The Africans’ interest is to guard preferential export rules enshrined in the temporary African Growth and Opportunity Act, pass

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问题     The Africans’ interest is to guard preferential export rules enshrined in the temporary African Growth and Opportunity Act, passed by Congress in 2000. Tariff-free exports of some 6,000 goods from Africa to the United States are boosting trade and investment in southern Africa. Lesotho’s fast-growing textile industry depends almost entirely on Chinese investment in factories to make clothes for sale in the United States. The region also wants more access to America’s markets for fruit, beef and other agricultural goods.
    American interest lies mainly in South Africa, by far the largest economy in the region. Services account for 60% of its GDP, and it increasingly dominates the rest of Africa in banking, information technology, telecom, retail and other areas. Just as British banks, such as Barclays, have moved their African headquarters to South Africa over the past year, American investors see the country as a platform to the rest of the continent.
    Agreeing investment rules and resolving differences on intellectual property rights are the most urgent issues. American drug firms want to be part of the fast expansion in South Africa of production of anti-retroviral drugs, used against AIDS. By 2007 South Africa alone expects 1.2 m patients to take the drugs daily. The country might be the world’s biggest exporter of anti-AIDS drugs within a few years. Striking a bilateral deal now should make American investments easier.
    But Mr. Zoellick’s greater concern is for multilateral trade talks that stalled in Cancun, Mexico, in September. Alec Erwin, his South African counterpart, helped to organize the G20 group of poor and middle-income countries that opposed joint American-EU proposals there; he is widely tipped to take over as head of the World Trade Organization late next year, and would be a useful ally.
    So Mr. Zoellick is trying to charm his African partner by agreeing to drop support for most of a group of issues(known as "Singapore issues")that jammed up the talks at Cancun, and were opposed by poor countries; he says he also favors abolishing export subsidies in America — though only if Japan and the EU agree to do the same. That would please African exporters who say such subsidies destroy markets for their goods.
    Mr. Zoellick’s efforts to make more friends may be paying off. Even though America has treated Africa very shabbily on trade in the past, Mr. Erwin hints it is easier doing business with America than with Europe or Japan. A small sign, but perhaps a telling one.
Mr. Zoellick is trying to establish a good relationship with Mr. Erwin because______.

选项 A、Mr. Erwin is organizing a group of poor and middle-income countries to oppose America
B、Mr. Erwin is a very talented and tactful diplomat in the world political circle
C、Mr. Erwin’s possible position in the coming future will be helpful to American interests
D、Mr. Erwin’s relationship with Japanese and European leaders is useful to the U.S.

答案C

解析 这是一道细节题。本题干中的信号词为Mr.Zoellick,出自于文章第四段第一句话中。文章第四、五段指出:佐利克先生的南非搭档埃力克.欧文帮助组织了G20集团,反对美国与欧盟的联合提案:很多人暗示,欧文先生明年晚些时候将担任世贸组织的首脑,并将成为有帮助的盟友;因此,佐利克先生正在尽力讨好这位非洲伙伴。这说明,原因是欧文即将担任的职位可能对佐利克先生的国家有利。C说“欧文先生未来可能担任的职务将有助于美国人的利益”,这与文章的意思符合。A明显与文章的意思不符合;文中没有提到B和D。
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