2016年12月大學英語六級閱讀練習(28)

　　Singapore

　　Singapore is a small, flat, marshy island that hasbeen developed to become the most important portand business center in Southeast Asia and one ofthe ten wealthiest countries in the world in terms ofgross national product per capita2 .

　　Singapore has a population of 3. 5 million peopleand a high density of more than 500 people persquare kilometer. The superior infrastructure — especially the excellent port and internationalairport — has made Singapore the import and transshipment center for the region. It is one ofthe world’s largest oil refining centers3, where crude oil is unloaded and refined beforeshipment to the rest of Asia . These functions are complemented by a large variety ofmaritime 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 ofmany multinational corporations. And tourism has also become a significant industry. Thisdiversification, as well as high consumption levels in the domestic market, allowed Singaporeto cope with the 1983 oil crisis and 1997 Asian financial crisis somewhat more easily than didother 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 periodand followed the religions of Buddhism and Taoism. Other groups include Malays ( about 15percent) and Indians ( about 7 percent, mainly Hindu) . Fertility rates are low in Singapore, andthe government has tried to promote more births among the highly educated in order toreduce labor shortages and ensure a workforce to support the older population. ColonialSingapore was residentially segregated, with the British living next to the government buildingson the east shore of the Singapore River4, Chinatown on the west riverbank, and Indian andMalay neighborhoods farther toward the east. There are remnants of this structure incontemporary 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 tocreate a sense of national identity by designating four official languages ( Mandarin 064Chinese, English, Malay, and Indian Tamil) . They promote an Asian identity through schoolsand national military service that emphasize hard work, community consensus, and respectfor authority. They also enforce Singapore’s image of a clean and crime-free 5 environmentthrough very strict rules against litter and graffiti, media censorship, and licensing of satellitedishes and street entertainers.

　　閱讀自測

　?、? 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 ( 早期的腳踏兩 輪車) .

　　3. The Chinese are an _______ ( industry) nation.

　　4. _______( immigrate) can’t work in the United States without a permit.

　?、? 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

　　參考答案

　　Ⅰ. 1. consumption 2 . descendants 3. industrious 4 . Immigrants

　?、? 1. dominate 2 . ensure 3. characterized 4.enforce 5. funded

　　參考譯文

　　非凡島國———新加坡

　　新加坡面積不大, 地勢平坦, 是個濕潤的島國, 現(xiàn)已發(fā)展成東南亞最重要的港口和商業(yè) 中心。按照人均國民生產(chǎn)總值計算的話, 新加坡現(xiàn)已成為世界最富的十國之一。

　　新加坡有350 萬人口, 人口高度密集, 每平方公里就有五百多個人。新加坡的基礎(chǔ)設(shè) 施完備, 其港口和國際機場尤為精良, 優(yōu)越的條件已使新加坡成為東南亞地區(qū)進口和中轉(zhuǎn) 中心。新加坡也是世界最大的煉油中心之一, 原油在這里卸載, 進行精煉, 然后運送到亞洲 其他地方。這些功能與種類繁多的銀行、保險、通信和咨詢等海事服務(wù)機構(gòu)相輔相承。

　　新加坡使本國的服務(wù)業(yè)多樣化, 它廣泛開展各種金融、通訊和管理活動, 于是吸引了許 多跨國公司在當?shù)亟⒌貐^(qū)性總部。同樣, 旅游業(yè)也成為一個重要的產(chǎn)業(yè)。服務(wù)業(yè)的多樣 化以及國內(nèi)市場的高消費水平, 使新加坡能比該地區(qū)其他國家更加從容地應(yīng)付1983 年的 石油危機和1997 年的亞洲金融危機。

　　新加坡人有著不同的種族和不同的宗教信仰, 但海外華人處于支配地位( 占總?cè)丝诘?77% ) , 他們是殖民時期移民到新加坡的華人的后代, 信仰佛教和道教。其他種族包括馬來 人( 約占15% ) 和印度人( 約占7% , 主要是印度教徒) 。新加坡的人口出生率不高, 因此政 府鼓勵受過高等教育的人多生育, 從而緩解勞動力不足, 確保人口結(jié)構(gòu)的平衡。殖民地時 期的新加坡在住宅區(qū)實行種族隔離, 當時英國人住的地方貼近佇立在新加坡河東岸的政府 大樓, 唐人街在河的西岸, 而印度人和馬來人住的地方離東岸更遠。如今的新加坡還留有 這種結(jié)構(gòu)的殘跡, 但現(xiàn)在整個城市已到處都是高聳的寫字樓、配套住宅區(qū)、新興城鎮(zhèn)和新興 工業(yè)園。

　　新加坡政府努力促進不同種族間的和諧相處, 通過將四種語言定為官方語言( 分別為 漢語、英語、馬來語和印度泰米爾語) , 來促使每個新加坡人產(chǎn)生民族身份感。新加坡政府 還通過教育和義務(wù)兵役制來強調(diào)努力工作、與社會保持一致和尊重權(quán)威的理念, 從而促進 了新加坡國民亞洲人的身份感。新加坡政府還嚴格實施各種法規(guī), 嚴禁亂扔垃圾和任意涂 鴉, 對媒體進行嚴格審查, 并對圓盤式衛(wèi)星電視天線和街頭藝人頒發(fā)許可證來進行限制, 以 此樹立新加坡環(huán)境清潔、治安良好的國家形象。