一般常识Common Sense篇

 　　Common Sense

　　I: What does UN stand for, do you know?

　　C: It stands for the United Nations.

　　I: Where is the headquarters of UN?

　　C: In New York City of the United States.

　　I: What are the main organs of UN?

　　C: Its main organs are General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council, Trusteeship Council, International Court of Justice and Secretariat.

　　I: Do you know who is the present seretary-general of UN?

　　C: Yes, I do. The present seretary-general' is Annan.

　　I: Which countries are members of the European Economic Community (the European Common Market)?

　　C: France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxemburg , Great Britain, Ireland, Denmark. Spain, Greece, Portugal , twelve countries altogether.

　　I: How many states are there in the U.S.A.?

　　C: There are fifty.

　　I: What's the full name of Great Britain?

　　C: Its full name is the United Kindom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

　　I: Who is the monarch² of the United Kingdom?

　　C: Eiczabeth II.

　　I: What are the national anthems⁴ of China, America and Britain respectively?

　　C: The Chinese national anthem³ is "The March of the Volunteers". The American national anthem is "The Star-Span-gled Banner", The British national anthem is "God Save the Queen".

　　I: What are the national flags of China, America and Britain respctively?

　　C: The Red Flag with Five Stars is the Chinese national flag. The Stars and Stripes are the American national flag. And the British national flag is called the Union Jack⁵.

　　I: What is the legislative⁶ in the U.S. A.?

　　C: The Congress.

　　I: What is the British counterpart of the U. S. Congress?

　　C: The British Parliament is the counterpart of the U.S. Congress.

　　I: Which organization in China functions as the U.S. Cogress or the British Parliament?

　　C: The National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China.

　　I: What are the two major parties in the U.S.A.?

　　C:' The Republican Party and the Democratic Party.

　　I: What are the two major parties in Britain?

　　C: The Conservative Party and the Labour Party.

　　I: As you know in some western countries the two major parties take turns to be in power in the government. How do you describe this kind of government?

　　C: We describe it as a seesaw⁷ government.

　　I: The North-South problem is drawing more and more attention all around the world in recent years. Can you explain briefly⁸ what that is?

　　C: Well, most of the developing nations are in the Southern Hemisphere,or at least relatively⁹ far south ,and most of the industrially developed nations are in the north. The econmic development isn't spread out evenly; it tends to be con¹ centrated in a few areas. The North-South problem is mostly a problem of unbalanced economic development, I think.

　　I: What is GATT an abbreviation for?

　　C: GATT is an abbreviation for The General Agreement on Tariffs¹⁰ and Trade.

　　I: The stock market puts out the Dow Jones averages every day. Do you know what that is ?

　　C: Yes, that's the average price of stocks for that day, computed¹¹ according to the methods of the Dow Jones Company Ltd. in the United States. In general, if the Dow Jones averages are up, then most stocks are up. If the Dow Jones averages are down, then, most stocks are probably down in price compared to the previous day.

　　I: What are the two basic causes of inflation?

　　C: That's a difficult question! But I think-we usually have inflation when demand exceeds supply, forcing costs up, and people have extra money and are willing to .spend it for things they want. Then they compete for things on the market and costs go higher and higher. Some other causes are too many issues of banknotes and too much capital construction.

　　I: When did Hong Kong's sovereignty return to China?

　　C: On July 1, 1997.

　　I: What policy has China established towards Hong Kong problem?

　　C: China will implement¹² the policy of "one state with two systems" when Hong Kong is returned to its motherland.

　　I: How many nationalities are there in China.

　　C: Fifty-six.

　　I: What are China's most important festivals?

　　C: The four most important festivals are the Spring Festival, the Lantern Festival, the Dragon-boat Festival and the Mid-autumn (Moon) Festival. Besides, we have International Labour Women's Day, Labour Day, and the National Day.

　　I: Tell me about Chinese families.

　　C: This is an interesting question. Chinese families are very close and depend on each other a lot. They will take care of their elders and help the younger ones. In a word, respectthe old and love the young.

　　I: What is your opinion about Chinese parents?

　　C: Chinese parents try to instill their chiddren with values of working hard and respecting others. I think these are very good traits but they also make some parents be a little too strict sometimes. But, overall) Chinese parents are loving and responsible parents.

　　I: China's constitution provides that the Chinese citizens enjoy freedom of religion. What religions do the Chinese usually observe?

　　C: Some observe Buddhism¹³; some are Christiatts; some believe in Islam; some practise Taoism. But the majority are non-religious.

1 con   

n.反对的观点，反对者，反对票，肺病；vt.精读，学习，默记；adv.反对地，从反面；adj.欺诈的

参考例句：

• We must be fair and consider the reason pro and con.我们必须公平考虑赞成和反对的理由。
• The motion is adopted non con.因无人投反对票，协议被通过。

2 monarch   

n.帝王，君主，最高统治者

参考例句：

• The monarch's role is purely ceremonial.君主纯粹是个礼仪职位。
• I think myself happier now than the greatest monarch upon earth.我觉得这个时候比世界上什么帝王都快乐。

3 anthem   

n.圣歌，赞美诗，颂歌

参考例句：

• All those present were standing solemnly when the national anthem was played.奏国歌时全场肃立。
• As he stood on the winner's rostrum,he sang the words of the national anthem.他站在冠军领奖台上，唱起了国歌。

4 anthems   

n.赞美诗( anthem的名词复数 )；圣歌；赞歌；颂歌

参考例句：

• They usually play the national anthems of the teams at the beginning of a big match. 在大型赛事开始前，他们通常演奏参赛国国歌。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rise please, rise for the anthems of & . 请全体起立，奏和两国国歌。 来自互联网

5 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

6 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

7 seesaw   

n.跷跷板

参考例句：

• Prices have gone up and down like a seesaw this year.今年的价格像跷跷板一样时涨时跌。
• The children are playing at seesaw.孩子们在玩跷跷板。

8 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

9 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

10 tariffs   

关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准

参考例句：

• British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
• The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。

11 computed   

adj.[医]计算的，使用计算机的v.计算，估算( compute的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He computed that the project would take seven years to complete. 他估计这项计划要花七年才能完成。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Resolving kernels and standard errors can also be computed for each block. 还可以计算每个块体的分辨核和标准误差。 来自辞典例句

12 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

13 Buddhism   

n.佛教（教义）

参考例句：

• Buddhism was introduced into China about 67 AD.佛教是在公元67年左右传入中国的。
• Many people willingly converted to Buddhism.很多人情愿皈依佛教。