Cold War Enemies Warm up as President Obama Visits Cuba
U.S. President Barack Obama made history this March
with an official visit to the communist country of Cuba. This was the first face-to-face meeting between a
U.S. president and a Cuban leader on Cuban soil since 1928.
Geographically, the two countries are quite close, with less than 150 km of open
ocean separating them. However, before this visit, the United States and Cuba
were a world apart, at least politically. Relations between their governments
have been strained since the days of the Cold War following the end of World War II.
For decades, America and her allies were locked in a desperate
arms race with the Soviet Union and other communist countries. Fear and mutual suspicion drove foreign
policy on both sides as tension between the world’s superpowers ran high. Huge
militaries with powerful weapons, including nuclear ones, stood ready for a conflict that could happen at any time. As
international relations went from crisis to crisis, there was a real risk of
nuclear war if either side made a false step.
Of course, as an ally
of the Soviet Union, Cuba found itself blacklisted as an enemy by America. To deny Cuba’s government any support, U.S.
companies were forbidden from trading with the communist country and visits by U.S. citizens
were banned.
Recently, however, in a
sign of changing times, Cuba has been implementing many reforms. Obama being warmly received by Cuban president Raul Castro and the Cuban people is
an indication of the country “opening up.” To reinforce this message, speaking
in Havana, President Obama declared the “Cold War” to be officially over and described his vision of a future of cooperation. He also expressed hope that Cuba will give more freedoms to its
citizens. Finally, in a fitting celebration of a shared national passion, the
two presidents watched a baseball game between a Major
League Baseball (MLB) team from the U.S. and Cuba’s
national players.
Re-establishing official ties is a major step that marks a change of decades-old
foreign policy on both sides. Even so, despite the improving relations,
the U.S. still enforces trade sanctions against Cuba. However,
Obama is calling on the U.S. Congress to remove this barrier to the flow of goods that has long crippled Cuba’s economy and kept the country poor. If he gets his wish, international trade
will create economic opportunities and hopefully open the door to a better
life for Cuban people.
Reading Comprehension
( ) 1. Before President Obama visited Cuba
this time, it was ________ years ago that a U.S. president met a Cuban leader
in Cuba.
(A) 66 (B) 77 (C)
88 (D) 99
(
) 2. According to the passage, Obama hoped that Cuba could make some more
reforms in ________.
(A) diplomacy (B) human rights (C) economy (D) public
health
( ) 3. The second paragraph mainly talks about
that ________.
(A) the United States and Cuba
are not far from each other on the map
(B) the relations between the
U.S. and Cuba were quite complicated
(C) the conflicts between
superpowers might have led to nuclear wars
(D) fear and suspicion helped
improve the development of weapons
( ) 4. The key lies in ________ if Obama
wants to improve the economy of Cuba and help the poor people there.
(A) the U.S. Congress (B) Raul Castro
(C) the
Soviet Union (D) MLB
( ) 5. Which of the following could NOT be
inferred from the passage?
(A) U.S. citizens had not been
allowed to visit Cuba for years.
(B) Havana was the city
visited by Obama on his friendly tour of Cuba.
(C) The better life of Cuban people depends on both the U.S. and the Cuban governments.
(D) Trade sanctions against
Cuba is going to be terminated by the demand of Obama.
Vocabulary and Phrases
1. geographically [&dZi1`Gr8fIkLI] adv. 在地理上，從地理上來說
．Geographically, Taiwan faces Mainland China in
the west and Japan in the northeast.
2. strain [stren] vt.（關係）緊繃；拉緊
．Since the election campaign started, relations between the two candidates
have been strained.
3. ally [`8laI] n. [C] 盟友，盟國
．In the game, the characters have to fight battles against or form allies with other players.
4. mutual [`mjutS51l] adj. 相互的，彼此的
．It’s obviously true that language differences are often a barrier to mutual understanding.
5. tension [`tEnS1n] n. [U] 緊張局勢，緊張狀況
．The conflict between the two political parties keeps arising and there
seems to be no way to ease the tension.
6. forbid [f2`bId] vt. 禁止（forbid—forbade—forbidden）
．Jenny’s father forbade her to
go out with her friends for two weeks due to her poor grades.
7. ban [b8n] vt. 禁止
．The government decided to ban the
book because it encouraged people to commit suicide.
8. implement [`Impl1&mEnt] vt. 實施，履行
．These proposals might be beneficial to many people, but they are too ideal
to be implemented.
9. reform [rI`fOrm] n. [C] 改革，革新
．The Ministry of Education devotes most of its financial resources to
educational reforms.
10. indication [&Ind1`keS1n] n. [C][U] 跡象，徵兆
．There is a clear indication
that the typhoon is coming soon. We must prepare in advance to minimize any
potential damage.
11. reinforce [&riIn`fors] vt. 強化；使更具說服力
．Jimmy’s unique dressing styles reinforce
people’s impression that he has talent in fashion.
12. declare [dI`klEr] vt. 宣告，聲明
．To our astonishment, one of the major department stores in London suddenly
declared bankrupt without any
indication.
13. officially [1`fIS1lI] adv. 正式地，官方地
．For now, the minister has not yet officially
announced his response to the accusation.
14. cooperation [ko&Ap1`reS1n] n. [U] 合作，互助
．The company is a complicated organism with a system that depends on cooperation of each other.
15. re-establish [&ri1`st8blIS] vt. 重新建立
．To re-establish the hospital is
the primary task in this area after the serious earthquake.
16. despite [dI`spaIt] prep.
儘管，任憑
．Despite the tight schedule, Mr. Dawson
still made time to be with his family.
17. enforce [In`fors] vt. 實施，執行
．Some people complained about the new law when it was first enforced.
18. sanctions [`s89kS1nz] n. pl. 國際制裁
．The U.N. might impose the trade sanctions
on those countries violating human rights.
19. barrier [`b8rI2] n. [C] 障礙，阻礙
．Wear a friendly smile is the most useful way to break the language barrier.
20. goods [G5dz] n. pl.
商品，貨物
．The new highway would help improve the distribution of goods between the north and the south.
21. cripple [`krIpL] vt. 使陷入癱瘓，嚴重削弱
．The big storm crippled the
airport. None of the airplanes were able to land or take off.
22. economy [I`kAn1mI] n.
[U][C] 經濟，經濟狀況
economic [&ik1`nAmIk] adj. 經濟上的
．The war between the two countries had a great impact on their economies.
．Since the country’s economic
situation is getting worse, it’s more and more difficult for people to find a
job there.
23. hopefully [`hopf1lI] adv.
但願；懷抱希望地
．Hopefully, we can get a bonus prior to
the Chinese New Year.
Words for
Recognition
1. Cold War [`kold&wAr] n. 冷戰
指的是二次大戰結束後至1991年蘇聯解體前，以英、美兩國為首的西方列強和以蘇聯為首的共產國家之間的長期對抗。
2. Cuba [`kjub1] n. 古巴
Cuban [`kjub1n] adj. 古巴的，古巴人的
古巴位於美洲加勒比海北部，由群島所構成，與美國隔佛羅里達海峽對望，最短距離僅約145公里。首都暨最大城為哈瓦那。古巴共和國是現今少數幾個仍由共產黨執政的社會主義國家之一。
3. Barack Obama [b1`rAk o`bAm1] n. 巴拉克‧歐巴馬
美國第44任總統，也是首位非裔美國總統，於2008年初次當選，並於2012年成功連任。
4. communist [`kAmj5&nIst] adj.
共產主義的，共產主義者的
5. Soviet Union [`sovIIt `junj1n] n.
蘇聯
全名為蘇維埃社會主義共和國聯邦，是存在於1922至1991年的聯邦制社會主義國家，領土囊括大部分東歐以及幾乎整個中亞和北亞，是當時土地面積最大的國家。1980年代末，其領導人戈巴契夫進行改革，使其民主化和自由化，但卻也導致後來蘇聯的解體。
6. superpower [²`pa52] n.
[C] 超級強國
7. nuclear [`njuklI2] adj. 核子的，原子核的
8. blacklist [`bl8k&lIst] vt. 將…列入黑名單
9. Raul Castro [rA`ul `kAstro] n. 勞爾‧卡斯楚
古巴共和國現任黨和國家最高領導人，曾推行經濟改革，提昇人民生活水平。
10. Havana [h1`v8n1] n. 哈瓦那
古巴首都、主要城市及商業中心，也是古巴和加勒比海國家中最大的城市。
11. Major
League Baseball (MLB) [`medZ2
&liG `bes&bOl] n.
美國職業棒球大聯盟
簡稱大聯盟，是美國最著名的職業棒球聯賽，於1903年由美國聯盟和國家聯盟共同成立，目前共有30支球隊—29支來自美國各地，1支來自加拿大。
12. U.S. Congress [`ju`Es
`kA9Gr1s] n. 美國國會
美國憲法規定之立法機構，由參議院與眾議院所組成，每個議員均由其選區內的選民選出。國會議員代表整個國家的選民，通過立法來規範政府與人民的行為。
Translation
歐巴馬訪古巴：冷戰宿敵和解
美國總統巴拉克‧歐巴馬於今年三月正式造訪共產國家古巴，創下歷史新頁。這是自1928年以來，美國總統和古巴領導人首次在古巴領土上面對面會談。
就地理上而言，這兩個國家位置相當接近，僅隔著不到150公里寬的開放海域。但在這次參訪之前，美國和古巴彷彿處於兩個完全不同的世界，至少在政治上是如此。自從二戰後的冷戰開始，兩國政府間的關係便持續處於緊張狀態。數十年來，美國與其盟國一直都在跟蘇聯及其它共產國家進行著激烈的軍備競賽。而隨著這世界兩大強權之間的緊張局勢升溫，恐懼和相互猜疑也成了雙方外交政策的驅動力。龐大的軍隊再加上包含核武在內的強大武器，雙方都準備好面對隨時可能爆發的衝突。隨著國際關係在一次次危機中日趨緊張，如果任一方走錯一步，都有可能面臨核子戰爭的真實危機。
當然，身為蘇聯的同盟國，古巴知道自己被列在與美國為敵的黑名單之中。為了斷絕對古巴政府的所有支援，美國公司被禁止與這個共產國家有任何的貿易往來，美國公民也同樣被禁止前往該國觀光。
然而，在最近，似乎象徵著時代的改變，古巴進行了許多改革措施。而歐巴馬受到古巴總統勞爾‧卡斯楚以及古巴民眾的熱烈歡迎，也顯示了這個國家正在「逐步開放」的跡象。為了強化這個訊息，歐巴馬總統在哈瓦那發表演說時，聲明「冷戰」已經正式結束，並提到未來合作的願景。他同時也表示，希望古巴能給予其人民更多的自由。最後，在一場共享國家熱情的合宜慶祝活動中，兩位總統觀賞了由來自美國的大聯盟隊伍和古巴國家隊所進行的棒球賽事。
重新建立官方聯繫是標示雙方已持續數十年的外交政策有所改變的重大舉措。即便如此，儘管兩國關係已有改善，美國仍在對古巴施行貿易制裁。然而，歐巴馬正在呼籲美國國會，廢止這項貨物交流的禁令，因為它讓古巴的經濟陷入長期癱瘓，國家也持續貧窮。倘若國會真的如其所願，國際間的貿易將能創造經濟機會，但願也能因此打開讓古巴民眾通往更美好生活的大門。
閱讀測驗解答：1. C
2. B 3. C 4. A 5. D
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