Q: Time:2017-01-24 From:kekenet.com Editor: clover

The head of China's largest online seller Alibaba does not think China and the United States will have a trade war despite comments from the Trump administration.

Jack Ma is the chairman of the Alibaba Group. At the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, he said, "China and (the) U.S. will never have a trade war. Give Trump some time. He's open-minded, he's listening."

_ said he would do all he could to prevent trade relations between the countries from getting worse.

Last week, Ma met with Trump at the Trump Tower in New York City. The Chinese billionaire is said to have discussed a plan to permit one million small U.S. businesses to sell goods on Alibaba's online shopping platform.

During the campaign and after winning the presidential election, Trump strongly criticized the Chinese government's support for its businesses. He blamed unfair trade policies for taking away U.S. jobs. And he said that China unfairly controls the exchange value of its currency, the yuan.

Trump also has threatened to place import taxes on goods from China and other countries in response to their trade policies.

According to theSouth China Morning Post, Ma said, "American international companies made millions and millions of dollars from globalization." He added that the U.S. should not blame the loss of jobs and companies on globalization.

However, a new study by an American business group says many U.S. businesses feel unwelcome in China. The companies say the cost of doing business in China is increasing. They add that rules and regulations are unclear or not enforced in a consistent way.

The American Chamber of Commerce in China led the study, which looked at responses from 462 companies.

William Zarit is chairman of the chamber. He says trade policies in China make it difficult for American companies. He says, "we feel that over the last few years that we've been taken advantage of to some extent, with our open market and the lack of open areas in the Chinese market."

Another major concern for U.S. companies in China is fake products. Fake products are copies of the originals that cost businesses with the legal right to sell them millions of dollars each year.

Ma defended Alibaba's efforts to fight fake products on its shopping platform. He said his company is doing all it can to fight the problem.

"Fighting against fake products is a war against human greediness," Ma said.

I'm Mario Ritter.

1. open-minded
2. Alibaba Group
3. largest online seller
4. World Economic Forum
5. Davos
6. Davos
7. Switzerland
8. unfair trade policies
9. yes
10. yes
11. yes

Numbered questions:
1. How does Jack Ma describe Trump?
2. What company does he work for?
3. What is notable about them in China?
4. Where did he meet with Trump?
5. In which city?
6. Where was the World Economic Forum held?
7. In what country?
8. What did Trump criticize China for?
9. Do American businesses want to work with China?
10. Is China known for fake products?
11. Is Alibaba making effort to remove fake products from its site?

Q: Jay Kohl, an American student, posted an online advertisement two weeks ago searching for a Chinese family to stay with so that he can learn the language and culture. "I'm a clean, non-smoking, and warm-hearted American man looking for a homestay in the Wudaokou area to improve my Chinese language skills," he wrote. "I'm willing to offer help with English tutoring and even can help you with applying for foreign universities." He still hasn't found a suitable home. "Most of the families that contacted me seem to be interested in doing business instead of cultural exchange," he said. "I think I might have to rent an apartment in the end." Kohl isn't the only foreigner finding it difficult to find a homestay in Beijing. Michael Benson, who wants to come to Beijing in September, has also faced the same problem. Why is finding a homestay family so difficult? Beijing Today _ a Chinese teacher, Jessie Xi, who has been teaching foreign students at the University of International Business and Economics for more than six years. Xi has accepted many homestays, and from her own experience and what she's been told, she said there were four major problems visitors may meet when applying for homestays. Problem 1:Having too high expectation for language improvement. Problem 2: Considering oneself as a guest instead of a family member. Problem 3: Not making clear what a family's rules are beforehand. Problem 4; Overly high demands for the living environment.

1. America
2. Chinese
3. No
4. No
5. Kohl
6. two weeks ago
7. online
8. the Wudaokou area
9. no
10. his Chinese language skills
11. foreign universities.
12. doing business
13. Having too high expectation for language improvement, Considering themselves as guests instead of a family member, not making clear what a family's rules are beforehand and overly high demands for the living environment.
14. English tutoring
15. a Chinese teacher
16. more than six years
17. at the University of International Business and Economics
18. language improvement
19. a suitable home.

Numbered questions:
1. Where was Jay from?
2. What type of family did he want to stay with?
3. Is he dirty?
4. Does he smoke?
5. What's Jay's last name?
6. How long ago did he post an ad?
7. Where did he post it?
8. What area did he want to find a family in?
9. Is Jay a woman?
10. What type of skills does he want to improve?
11. What type of universities is he willing to help the family apply for?
12. What have the families that contacted him seemed more interested in?
13. What do many foreigners apparently find it difficult to find in Beijing?
14. What type of tutoring is Jay willing to offer help with?
15. What type of teacher is Jessie?
16. How many years has she been teaching?
17. At which university?
18. What type of expectation might be too high?
19. What has Jay yet to find suitable?

Q: Something roared like thunder. The earth shook a little and we heard the rat-a-tat-tat of gunfire. "Father!" Hassan cried. We sprung to our feet and raced out of the living room. "Father! What's that sound? Hassan screamed, his hands outstretched toward Ali. Ali wrapped his arms around us. A white light flashed and lit the sky in silver. It flashed again and was followed by rapid sharp sounds of gunfire. "They're hunting ducks." Ali said in a hoarse voice. "They hunt ducks at night, you know." Don't be afraid. A siren went off in the distance. Somewhere glass broke and someone shouted. I heard people on the street, jolted from sleep and probably still in their pajamas, with ruffled hair and puffy eyes. Hassan was crying. Ali pulled him close, clutched him with tenderness. We stayed huddled that way until the early hours of the morning. The shootings and explosions had lasted less than an hour, but they had frightened us badly, because none of us had ever heard gunshots in the streets. They were foreign sounds to us then. The generation of Afghan children whose ears would know nothing but the sounds of bombs and gunfire was not yet born. Huddled together in the dining room and waiting for the sun to rise, none of us had any notion that a way of life had ended. The end came when Russian tanks were rolling into the very same streets where Hassan and I played, bringing the death of the Afghanistan I knew and marking the start of a still ongoing era of bloodletting. Just before sunrise, Baba's car peeled into the driveway. His door slammed shut and his running footsteps pounded the stairs. Then he appeared in the doorway and I saw something on his face. Something I didn't recognize right away because I'd never seen it before: fear. "Amir! Hassan!" He cried as he ran to us, opening his arms wide. "They blocked all the roads and the telephone didn't work. I was so worried!" We let him wrap us in his arms and, for a brief moment, I was glad about whatever had happened that night.

1. gunfire
2. unknown

Numbered questions:
1. What caused the loud sounds?
2. Who was causing the loud sounds?