked at us seriously as they passed. But then, with great kindness, they led us through the rush-hour traffic. The police car stopped at our village church. One of the officers came to me. "Right, sir," he said."Do you need any more help?" I was a bit puzzled. "Thanks, officer," I said. "You have been very kind. I live just on the road." He was staring at our car, first at the flowers, then at the cupboard. "Well, well," he said, laughing. "It's a cupboard you've got there! We thought it was something else." My wife began to laugh. The truth hit me like a stone between the eyes. I smiled at the officer. " Yes, it's a cupboard, but thanks again."I drove home as fast as I could. The police will be more polite to those who are _ . A) in great sadness B) driving in gathering darkness C) driving with wild flowers in the car D) carrying furniture
A: A
(Question)
I am a long distance runner. When I was thirty-one, I was in a serious car accident. The doctor told me that they would try to get me to walk "normally" but I would never run again--terrible news for someone who views running as the oxygen she breathes. The doctors were right. For the next nine and a half years, I was unable to run more than twenty-five feet. In 2006, I began self-training to take part in a 60-mile walk. Three months into preparing, I realized that walking 4-5 hours a day was too long. If only I could jog part of it--that would cost me less time. I started jogging without my knees aching. Slowly, I increased the distance. The doctor were proved wrong--it only took nine and a half years to do so. While practicing, I suffered a loss--a dear friend suddenly died. His work had been to help women to accept themselves and reach their fullest potential . He believed that people should let nothing hold them back from achieving their goals. Soon after his death, a crazy thought entered my mind: what if I could run the LA Marathon? I knew that if I didn't train to my fullest, the doctor would win. So I trained seven days a week. And I succeeded in crossing the finish line of the LA Marathons all over the United States to the _ of my doctors. They never believed that I would achieve that. The aches and pains I experience while training and racing are nothing compared to the suffering people whom I respect must accept. Why did the author decide to join in the marathon? A) Because she was so sorry for the loss of a friend. B) Because she was encouraged by her dead friend's words. C) Because she wanted to prove the doctors were wrong. D) Because she wanted to make more friends.
(Answer)
B