单选题 They may not be the richest, but Africans remain the world's staunchest optimists. An annual survey by Gallup International, a research outfit, shows that, when asked whether this year will be better than last, Africa once again comes out on top. Out of 52,000 people interviewed all over the world, under half believe that things are looking up. But in Africa the proportion is close to 60%—almost twice as much as in Europe.
Africans have some reasons to be cheerful. The continent's economy has been doing fairly well with South Africa, the economic powerhouse, growing steadily over the past few years. Some of Africa's long-running conflicts, such as the war between the north and south in Sudan and the civil war in Congo, have ended. Africa even has its first elected female head of state, in Liberia.
Yet there is no shortage of downers too. Most of Africa remains dirt poor. Crises in places like Cote d'Ivoire, Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe are far from solved. And the democratic credentials of Ethiopia and Uganda, once the darlings of western donors, have taken a bad knock. AIDS killed over 2 million Africans in 2005, and will kill more this year.
So is it all just a case of irrational exuberance ? Meril James of Gallup argues that there is, in fact, usually very little relation between the survey's optimism rankings and reality. Africans, this year led by Nigerians, are consistently the most upbeat, whether their lot gets better or not. On the other hand, Greece— hardly the worst place on earth—tops the gloom-and-doom chart, followed closely by Portugal and France.
Ms James speculates that religion may have a lot to do with it. Nine out of ten Africans are religious, the highest proportion in the world. But cynics argue that most Africans believe that 2006 will be golden because things have been so bad that it is hard to imagine how they could possibly get worse. This may help explain why places that have suffered recent misfortunes, such as Kosovo and Afghanistan, rank among the top five optimists. Moussaka for thought for those depressed Greeks.

单选题 The statistics are employed in the first paragraph so as to indicate sort of______.

A. disparity
B. numbness
C. conformity
D. stagnation

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 这是一道细节题，测试考生准确识别和理解原文信息的作用与功能的能力。本题的答案信息来源在第一段，尤其是倒数第一、二句，这两句话的大意是“全世界范围涉及52000人的调查中，不足一半的人认为情况会好起来。但是在非洲认为情况会好起来的人数比例近百分之六十……”。从此句中不难推断出本文作者想通过这两个具体数字反映一种“差异与不同”。故本题的正确选项应该是A“disparity”(不同，不一致)。考生在阅读时要注意原文作者所涉及的具体数据信息的功能和作用。

单选题 It can be inferred from the fourth paragraph of the text that African optimism is______.

A. detrimental
B. fragile
C. transient
D. constant

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[解析] 这是一道细节题，测试考生对原文中副词的重视和理解程度。本题的答案信息来源在第四段的第三句，该句的大意是：“非洲人一直(consistently)非常乐观向上，今年最乐观的是尼日利亚人”。由此可以推断出本题的正确选项是D“constant”(不变的，稳定的，恒定的)。考生在阅读时要注意原文中形容词副词的传情达意之功能。

单选题 The conclusion made by Ms James, according to the text, is______.

A. tentative
B. immutable
C. impeccable
D. moderate

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 这是一道细节题，测试考生对原文词语的准确理解能力。本题的答案信息来源在尾段的首句，该句的大意是：“James女士推断(speculates)宗教也许和非洲人的乐观有很大的关系”。从此句中的“speculate”一词可以判定：Jame女士所得出的相关结论是“尝试性的、非结论性的”。故本题的正确选项应该是A“tentative”(试探性的，不确定的，非决定性的)。考生在阅读时应注意原文词语的准确含义。

单选题 The tone of the author in discussing African status can be defined as being______.

A. radical
B. impartial
C. hesitant
D. self-centered

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[解析] 本题属于中心主旨类题型，测试考生把握全文整体结构和中心主旨的能力。本题的答案信息来源在第二、三段。作者在第二段讲非洲人高度乐观的理由，然后作者毫不回避地在第三段列举了非洲人目前所面对的困难。从作者在这两段所叙述的内容而言，我们不难看出作者在谈论非洲状况时的语气是“客观的”，故本题的正确选项应该是B“impartial”(客观公正的)。考生在阅读时应注重对原文整体结构的把握。

单选题 France is mentioned in the text with the aim to______.

A. contrast Nigerians and French
B. defend Meril James' remarks
C. attach importance to the gloom-and-doom chart
D. refute Ms James concept of religion

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[解析] 这是一道细节推导题，测试考生准确识别和理解原文中句子之间关系的能力。本题的答案信息在第四段的第二句和尾句。“法国”(France)一词在第四段尾句出现，该句和第四段倒数第二句均是作者用来支持证明Meril James观点的例证。故本题的正确选项应该是B“defend Meril James'remarks”(支持Meril James的看法)。考生在阅读时要重视原文中句子之间的关联。