Officials from Cuba will attend the Summit of the Americas this week in Panama. The summit brings together the leaders of countries in North America, Central America, South America and the Caribbean. This is the first time Cuba has been invited to the meetings.

United States officials say President Barack Obama plans to talk with Cuban President Raúl Castro at the summit. It will be the first time the two men have spoken since Mr. Obama announced plans to re-establish full diplomatic relations between their countries.

President Obama says he welcomes Cuba's participation at the conference. "Our shift in policy toward Cuba comes at a moment of renewed leadership in the Americas. This April, we are prepared to have Cuba join the other nations of the hemisphere at the Summit of the Americas."

Obama administration officials hope that by welcoming Cuba to the summit, the United States will rebuild its leadership role in Latin America. Experts say the U.S. position has suffered because of economic weakness and the area's increasing involvement with China and other countries.

U.S. measures targeting Cuba's Communist government have been an issue in Latin American countries for many years. At the 2012 Summit of the Americas, some Latin American leaders criticized the U.S. decision to bar Cuba from the meetings.

Michael Shifter heads the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington, D.C. He says the invitation to Cuba to attend the summit in Panama is a major development.

But not everyone supports the Obama administration's decision to seek full diplomatic relations with Cuba. And some critics say Cuba's participation in the summit hurts democracy in Latin America.

The United States still includes Cuba on a list of countries that support terrorism. President Obama wants Cuba to be taken off the list, but he has not yet announced when that will happen.

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1.1.This year’s Summit of the Americas will be held in_____ .

A Cuba

B America

C Caribbean

D Panama

解析：选D。D。细节理解题。根据第1段第1句话可知，古巴将参加本周在Panama举行的美洲峰会。

2.Which of the following countries will not attend the Summit of the Americas?

A Canada.

B Cuba.

C China.

D Columbia.

解析：选C。C。推理判断题。因为这是美洲政府首脑会，中国是亚洲国家，不在其范围。

3.The highlight of this year’s Summit of the Americas will be_____.

A President Obama talking with Raúl Castro

B Obama administration officials welcoming Cuba to the summit

C announcing re-establishment of full diplomatic relations between America and Cuba

D bringing together all the leaders from all the American countries

解析：选A。A。推理判断题。根据第2段可知，在这次会上，美国总统奥巴马将首次与古巴主席劳尔·卡斯特卢会晤。

4.What does the underlined word ‘bar’ in paragraph 5 mean?

A discourage

B prevent

C save

D protect

解析：选B。B。词义判断题。根据第5段可知，在上届美洲峰会上，有国家批评美国阻止古巴参加这个会议。

5.Why are some of the critics still against Cuba’s participation in the summit?

A They think it hurts democracy in Latin America.

B They think it is a major development.

C They think Cuba is a country that supports terrorism.

D They think it will rebuild America’s leadership role in Latin America.

解析：选A。A。细节理解题。根据倒数第2段的第2句可知，美国国内对此次邀请古巴参加会议看法不一，其中反对者的看法是some critics say Cuba's participation in the summit hurts democracy in Latin America。