美国与古巴，从冷战死敌到破冰会谈

PANAMA CITY, April 11 (Reuters)—U.S. President Barack Obama met Cuban President Raul Castro on Saturday in the highest-level talks between the two countries in nearly 60 years, and the two men agreed to push ahead on improving relations after decades of hostility.

Describing their private meeting as “historic”, Obama said the two countries can now end the opposition of the Cold War era, although he said he would continue to pressure the communist-led country on democracy and human rights. “Obviously there are still going to be deep and significant differences between our two governments,” Obama told Castro as they met in Panama, where they both attended a summit of leaders from across  America.

The meeting followed a landmark agreement in December, when Obama and Castro announced they would move to normalize relations, including seeking to recover diplomatic ties that were broken off by Washington in 1961. Obama said he decided to overturn longstanding U.S. policy on Cuba because the old approach of open hostility and economic sanctions had failed to force through major changes on the Caribbean island and it was time to try something new.

At their 80-minute meeting on Saturday, almost unimaginable until recently, Obama and Castro sat side by side in polished, wooden chairs in a small conference room. The mood was described by Obama aides as amiable but businesslike.

Castro said he would continue to take steps toward normalizing relations, and was open to discussing human rights and other issues. “So we are willing to discuss everything, but we need to be patient, very patient. Some things we will agree on; others we will disagree,” said the 83-year-old leader, who took over as president of Cuba in 2008 when Fidel Castro stepped aside because of ill health.

Despite criticism from opponents, Obama wants to make changes to Cuba policy. He said at the summit earlier on Saturday, “The Cold War has been over for a long time. I’m not interested in having battles that frankly started before I was born,” Obama said. “What I am interested in is solving problems and working with you.”   

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1.What is mainly talked about in the passage?

A The U.S. held hostility against Cuba in the past 60 years.

B A historic meeting was held between the U.S and Cuba.

C Obama wanted to end the opposition of Cold War era.

D A summit of leaders of America was held in Panama City.

解析：选B。B 主旨大意题。根据文章第1段（主题段）可知，本文报道了美国总统奥巴马与古巴领导人卡斯特罗在巴拿马城美洲领导人峰会期间举行的历史性会晤，有意为重启双边关系方面做出努力。

2.What did Obama and Castro talk about last December?

A They planned to reach a landmark agreement.

B They agreed to recover diplomatic relations.

C They decided to remove the previous U.S. policy on Cuba.

D They determined to move economic sanctions on Cuba.

解析：选B。B 细节理解题。根据文章第3段Obama and Castro announced they would move to normalize relations可知，双方于去年12月达成了旨在使双边关系正常化的协议。

3.What does the underlined word most probably mean in Paragraph Three?

A Carry on.

B Make adjustments to.

C Focus on.

D Throw down.

解析：选D。D 猜测词义题。根据文章第3段the old approach of …had failed 及最后1段I’m not interested in having battles…可知，美国对古巴的政策是冷战时期的产物，已经过时，因此奥巴马打算予以摒弃，对古巴施行新的政策，由此判断，overturn在这里的意思是“推翻；抛弃”。

4.What was Raul Castro’s attitude toward recovering diplomatic ties with the U.S.?

A Cooperative.

B Opponent.

C Indifferent.

D Reluctant.

解析：选A。A 推理判断题。根据文章第5段Castro said he would continue to take steps toward normalizing relations, and was open to …So we are willing to discuss everything…可以判断，卡斯特罗在对待重启与美国的关系的态度是合作的，积极的。

5.What can we infer from the passage?

A The US-Cuba relations will soon be recovered.

B The economic sanctions against Cuba would continue.

C Obama had some difficulty changing policy on Cuba.

D People of both sides welcome the recovery of diplomatic ties.

解析：选C。C 推理判断题。根据文章最后1段Despite criticism from opponents, Obama wants to make changes to Cuba policy.可知奥巴马要改变对古巴的政策并不是一番风顺的，他将要面临来自反对党的阻力与干扰。