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．0ut of 5 2，000 people interviewed all over the world。under half believe that things are looking up．But in Africa the proportion is close t0 60％ almost twice as much as in Europe．examda.
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 Con90， have ended．Africa even has its first elected female head of state，in Liberia． examda.
Yet there is no shortage of downers t00．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 ant Uganda，once the darlings of western donors，have taken a bad knock．⑦AIDS killed over 2m Africans ir 2005，and will kill more this year． examda.
So is it all iust 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 collsistently 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．examda.
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 901den 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． [346 words]
1．______believe that the future is brighter．
A．Most people in Africa examda.
B．Most people in Europe
C．Few people in Europe
D．Few people in the world
2．The Africans’optimism can be explained by the fact that______
A．South Africa is the economic powerhouse
B．the economy in Africa is prosperous examda.
C．there have been wars in both Sudan and Congo
D．Liberia is the first country to have a female head
3．The pessimism in Africa is rational because______
A．the economy in South Africa keeps growing
B．there are less crises in Africa than ever before
C．Africa is still the poorest continent in the world
D．both Ethiopia and Uganda enjoy more democracy now
4．The optimism in Africa isn’t irrational because______
A．Europeans tend to be more pessimistic
B．optimism isn’t necessarily related to people’s real welfare
C．Nigerians are consistently the most upbeat
D．the lot of most Africans is better than Europeans
5．The author thinks that______
A．religion helps to develop one’s optimism
B．2006 will be golden because things are looking up
C．the argument brought forward by the cynics is comprehensible
D．the proportion of people who believe in religion is highest in Afri難句透析
①An annual survey by Gallup International，a research outfit，shows[that，(when asked，Africa once again comes out on top)]．examda.
【結(jié)構(gòu)】方括號(hào)所標(biāo)示的部分是“shows”的賓語(yǔ)從句。圓括號(hào)所標(biāo)示的部分是其中的狀語(yǔ)從句。尖括號(hào)所標(biāo)示的部分是“asked”的賓語(yǔ)從句?！皐hen asked”相當(dāng)于“when people are asked”。
【釋義】蓋洛普國(guó)際是一個(gè)研究機(jī)構(gòu)，它所做的一次年度普查表明。當(dāng)問(wèn)到今年是否會(huì)比去年好時(shí)，非洲再次名列前茅。
②Out of 52，000 people interviewed all over the world，under half believe[that things are looking up3．
【結(jié)構(gòu)】過(guò)去分詞“interviewed”用做后置定語(yǔ)，修飾“people”。方括號(hào)所標(biāo)示的部分是“believe”的賓語(yǔ)從句。
【釋義】在全世界所調(diào)查的52000人中。相信形勢(shì)會(huì)轉(zhuǎn)好的人不到一半。
③And the democratic credentials of Ethiopia and Uganda，once the darlings of western donors，have taken a bad knock．
【結(jié)構(gòu)】 句中的短語(yǔ)“0nce the darlings of western donors”是對(duì)“credentials of Ethiopia and Uganda”的補(bǔ)充說(shuō)明。
【釋義】埃塞俄比亞和烏干達(dá)的民主，過(guò)去贏得西方施主的喜愛(ài)和信任，現(xiàn)已遭受嚴(yán)重挫折。
④On the other hand，Greece--hardly the worst place on earth--tops the gloom-and-doom chart。[followed closely by portugal and France]．
【結(jié)構(gòu)】本句主語(yǔ)是“Greece”，謂語(yǔ)動(dòng)詞是“tops”。方括號(hào)所標(biāo)示的過(guò)去分詞短語(yǔ)，用做補(bǔ)充說(shuō)明狀語(yǔ)。
【釋義】另一方面，希臘根本算不上世界最差的地方，卻在憂郁和厄運(yùn)分布圖上排在最前面，緊隨其后的是葡萄牙和法國(guó)。
⑤But 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>)]．
【結(jié)構(gòu)】方括號(hào)部分為“argue”的賓語(yǔ)從句。圓括號(hào)部分為“believe”的賓語(yǔ)從句。尖括號(hào)部分為原因狀語(yǔ)從句。
【釋義】但是，有些尖酸刻薄的人說(shuō)，大多數(shù)非洲人都相信2006年將非常美好，那是因?yàn)檫^(guò)去情況一直很糟，很難想象還能再糟到哪兒去。全文翻譯
非洲人或許不是最富有的人，但是他們依然是世界上最堅(jiān)定的樂(lè)觀主義者。蓋洛普國(guó)際是一個(gè)研究機(jī)構(gòu)，它所做的一次年度普查表明，當(dāng)問(wèn)到今年是否會(huì)比去年好時(shí)，非洲再次名列前茅。。在全世界所調(diào)查的52000人中，相信形勢(shì)會(huì)轉(zhuǎn)好的人不到一半。但在非洲，這一比例高達(dá)近60％——差不多是歐洲的兩倍。
非洲人有理由保持樂(lè)觀的心態(tài)。由于其經(jīng)濟(jì)主體南非的穩(wěn)定發(fā)展，該大洲在過(guò)去的幾年中一直保持著良好的經(jīng)濟(jì)增長(zhǎng)勢(shì)頭。非洲一些長(zhǎng)久以來(lái)就存在的矛盾，比如蘇丹的南北戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)和剛果的內(nèi)戰(zhàn)，都已經(jīng)停歇。非洲甚至還通過(guò)民選產(chǎn)生了第一位國(guó)家領(lǐng)袖，即利比里亞總統(tǒng)。
當(dāng)然這里也不乏令人沮喪的情況。多數(shù)非洲人仍然極度貧困。在象牙海岸、賽拉里昂和津巴布韋等地的危機(jī)還遠(yuǎn)未解決。埃塞俄比亞和烏干達(dá)的民主，過(guò)去贏得西方施主的喜愛(ài)和信任，現(xiàn)已遭受嚴(yán)重挫折?？荚嚧螅滩≡?005年奪去了200萬(wàn)非洲人的生命，今年因它而死亡的人還會(huì)更多。
那么他們的樂(lè)觀只不過(guò)是毫無(wú)情理的嗎?蓋洛普機(jī)構(gòu)的梅瑞爾·詹姆士指出，實(shí)際上調(diào)查所顯示出的樂(lè)觀主義態(tài)度與現(xiàn)實(shí)并沒(méi)多大的聯(lián)系。非洲人，本年度的是尼日利亞人，不論他們的生活有沒(méi)有改善都總是最快樂(lè)的。另一方面，希臘根本算不上世界最差的地方，卻在憂郁和厄運(yùn)分布圖上排在最前面，緊隨其后的是葡萄牙和法國(guó)。
詹姆士女士還預(yù)測(cè)說(shuō)這或許和宗教信仰有關(guān)。10個(gè)非洲人中有9個(gè)信教，這是全世界的比例。但是，有些尖酸刻薄的人說(shuō)，大多數(shù)非洲人都相信2006年將非常美好，那是因?yàn)檫^(guò)去情況一直很糟，很難想象還能再糟到哪兒去。這或許也能解釋為什么一些最近遭受了不幸的地方，如科索沃和阿富汗都位列樂(lè)觀排行榜前5位。
超綱詞匯
hanistan n．阿富汗
Congo n．剛果
C6ted’ n．象牙海岸
cynic n．憤世嫉俗的人，玩世不恭的人，好挖苦人的人
donor n．捐贈(zèng)者，施主
downer n．令人沮喪的人
Ethiopia n．埃塞俄比亞
exuberance n．繁榮，迅速增長(zhǎng)
Gallup poll n．蓋洛普民意測(cè)驗(yàn)
Greeeel n．希臘
knock n．打擊，震動(dòng)，倒霉，麻煩事
Kosovo n．科索沃(南斯拉夫自治省名)
Liheria n．利比里亞
Nigerian n．尼日利亞人
outfit n．設(shè)備，裝配，工具
Portugal n．葡萄牙
powerhouse n．機(jī)房，動(dòng)力車間，發(fā)電廠
Sierra Leone n．塞拉里昂
staunch adj．堅(jiān)定的
Sudan n．蘇丹
zuganda n．烏于達(dá)
upbeat adj．樂(lè)觀的，歡樂(lè)的
Zimbabwe n．津巴布韋
參考答案：1．A 2．B 3．C 4．B 5．C
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 Con90， have ended．Africa even has its first elected female head of state，in Liberia． examda.
Yet there is no shortage of downers t00．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 ant Uganda，once the darlings of western donors，have taken a bad knock．⑦AIDS killed over 2m Africans ir 2005，and will kill more this year． examda.
So is it all iust 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 collsistently 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．examda.
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 901den 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． [346 words]
1．______believe that the future is brighter．
A．Most people in Africa examda.
B．Most people in Europe
C．Few people in Europe
D．Few people in the world
2．The Africans’optimism can be explained by the fact that______
A．South Africa is the economic powerhouse
B．the economy in Africa is prosperous examda.
C．there have been wars in both Sudan and Congo
D．Liberia is the first country to have a female head
3．The pessimism in Africa is rational because______
A．the economy in South Africa keeps growing
B．there are less crises in Africa than ever before
C．Africa is still the poorest continent in the world
D．both Ethiopia and Uganda enjoy more democracy now
4．The optimism in Africa isn’t irrational because______
A．Europeans tend to be more pessimistic
B．optimism isn’t necessarily related to people’s real welfare
C．Nigerians are consistently the most upbeat
D．the lot of most Africans is better than Europeans
5．The author thinks that______
A．religion helps to develop one’s optimism
B．2006 will be golden because things are looking up
C．the argument brought forward by the cynics is comprehensible
D．the proportion of people who believe in religion is highest in Afri難句透析
①An annual survey by Gallup International，a research outfit，shows[that，(when asked
【結(jié)構(gòu)】方括號(hào)所標(biāo)示的部分是“shows”的賓語(yǔ)從句。圓括號(hào)所標(biāo)示的部分是其中的狀語(yǔ)從句。尖括號(hào)所標(biāo)示的部分是“asked”的賓語(yǔ)從句?！皐hen asked”相當(dāng)于“when people are asked”。
【釋義】蓋洛普國(guó)際是一個(gè)研究機(jī)構(gòu)，它所做的一次年度普查表明。當(dāng)問(wèn)到今年是否會(huì)比去年好時(shí)，非洲再次名列前茅。
②Out of 52，000 people interviewed all over the world，under half believe[that things are looking up3．
【結(jié)構(gòu)】過(guò)去分詞“interviewed”用做后置定語(yǔ)，修飾“people”。方括號(hào)所標(biāo)示的部分是“believe”的賓語(yǔ)從句。
【釋義】在全世界所調(diào)查的52000人中。相信形勢(shì)會(huì)轉(zhuǎn)好的人不到一半。
③And the democratic credentials of Ethiopia and Uganda，once the darlings of western donors，have taken a bad knock．
【結(jié)構(gòu)】 句中的短語(yǔ)“0nce the darlings of western donors”是對(duì)“credentials of Ethiopia and Uganda”的補(bǔ)充說(shuō)明。
【釋義】埃塞俄比亞和烏干達(dá)的民主，過(guò)去贏得西方施主的喜愛(ài)和信任，現(xiàn)已遭受嚴(yán)重挫折。
④On the other hand，Greece--hardly the worst place on earth--tops the gloom-and-doom chart。[followed closely by portugal and France]．
【結(jié)構(gòu)】本句主語(yǔ)是“Greece”，謂語(yǔ)動(dòng)詞是“tops”。方括號(hào)所標(biāo)示的過(guò)去分詞短語(yǔ)，用做補(bǔ)充說(shuō)明狀語(yǔ)。
【釋義】另一方面，希臘根本算不上世界最差的地方，卻在憂郁和厄運(yùn)分布圖上排在最前面，緊隨其后的是葡萄牙和法國(guó)。
⑤But 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>)]．
【結(jié)構(gòu)】方括號(hào)部分為“argue”的賓語(yǔ)從句。圓括號(hào)部分為“believe”的賓語(yǔ)從句。尖括號(hào)部分為原因狀語(yǔ)從句。
【釋義】但是，有些尖酸刻薄的人說(shuō)，大多數(shù)非洲人都相信2006年將非常美好，那是因?yàn)檫^(guò)去情況一直很糟，很難想象還能再糟到哪兒去。全文翻譯
非洲人或許不是最富有的人，但是他們依然是世界上最堅(jiān)定的樂(lè)觀主義者。蓋洛普國(guó)際是一個(gè)研究機(jī)構(gòu)，它所做的一次年度普查表明，當(dāng)問(wèn)到今年是否會(huì)比去年好時(shí)，非洲再次名列前茅。。在全世界所調(diào)查的52000人中，相信形勢(shì)會(huì)轉(zhuǎn)好的人不到一半。但在非洲，這一比例高達(dá)近60％——差不多是歐洲的兩倍。
非洲人有理由保持樂(lè)觀的心態(tài)。由于其經(jīng)濟(jì)主體南非的穩(wěn)定發(fā)展，該大洲在過(guò)去的幾年中一直保持著良好的經(jīng)濟(jì)增長(zhǎng)勢(shì)頭。非洲一些長(zhǎng)久以來(lái)就存在的矛盾，比如蘇丹的南北戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)和剛果的內(nèi)戰(zhàn)，都已經(jīng)停歇。非洲甚至還通過(guò)民選產(chǎn)生了第一位國(guó)家領(lǐng)袖，即利比里亞總統(tǒng)。
當(dāng)然這里也不乏令人沮喪的情況。多數(shù)非洲人仍然極度貧困。在象牙海岸、賽拉里昂和津巴布韋等地的危機(jī)還遠(yuǎn)未解決。埃塞俄比亞和烏干達(dá)的民主，過(guò)去贏得西方施主的喜愛(ài)和信任，現(xiàn)已遭受嚴(yán)重挫折?？荚嚧螅滩≡?005年奪去了200萬(wàn)非洲人的生命，今年因它而死亡的人還會(huì)更多。
那么他們的樂(lè)觀只不過(guò)是毫無(wú)情理的嗎?蓋洛普機(jī)構(gòu)的梅瑞爾·詹姆士指出，實(shí)際上調(diào)查所顯示出的樂(lè)觀主義態(tài)度與現(xiàn)實(shí)并沒(méi)多大的聯(lián)系。非洲人，本年度的是尼日利亞人，不論他們的生活有沒(méi)有改善都總是最快樂(lè)的。另一方面，希臘根本算不上世界最差的地方，卻在憂郁和厄運(yùn)分布圖上排在最前面，緊隨其后的是葡萄牙和法國(guó)。
詹姆士女士還預(yù)測(cè)說(shuō)這或許和宗教信仰有關(guān)。10個(gè)非洲人中有9個(gè)信教，這是全世界的比例。但是，有些尖酸刻薄的人說(shuō)，大多數(shù)非洲人都相信2006年將非常美好，那是因?yàn)檫^(guò)去情況一直很糟，很難想象還能再糟到哪兒去。這或許也能解釋為什么一些最近遭受了不幸的地方，如科索沃和阿富汗都位列樂(lè)觀排行榜前5位。
超綱詞匯
hanistan n．阿富汗
Congo n．剛果
C6ted’ n．象牙海岸
cynic n．憤世嫉俗的人，玩世不恭的人，好挖苦人的人
donor n．捐贈(zèng)者，施主
downer n．令人沮喪的人
Ethiopia n．埃塞俄比亞
exuberance n．繁榮，迅速增長(zhǎng)
Gallup poll n．蓋洛普民意測(cè)驗(yàn)
Greeeel n．希臘
knock n．打擊，震動(dòng)，倒霉，麻煩事
Kosovo n．科索沃(南斯拉夫自治省名)
Liheria n．利比里亞
Nigerian n．尼日利亞人
outfit n．設(shè)備，裝配，工具
Portugal n．葡萄牙
powerhouse n．機(jī)房，動(dòng)力車間，發(fā)電廠
Sierra Leone n．塞拉里昂
staunch adj．堅(jiān)定的
Sudan n．蘇丹
zuganda n．烏于達(dá)
upbeat adj．樂(lè)觀的，歡樂(lè)的
Zimbabwe n．津巴布韋
參考答案：1．A 2．B 3．C 4．B 5．C