Baghdad, Iraq—If, in time, the attempt to implant a pro-Western, democratic political System in Iraq ends up buried in the desert sands, historians will have no shortage of things that went wrong. (46) Equally, if the problems here ultimately recede, supporters of the enterprise will find vindication (证明’" 正确) in the Bush administration’s decision to hold course as others lost faith.(47) Either way, any reckoning will examine the numbers of American troops committed here: whether they were so thinly stretched that their mission was doomed from the start, or, as Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said last week, American commanders were given "exactly what they’ve recommended" in terms of troops.Mr. Rumsfeld has long taken a "less is more" approach to combat troop levels, and in a BBC interview Monday, be seemed to move toward those now pressing to reduce troop levels soon. (48) "The reason for fewer," he said, "is because ultimately it’s going to be the Iraqi people who are going to prevail in this insurgency (起义)" in other words, Iraqi, not American, troops are the ones who will win the war, if it can be won.The words seemed at least to nod to politics. (49) Last week, even as opinion polls showed continuing erosion in support for the war, a conservative from a state heavy with military bases who has been a staunch(坚定的)supporter of the war, Representative Walter B. Jones of North Carolina, joined with another Republican and two Democrats in calling on President Bush to begin drawing down the troops in Iraq by Oct. 1, 2006.Earlier this year, the Pentagon offered an even earlier date for an initial reduction. But in recent weeks, American generals here have been telling Congressional visitors that the disappointing performance of many Iraqi combat units has made early departures impractical. They say it will be two years or more before Iraqis can be expected to begin replacing American units as the main guarantors of security.Commanders concerned for their careers have not thought it prudent to go further, and to say publicly what many say privately: that with recent American troop levels—139,000 now they have been forced to play an infernal board game, constantly shuttling combat units from one war zone to another, leaving insurgent buildups unmet in some places while they deal with more urgent problems elsewhere.Generals are not famous for wanting smaller armies. (50) But American commanders here have been cautioned by the reality that the Pentagon (五角大楼), in a time of all-volunteer forces and plunging recruiting levels, has few if any extra troops to deploy(部署), and that there are limits to what American public opinion would bear. So the generals have kept quiet about troop levels. "The reason for fewer," he said, "is because ultimately it’s going to be the Iraqi people who are going to prevail in this insurgency (起义)" in other words, Iraqi, not American, troops are the ones who will win the war, if it can be won.
[听力原文]W: How did Mary do in the raceM: Well. she had a good start, but she quickly fell behind. What did the man mean()
A. Mary fell during the race.
B. She did very well in the race.
C. She was one of the slower runners.
D. Mary finished directly behind the quickest runner.
Soccer, game played by two teams on a rectangular(矩形的) field, in which players attempt to knock a round ball through the opponents’ goal, using any part of the body except the hands. Generally, players use their feet and heads as they kick, dribble (带球), and pass the ball toward the goal. One player on each team guards the goal. This player, the goalkeeper, is the only player allowed to touch the ball with the hands.Soccer is a free-flowing game that has relatively few rules and requires little equipment. All that is needed to play is an area of open space and a ball. Much of the world’s soccer is played informally, without field markings or real goals. In many places, the game is played barefoot Using rolled-up rags or newspapers as a ball. Soccer is the world’s most popular sport, played by people of all ages in about 200 countries. The sport has millions of fans throughout the world; Only in the United States is the game referred to as soccer. Outside the United States the sport is commonly called football, or futbol in Spanish-speaking countries, where the game is particularly popular. The official name of the sport is association football. The word soccer is a slang corruption of the abbreviation assoc.The Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) is the worldwide governing body of soccer. FIFA governs all levels of soccer, including professional play, Olympic competitions, and youth leagues. The organization also governs the sport’s premier event, the World Cup, an international competition hem every four years with national teams from 32 countries. What is the purpose of the first paragraph()
A. To tell us the definition of the soccer.
B. To give us an brief introduction of the soccer.
C. To tell us how to play soccer.
D. To tell us the rules of the soccer.
English is the official language of the United Kingdom and is the first language of the vast majority of its citizens. The use of language is extremely important to Britain’s. class structure. Some educated English people, regardless of their class origin, Strive to free themselves of regional or local accents in order to sound like educated English-speaking people. Some people in England regard regional accents and slang as substandard. On the other hand, many local people, such as Cockneys in East London and people in northern England, enjoy their particular way of speaking, regarding it as warmer and friendlier than standard English.Scottish people appreciate the Scottish accent so much they insist the BBC carry programs with Scottish-accented speakers. The Celtic language, an ancient tongue, continues to be spoken in Scotland by some people, usually those in the more remote areas of the country. Approximately 80,000 Scots speak Scottish Gaelic, a type of Celtic language. English is the main language in Northern Ireland, although at least some of the Roman Catholic minority speak Irish, another Gaelic dialect, as a second language.The ancient Celtic language of Wales is strongly tied to the cultural nationalism of the region. At the time of the 1991 census(人口调查), about 20 percent of the Welsh population could speak Welsh. Welsh is spoken in northern and western Wales much more than in southern Wales, where many English people have relocated. Many schools in Wales offer bilingual education, and there is a Welsh-language television channel. In 1993, after long and considerable struggle by Welsh nationalists, the government made Welsh a joint official language with English in Wales for use in the courts, the civil service, and other aspects of the government department. According to the passage, which of the following sentence is NOT true()
A. English is the official language of the United Kingdom.
B. English is spoken by the vast majority of world citizens.
C. The use of language is extremely important to Britain’s class structure.
D. Some educated English people, regardless of their class origin, strive to free themselves of regional or local accents in order to sound like educated English-speaking people.