Singapore
Singapore is a small, flat, marshy island that hasbeen developed to become the most important portand business center in Southeast Asia and one ofthe ten wealthiest countries in the world in terms ofgross national product per capita2 .
Singapore has a population of 3. 5 million peopleand a high density of more than 500 people persquare kilometer. The superior infrastructure — especially the excellent port and internationalairport — has made Singapore the import and transshipment center for the region. It is one ofthe world’s largest oil refining centers3, where crude oil is unloaded and refined beforeshipment to the rest of Asia . These functions are complemented by a large variety ofmaritime service activities, including banking, insurance, communications, and consulting.
Singapore has diversified its service sector to include a wider range of financial,communications, and management activities and has attracted the regional headquarters ofmany multinational corporations. And tourism has also become a significant industry. Thisdiversification, as well as high consumption levels in the domestic market, allowed Singaporeto cope with the 1983 oil crisis and 1997 Asian financial crisis somewhat more easily than didother countries in the region.
Singapore has a population of diverse ethnicity and religion, but it is dominated ( 77 percent)by overseas Chinese, descendants of immigrants who moved to Singapore in the colonial periodand followed the religions of Buddhism and Taoism. Other groups include Malays ( about 15percent) and Indians ( about 7 percent, mainly Hindu) . Fertility rates are low in Singapore, andthe government has tried to promote more births among the highly educated in order toreduce labor shortages and ensure a workforce to support the older population. ColonialSingapore was residentially segregated, with the British living next to the government buildingson the east shore of the Singapore River4, Chinatown on the west riverbank, and Indian andMalay neighborhoods farther toward the east. There are remnants of this structure incontemporary Singapore, but the city is now characterized by dozens of tall office buildings,housing complexes, new towns and new industrial parks.
The government has made serious attempts to foster harmony between ethnic groups and tocreate a sense of national identity by designating four official languages ( Mandarin 064Chinese, English, Malay, and Indian Tamil) . They promote an Asian identity through schoolsand national military service that emphasize hard work, community consensus, and respectfor authority. They also enforce Singapore’s image of a clean and crime-free 5 environmentthrough very strict rules against litter and graffiti, media censorship, and licensing of satellitedishes and street entertainers.
阅读自测
Ⅰ. Complete the sentence s with the proper forms of the words given in parentheses :
1. The nation’s _______( consume) of coal decreased continuously last year.
2. Today’s bicycles are _______( descend ) of the earlier velocipede ( 早期的脚踏两 轮车) .
3. The Chinese are an _______ ( industry) nation.
4. _______( immigrate) can’t work in the United States without a permit.
Ⅱ. Complete each sentence with a proper word , and make changes if necessary: (characterize , fund, enforce, ensure , dominate)
1. Successful leaders events rather than react to them.
2. We can that the work shall be done in the right way.
3. This disease is by rash and high fever.
4. The responsibility that the police shoulders is to the law.
5. The space program is completely by the central government
