singapore
singapore is a small, flat, marshy island that has been developed to become the most important port and business center in southeast asia and one of the ten wealthiest countries in the world in terms of gross national product per capita2 .
singapore has a population of 3. 5 million people and a high density of more than 500 people per square kilometer. the superior infrastructure — especially the excellent port and international airport — has made singapore the import and transshipment center for the region. it is one of the world’s largest oil refining centers3, where crude oil is unloaded and refined before shipment to the rest of asia . these functions are complemented by a large variety of maritime service activities, including banking, insurance, communications, and consulting.
singapore has diversified its service sector to include a wider range of financial, communications, and management activities and has attracted the regional headquarters of many multinational corporations. and tourism has also become a significant industry. this diversification, as well as high consumption levels in the domestic market, allowed singapore to cope with the 1983 oil crisis and 1997 asian financial crisis somewhat more easily than did other countries in the region.
singapore has a population of diverse ethnicity and religion, but it is dominated ( 77 percent) by overseas chinese, descendants of immigrants who moved to singapore in the colonial period and followed the religions of buddhism and taoism. other groups include malays ( about 15 percent) and indians ( about 7 percent, mainly hindu) . fertility rates are low in singapore, and the government has tried to promote more births among the highly educated in order to reduce labor shortages and ensure a workforce to support the older population. colonial singapore was residentially segregated, with the british living next to the government buildings on the east shore of the singapore river4, chinatown on the west riverbank, and indian and malay neighborhoods farther toward the east. there are remnants of this structure in contemporary singapore, but the city is now characterized by dozens of tall office buildings, housing complexes, new towns and new industrial parks.
the government has made serious attempts to foster harmony between ethnic groups and to create a sense of national identity by designating four official languages ( mandarin 064 chinese, english, malay, and indian tamil) . they promote an asian identity through schools and national military service that emphasize hard work, community consensus, and respect for authority. they also enforce singapore’s image of a clean and crime-free 5 environment through very strict rules against litter and graffiti, media censorship, and licensing of satellite dishes and street entertainers.
阅读自测
Ⅰ. complete the sentence s with the proper forms of the words given in parentheses :
1. the nation’s _______( consume) of coal decreased continuously last year.
2. today’s bicycles are _______( descend ) of the earlier velocipede ( 早期的脚踏两 轮车) .
3. the chinese are an _______ ( industry) nation.
4. _______( immigrate) can’t work in the united states without a permit.
Ⅱ. complete each sentence with a proper word , and make changes if necessary: ( characterize , fund, enforce, ensure , dominate)
1. successful leaders events rather than react to them.
2. we can that the work shall be done in the right way.
3. this disease is by rash and high fever.
4. the responsibility that the police shoulders is to the law.
5. the space program is completely by the central government
参考答案
Ⅰ. 1. consumption 2 . descendants 3. industrious 4 . immigrants
Ⅱ. 1. dominate 2 . ensure 3. characterized 4. enforce 5. funded
参考译文
非凡岛国———新加坡
新 加坡面积不大, 地势平坦, 是个湿润的岛国, 现已发展成东南亚最重要的港口和商业 中心。按照人均国民生产总值计算的话, 新加坡现已成为世界最富的十国之一。
新加坡有350 万人口, 人口高度密集, 每平方公里就有五百多个人。新加坡的基础设 施完备, 其港口和国际机场尤为精良, 优越的条件已使新加坡成为东南亚地区进口和中转 中心。新加坡也是世界最 大的炼油中心之一, 原油在这里卸载, 进行精炼, 然后运送到亚洲 其他地方。这些功能与种类繁多的银行、保险、通信和咨询等海事服务机构相辅相承
新加坡使本国的服务业多样化, 它广泛开展各种金融、通讯和管理活动, 于是吸引了许 多跨国公司在当地建立地区性总部。同样, 旅游业也成为一个重要的产业。服务业的多样 化以及国内市场的高消费水平, 使新加坡能比该地区其他国家更加从容地应付1983 年的 石油危机和1997 年的亚洲金融危机。
新 加坡人有着不同的种族和不同的宗教信仰, 但海外华人处于支配地位( 占总人口的 77% ) , 他们是殖民时期移民到新加坡的华人的后代, 信仰佛教和道教。其他种族包括马来 人( 约占15% ) 和印度人( 约占7% , 主要是印度教徒) 。新加坡的人口出生率不高, 因此政 府鼓励受过高等教育的人多生育, 从而缓解劳动力不足, 确保人口结构的平衡。殖民地时 期的新加坡在住宅区实行种族隔离, 当时英国人住的地方贴近伫立在新加坡河东岸的政府 大楼, 唐人街在河的西岸, 而印度人和马来人住的地方离东岸更远。如今的新加坡还留有 这种结构的残迹, 但现在整个城市已到处都是高耸的写字楼、配套住宅区、新兴城镇和新兴 工业园。
新加坡政府努力促进不同种族间的和谐相处, 通过将四种语言定为官 方语言( 分别为 汉语、英语、马来语和印度泰米尔语) , 来促使每个新加坡人产生民族身份感。新加坡政府 还通过教育和义务兵役制来强调努力工作、与社会保持一致和尊重权 威的理念, 从而促进 了新加坡国民亚洲人的身份感。新加坡政府还严格实施各种法规, 严禁乱扔垃圾和任意涂 鸦, 对媒体进行严格审查, 并对圆盘式卫星电视天线和街头艺人颁发许可证来进行限制, 以 此树立新加坡环境清洁、治安良好的国家形象。
阅读导评
从自然特点看, 新加坡是一个资源短缺, 连淡水都要进口的海岛小国, 但就是这样一个 弹丸之地却自1965 年独立的这几十年里, 创造了多个“亚洲奇迹”。这全在于新加坡人的 忧患意识和先进的治国理念, 因为落后就要挨打。在资源稀缺、人口不多的情况下, 新加坡 大力发展尖端科学, 努力增强公民的社会感和凝聚力, 严格依法治国, 致使新加坡政府成为 “ 最讲效率、最为廉洁”的政府, 新加坡也最终跻身于发达国家的行列。
阅读导释
1. 新加坡, 俗称狮城, 但因国土小如星斗, 故又称星洲、星岛。新加坡是东南亚的一个岛国, 气候宜人, 位于马来半岛最南端, 面积仅有600 多平方公里, 由新加坡岛和附近54 个小 岛组成。该国地狭人稠, 资源匮乏, 但依靠其得天独厚的地理位置发展经济, 成为东南亚 的经济中心。新加坡1842 年成为英国殖民地,1963 年被并入马来西亚, 1965 年独立建国。
2. 按照人均国民生产总值计算。gross national product, 即gnp, 意为“ 国民生产总值”。与 其相似的还有gdp ( gross domestic product) , 意为“ 国内生产总值”。
3. 新加坡是世界最 大的炼油中心之一。全国建有五大炼油厂, 成品油出口仅次于荷兰, 居 世界第二位。refine v. 精炼, 提炼, 其过程就是在炼油厂( oil refinery) 将原油( crude oil) 变成精炼油( refined oil) 。
4. 新加坡河是新加坡的象征之一, 全长约四五公里, 是新加坡人的生命之河。该河贯穿新 加坡市中心, 将新加坡市分为东西两部分。新加坡河岸边高楼林立, 商业活动繁忙, 构成 新加坡的金融商业中心区。
5. 没有犯罪的。-free 同micro-一样是一种组合语素( combining form) , 表示“ 无⋯⋯的”, “ 免除⋯⋯的”, 如: disease-free ( 无病的) ; worry-free ( 无忧无虑的) 。
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