A、23 years. B、22 years. C、21 years. D、20 years. A细节题。根据“所听即所选”原则，前总统“heldpower for twenty-three years”。故选A，前总统当权23年。

Tunisia is observing three days of mourning for people killed in the revolution that ousted the president a week ago. As many as one hundred people may have died since the start of the uprising in December.
    The former president, Zinc El-Abidene Ben Ali, held power for twenty-three years.
    A temporary government has offered a general pardon to political prisoners and agreed to recognize banned political parties. The acting prime minister, Mohammed Ghannouchi, has also removed all restrictions on the media.
    The interim government promises to hold elections. And it has arrested members of Mr. Ben Ali’s family for investigation of corruption.
    But protesters in Tunis and elsewhere continued to demand the removal of any officials from the old ruling party.
    On Friday, the first day of national mourning, protesters in Tunis welcomed police officers who joined them for the first time.
    Still, the situation calmed enough this week for the government to announce that schools and universities will reopen next week.
    The protests grew out of anger over high unemployment and food prices, which are currently reaching new highs on world markets. The question now is how much the events in Tunisia will influence people in other countries.
Questions 5 and 7 will he based on the following news item.
5. How many years did the former president hold power?
6. What did the protesters in Tunis and elsewhere continue to demand?
7. According to the news, over which did the protests grow out of anger?