阿尔斯通前高管:我没有孟晚舟那么幸运!
阿尔斯通前高管:我没有孟晚舟那么幸运!

The release of Huawei Technologies Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou is a great victory for China, said a French former business leader, as it was “really the first time” that a country stood up to the “long-arm jurisdiction(长臂管辖) of the United States” in such a way.

Meng was arrested by Canadian authorities at the request of the US at Vancouver International Airport on Dec 1, 2018. She was accused of misrepresenting the Chinese telecom company’s relationship with Skycom in a PowerPoint presentation to HSBC in 2013 and putting the bank at risk of violating US sanctions against Iran. Meng and Huawei always denied the accusations.

Through the unremitting efforts of the Chinese government, Meng finally returned to her home country safely after almost three years under house arrest in Vancouver. Meng, 49, arrived at Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport on Saturday night, where she expressed gratitude to the Chinese government for securing her safe return.

The high-profile arrest of Meng has stirred a debate over punitive(惩罚性的) measures taken by the US against foreign businesses and individuals. “In fact, in all Foreign Corrupt Practices Act cases, I have never seen such a thing,” Pierucci said in an interview with the China Global Television Network, referring to Meng’s case. “It shows that (the) negotiation has been very, very tough, and that the Department of Justice has really bent a lot to accommodate this kind of an agreement,” he said.

Frederic Pierucci, a former executive of energy and transport group Alstom, had his own experience of being accused by the US. He was arrested by US authorities at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport during a routine business trip in 2013. Pierucci was detained(拘留) on foreign bribery(贿赂) charges for five years, saying that he was held as an “economic hostage”. Alstom eventually paid a massive fine and was forced to sell its core business to US rival General Electric.

Pierucci, who gave a first-hand account of Washington’s cracking down on Alstom in the name of fighting corruption in his book The American Trap, said he was not as lucky as Meng. “I didn’t have the chance to have my company support me like she had. I realized that I was really alone, and that if I wanted to avoid spending 15 years in prisons in the US, I had to make the choices that I made. So this is a huge difference,” Pierucci said.

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1.What directly led to Meng’s arrest by Canada?

A The “long-arm jurisdiction of the US”.

B The request of America.

C Her misrepresenting in 2013.

D Her violation of US sanctions against Iran.

解析:选B。B 细节理解题。题目问“孟被加拿大逮捕的直接原因”,根据第二段第一句可知,孟被加拿大逮捕是应美国的要求,A、C项不属于加拿大逮捕孟的直接原因,D项在原文中是“使这家银行面临违反美国对伊朗制裁的风险”,故选B。

2.What debate does the arrest of Meng give rise to?

A One of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act cases mentioned by Pierucci.

B The unhappy compromise taken by the Department of Justice.

C The very, very tough negotiation to accommodate an agreement.

D The US’s punitive measures against foreign businesses and individuals.

解析:选D。D 细节理解题。根据debate定位到第四段,根据第一句可知孟晚舟事件引发了一场关于美国对外国企业和个人采取惩罚性措施的辩论,故选D。

3.What happened to Pierucci according to the last two paragraphs?

A He was once arrested by Canadian authorities.

B He was accused of foreign bribery.

C He spent 15 years in prisons in the United States.

D He had as much support as Meng from his company.

解析:选B。B 细节理解题。根据题目定位到最后两段,可知他是被美国当局逮捕的(was arrested by US authorities),被指控海外行贿(foreign bribery charges),他的公司没有像孟晚舟的公司那样支持他(I didn’t have the chance to have my company support me like she had)A、D项错误,B项符合原文;C项偷换概念,文中只提到“如果他想避免在美国监狱度过15年(if I wanted to avoid spending 15 years in prisons in the US)”。故选B。

4.The word “unremitting” (Para. 3) is closest in meaning to_______.

A conservative

B occasional

C constant

D ineffective

解析:选C。C 词义猜测题。根据unremitting定位到第三段第一句:经过中国政府的unremitting努力,孟在温哥华被软禁三年后终于安全返回祖国。结合选项可知,constant“不断的”更符合原文;conservative意为“保守的”,occasional意为“偶尔的”,ineffective意为“无效的”。故选C。