3. The North America Free Trade Agreement （NAFTA)____a free trade area between the parties in accordance with Article XXIV of the GATT, and is intended to establish principles and rules.

A、Free trade among members.

B、FTA asks all the members to negotiate for a common external trade policy.

C、External trade policy towards non-member countries.

D、FTA is more popular than Customs Union.

When the United States and Korea(SOK) announced their new free-trade agreement last month, the news was mainly economic. The deal would give American farmers and bankers alike better access to Korean consumers and help Korean companies push more electronics, cars and textiles into the United States. Largely unreported was the political angle—the U.S.-Korea(SOK) free trade agreement comes at precisely the moment when America's military presence on the Korean Peninsula is rapidly diminishing, anti-U.S. nationalism in Korea(SOK) is growing and China is playing an ever more important leadership role in the region. This FTA is much more significant in strategic than economic terms.

It is the same about any number of trade deals in Asia these days. While free-trade agreements have always been somewhat political, solidifying national relationships, the use of FTAs in geopolitical jockeying(竞赛) is reaching new heights in East Asia. Since 1997, the number of FTAs in the region has risen from seven to 38. Last time we saw this sort of frenzied bilateral activity was back in the 1930s. That worries some economists, who fear that all the free-trade politicking will further erode an already beleaguered global trading system, and create a snowball effect of countermeasures.

It's no accident that the activity in the region has increased since 2004, which marked the beginning of a massive free trade agreement between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. China offered countries like Laos and Cambodia an "early harvest", unilaterally opening up markets for hundreds of different kinds of agricultural products. That in turn helped smooth the way for a reduction in tension in hot spots like the disputed South China Sea territories. FTAs are becoming a key instrument for great-power diplomacy.

That worries rivals, who are rushing to find their own partners. The Japanese, for example, have always been cautious when it comes to bilateral agreements. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe recently announced a new push for more Japanese FTAs in the region. Meanwhile, the EU is trying desperately to push its way back into the region, recently announcing plans to negotiate its own deals with both South Korea and the ASEAN nations.

How will all the wheeling and dealing end? Not with more efficient trading. A recent map of Asian trade deals shows an increasingly complicated "spaghetti bowl" hindering broader global efforts to liberalize trade. Such deals have a disproportionately negative effect on small and medium-sized enterprises, representing as much as 80 percent of jobs in some parts of Asia. Already, the U.S.-Korea(SOK) deal is causing grousing(不满) in Japan, which would take a hit as Korean competitors no longer have. to deal with U.S. tariffs. Still, that probably won't turn the tide—the most important criterion in motivating a country to seek FTAs, well ahead of economic reform, was—surprise—politics.

By signing a new FTA with Korea(SOK), U.S. wishes to ______.

A．withdraw rapidly its military troops in Korea(SOK).

B．arouse pro-U.S. sentiments in Korea(SOK).

C．check the increasing significance of China there.

D．fulfill its magnifying global economic strategy.

听力原文： Iraq has signed a free-trade agreement with three other Arab countries at the conclusion of an Arab Economic Union meeting in Baghdad, the first there since 1991.

The accord was signed Thursday by trade ministers from Iraq, Egypt, Syria and Libya. Officials say the free trade agreement is the first step towards establishing a common Arab market. Iraq is still under United Nations economic sanctions imposed after its 1990 invasion of Kuwait. Earlier this year, Iraq signed bilateral free trade agree-merits with Egypt and Syria.

Reuters news agency reports Iraq's imports from Arab nations makes up 50 percent of Baghdad's annual trade.

When was the free trade agreement assigned?

A．Tuesday.

B．Monday.

C．Thursday.

D．Friday.

Which country has not signed the free- trade agreement with Iraq?

A．Egypt.

B．Kuwait.

C．Syria.

D．Libya.

The US government's propaganda is in favor of______.

A．isolation of WTO

B．free trade

C．a free trade critics

D．environment and consumer groups

A、1965

B、1968

C、1980

D、1989

In reality, the so-called "free trade agreements" may actually create their own barriers to a free market.

Free trade is the absence of barriers to the free flow of ___________ between countries.

A.persons

B.goods and services

C.production factors

D.capital

5. Congress vs Parliament The difference between congress and parliament exist in the way they function. Congress and parliament are terms that have come to represent two major forms of democracies in different parts of the world. While Westminster form of parliamentary democracy is found in Britain and many other commonwealth countries that were ruled by Britain at one point of time and are now free and independent, congressional form of democracy where the President is the head of the executive is opted by mainly US and some other countries. The main purpose of both congress as well as parliament is to make, pass, and amend laws providing representation to states or provinces that collectively make up the nation. However, there are also differences that will be highlighted in this article. At a superficial level, it seems hard to find out differences between a congress and a parliament as both are made up of popularly elected representatives of people who have got majority votes of the people in their constituency. However, there are differences between both in how members get elected and what their roles and functions are once they are members of the house. The first and foremost difference between the two lies in the meanings of the two terms themselves. While congress comes from a Latin word meaning “to come together,” parliament comes from a French word meaning “to talk.” The same difference in meaning almost defines differences in the election procedure of congressmen and parliamentarians. What is the difference between Congress and Parliament? Both congress and parliament serve the same purpose of making legislations though, there are differences in how members get elected and what they do after getting elected in the two types of legislative bodies. Definition of Congress and Parliament: ? Congress is the legislative branch of a governing system that has a congressional democracy. ? Parliament is the legislative branch of a governing system that has a parliamentary democracy. Accountability of the Executive: ? The executive branch is not accountable to the legislative branch in a congressional democracy. ? The executive branch is accountable to the legislative branch in a parliamentary democracy. Freedom: ? There is more freedom to members in a congress than in the parliament. This simply means that a member has more individuality in case of congress than in the case of a parliament. Parts of Congress and Parliament: ? Congress has two parts as Senate and House of Representatives. ? Parliament has two parts as House of Lords and House of Commons. Influence of the Executive: ? Executive is more powerful in congress. ?However, executive is more in control as far as legislation process is concerned in parliament. 9. About the differences between Congress and Parliament, which one is NOT TRUE?

A、Members in a congress enjoy more freedom than in the parliament

B、Congress has two parts as Senate and House of commons.

C、Executive is more powerful in congress.

D、Congress comes from a Latin word meaning “to come together”.