President Xi Jinping announced Thursday that China will cut its military by 300,000 troops, a significant reduction in one of the largest militaries in the world and a move that the Chinese leader called a gesture of peace.

"The great renewal of the Chinese nation requires the dedicated efforts of one generation after another," Xi said in a speech at Tiananmen Square commemorating the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in the Pacific. "Having created a splendid civilization of over 5,000 years, the Chinese civilization will lead to an even brighter future," he said. 

Xi's announcement came as China staged a massive military parade in central Beijing, sending a stream of troops, tanks, and ballistic(弹道的) missiles down a major east-west street as fighter jets flew overhead with multicolored smoke.

Xi's speech kicked off the parade. An estimated 12,000 troops – about 1,000 of whom hailed(致敬) from Belarus, Cuba, Tajikistan, and other countries – marched along the 10-lane Changan Avenue from the commercial center Wangfujing to Tiananmen Square, about 1.5 miles away. They were joined by 200 fighter jets and 500 pieces of military hardware, including tanks and ballistic missiles.

Representatives from 49 countries were in attendance, including Russian leader Vladimir Putin, South Korean President Park Geun-hye and U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

Rory Medcalf, head of the national security college at Australian National University, said that Beijing may have decided to cut 300,000 troops "in the name of efficiency and cost saving so that the defense budget can be reallocated to 21st century capabilities."

Xi conducted a “troop inspection” after his speech, riding down Changan Avenue in a Chinese-manufactured Hongqi parade car.

On Thursday morning, China’s popular microblogging site Sina Weibo filled up with 350 million comments related to the parade. While many users expressed their patriotism and pride, few posts were filled with criticism. “The soldiers are too serious,” wrote one user. Others complained about the cloud of gray exhaust that followed a column of tanks.

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1.Why did China make the military reduction? 　

A For the efficiency and cost saving.

B For the renewal of the Chinese civilization.

C For the celebration of the end of World II.

D For the peace of the whole world.

解析：选D。D 细节理解题。根据文章第一段... a move that the Chinese leader called a gesture of peace可知，中国裁军的目的是为了世界和平。

2.Which of the following leaders was absent from the ceremony?

A David Cameron.

B Vladimir Putin.

C Park Geun-hye.

D Ban Ki-moon.

解析：选A。A 细节理解题。根据文章第五段可知，受邀参加阅兵观礼的有普京，朴槿惠和潘基文，文章中没有提及卡梅伦。

3.What can we infer from the passage?

A The majority of web users think highly of the parade.

B Many web users thought that the soldiers were lovely.

C The parade might bring air pollution to the capital city.

D The parade led to a heated discussion on the line.

解析：选A。A 推理判断题。根据文章最后一段第二句While many users expressed their patriotism and pride, few posts were filled with criticism可知，大部分网友对阅兵式给予了高度评价。

4.What is mainly talked about in the passage?

A China decided to cut its military forces.

B China held a military parade in Beijing.

C China showed its weapons to the world.

D World leaders attended China’s military parade.

解析：选B。B 主旨大意题。通读全文可知，本文报道了中国为纪念抗日战争胜利70周年举行阅兵仪式的情况。