spokesman貌似男性发言人, 所以有人用spokeswoman专指女性发言人。若要忽略性别，用一个中性词来表达发言人，该单词为_________。

At the press conference held by the Pentagon yesterday, reporters were seen ________ every word of what the spokeswoman said. A: taking down B: taking up C: taking back D: taking off

The fifth largest city in the US passed a significant soda tax proposal that will levy 1.5 cents per liquid ounce on distributors. Philadelphia's new measure was approved by a 13 to 4 city council vote. It sets a new bar for similar initiatives across the county. It is proof that taxes on sugary drinks can win substantial support outside super-liberal areas. Until now, the only city to successfully pass and implement a soda tax was Berkeley, California, in 2014. The tax will apply to regular and diet sodas, as well as other drinks with added sugar, such as Gatorade and iced teas. It's expected to raise $410 million over the next five years, most of which will go toward funding a universal pre-kindergarten program for the city. While the city council vote was met with applause inside the council room, opponents to the measure, including soda lobbyists made sharp criticisms and a promise to challenge the tax in court. "The tax passed today unfairly singles out beverages—including low- and no-calorie choices," said Lauren Kane, spokeswoman for the American Beverage Association. "But most importantly, it is against the law. So we will side with the majority of the people of Philadelphia who oppose this tax and take legal action to stop it.” An industry-backed anti-tax campaign has spent at least $4 million on advertisements. The ads criticized the measure. characterizing it as a "grocery tax.” Public health groups applauded the approved tax as a step toward fixing certain lasting health issues that plague Americans. "The move to recapture a small part of the profits from an industry that pushes a product that contributes to diabetes, obesity and heart disease in poorer communities in order to reinvest in those communities will sure be inspirational to many other places," said Jim Krieger, executive director of Healthy Food America. “Indeed, we are already hearing from some of them. It's not just Berkeley' anymore.” Similar measures in California's Albany, Oakland, San Francisco and Colorado's Boulder are becoming hot-button issues Health advocacy groups have hinted that even more might be coming.

第三篇 Florida Hit by Cold Air Mass In January, 2003, the eastern two thirds of the United States was at the mercy of a bitterly cold air mass that has endangered Florida’s citrus trees, choked 3 northern harbors with ice and leftbewildered residents of North Carolina’s Outer Banks digging out of up to a foot of snow. The ice chill deepened as temperatures fell to the single digits in most of the South, with an unfamiliar dip below the freezing mark, as far South as parts of interior South Florida. Temperatures in Florida plunged, with West Palm Beach dropping to a record low of 2 degrees. "We couldn’t believe how cold it was," said Martin King, who arrived this week in Orlando from England "We brought shorts, T-shirt, and I had to go out and buy another coat." The temperature plunge posed a threat to Florida’s USS 9.1 billion-a-year citrus crop, more of which is still on the trees. Growers were hurrying to harvest as much of the fruit as possible before it was damaged by cold. "Time is of the essence in getting fruit to the plant," said Tom Rogers, a citrus grower who expected to see damage to oranges and grapefruit at that time. In Florida, Governor Jeb Bush signed an emergency order to eliminate the weight limit on trucks so citrus growers could get as much fruit to market as possible. Casey Pace, a spokeswoman for Florida Citrus Mutual, said growers had sprayed trees with sprinklers, which created a layer of ice and helped maintain a temperature near freezing. Citrus trees are considered in danger of damage if the temperature drops below minus 2 degrees Celsius for four hours or more. Snow ranging from a dusting to up to 30 centimeters blanketed the Carolinas, Tennessee and parts of Virginia. citrus n. 柠檬，柑橘；柑橘属果树 bewilder v. 使迷惑；使为难；……弄糊涂 sprinklern. 洒水器；洒水手 Celsius adj.摄氏的 shorts n. 宽松运动裤；男式短衬裤 Governor Jeb issue the emergency order because he ______. A: thought speed limit for trucks was unreasonable B: tried to improve the traffic condition of the express ways C: wanted to encourage trucks to transport as much fruit to market as possible D: wanted to stop mucks from carrying too much fruit to market

第三篇 Florida Hit by Cold Air Mass In January, 2003, the eastern two thirds of the United States was at the mercy of a bitterly cold air mass that has endangered Florida’s citrus trees, choked 3 northern harbors with ice and leftbewildered residents of North Carolina’s Outer Banks digging out of up to a foot of snow. The ice chill deepened as temperatures fell to the single digits in most of the South, with an unfamiliar dip below the freezing mark, as far South as parts of interior South Florida. Temperatures in Florida plunged, with West Palm Beach dropping to a record low of 2 degrees. "We couldn’t believe how cold it was," said Martin King, who arrived this week in Orlando from England "We brought shorts, T-shirt, and I had to go out and buy another coat." The temperature plunge posed a threat to Florida’s USS 9.1 billion-a-year citrus crop, more of which is still on the trees. Growers were hurrying to harvest as much of the fruit as possible before it was damaged by cold. "Time is of the essence in getting fruit to the plant," said Tom Rogers, a citrus grower who expected to see damage to oranges and grapefruit at that time. In Florida, Governor Jeb Bush signed an emergency order to eliminate the weight limit on trucks so citrus growers could get as much fruit to market as possible. Casey Pace, a spokeswoman for Florida Citrus Mutual, said growers had sprayed trees with sprinklers, which created a layer of ice and helped maintain a temperature near freezing. Citrus trees are considered in danger of damage if the temperature drops below minus 2 degrees Celsius for four hours or more. Snow ranging from a dusting to up to 30 centimeters blanketed the Carolinas, Tennessee and parts of Virginia. citrus n. 柠檬，柑橘；柑橘属果树 bewilder v. 使迷惑；使为难；……弄糊涂 sprinklern. 洒水器；洒水手 Celsius adj.摄氏的 shorts n. 宽松运动裤；男式短衬裤 King’s statement that "We brought shorts, T-shirt, and I had to go out and buy another coat." shows that ______. A: he was caught’by the sudden cold B: he needed formal clothes C: fashion in Florida is tempting D: Florida is hot compared with England

Part I Directions: Fill the blanks according to what you hear. (数字题请写出数字） International trade is likely to be, again, a main issue for political and business leaders at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland. American President Donald Trump plans to attend the meeting in Davos this week. He is the closing speaker at the meeting. An administration spokeswoman said the president would seek to "promote his policies to 1 American businesses, American industries and American workers." Trump is expected defend his administration's trade measures. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave this year's 2 speech. The India leader said his country's economy would more than double in size by the year 3 while fighting climate change. China is sending a delegation of more than 130 people including a top 4 advisor Liu He. Last year, Chinese President Xi Jinping attended. He warned against protectionism and trade disputes. At the time, Xi said that "a trade war will only lead to suffering on both sides." Tao Ran is an economist at the Brookings Institution, a research group in Washington. He said China's Liu will seek to get the U.S. to limit trade actions against his country. "I think what Liu He will do is (try) to persuade the U.S. from 5 more trade actions against China," he said. Recently, the U.S. has 6 criticism for the decision to place taxes on imported washing machines and solar panels. The move largely affects South Korea and China. The move follows a finding by the U.S. International Trade Commission. Trade officials said that those imported products were a "cause of serious injury to 7 manufacturers." The U.S. is seeking to place a 20 percent tax on imported washing machines in the first year. South Korea says the import taxes 8 World Trade Organization rules. South Korean companies Samsung and LG would be hard hit by the import taxes on washers. A 30 percent tax on imported solar cells is also being sought. China is a major manufacturer of solar equipment. The import taxes on both kinds of products are planned to decrease in the second and third years. India's Prime Minister Modi 9 his country's fast economic growth. India has one of the world's fastest growing economies. It is the world's largest democracy and currently the second most populated country. Modi said India would greatly increase its use of renewable energy to reduce the effects of climate change. But Modi said he also was concerned about moves to increase 10 to trade that threatened globalization. He added that, "the solution to this worrisome situation against globalization is not isolation." In his speech, the Indian leader called climate change a major threat. He added that developed countries needed to provide developing nations, like his own, with more money for new technologies. The World Economic Forum, a Swiss nonprofit organization, holds its main yearly meeting each January. I'm Mario Ritter.