Section II Reading Comprehension Part A
Directions: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on the ANSWER SHEET. (40 points)
bring outText 1
King Juan Carlos of Spain once insisted kings don't abdicate, they die in their sleep. But embarrassing scandals and the popularity of the republican left in the recent Euro-elections have forced him to eat his words and stand down. So, dies the Spanish crisis suggest that monarchy is eing its last days? Does that mean the uniting is on the wall for all European royals, with their magnificent uniforms and majestic lifestyles?
The Spanish ca previous arguments both for and against monarchy when public opinion is particularly. Polarized, as it was following the end of the France regime, monarchs can ri above "mere" politics and "embody" a spirit of national unity.
It is this apparent transcendence of politics that explains monarchs continuing popularity as
heads of states. And so, the Middle East expected, Europe is the most monarch-infested region is the world, with 10 kingdoms (not counting Vatican city and Andorra). But unlike their absolutist counterparts in the Gulf and Asia, most royal families have survived becau they allow voters to avoid the difficult arch for a non-controversial but respect public figure.
Even so, kings and queens undoubtedly have a downside, symbolic of national unity as they claim to be, their very history—and sometimes the way they behave today-embodies outdated and indefensible privileges and inequalities. At a time when Thomas Piketty and other ecumenists are warning of rising inequality and the increasing power of inherited wealth, it is bizarre that wealthy aristocratic families should still be the symbolic heart of modern democratic families should still be the symbolic heart of modern democratic states. The most successful monarchies strive to abandon or hide their old aristocratic ways. Prince and princess have day-jobs and ride bicycles, not hors (or helicopters). Even so, the are wealthy families who party with the international 1%, and media intrusiveness makes it increasingly difficult to maintain the right image.
While Europe's monarchies will no doubt be smart enough to strive for some time to come, it is the British royals who have most to fear from the Spanish example.
It is only the Queen who has prerved the monarchy reputation with her rather ordinary (if well-healed) granny style. The danger will come with Charles, who has both an expensive taste of lifestyle and a pretty hierarchical view of the world. He has failed to understand that monarchies have largely survived becau they provide a rvice—as non-controversial and non-political heads of state. Charles ought to know that as English history shows, it is kings of republicans, who are the monarchy's worst enemies.
21、According to the first two paragraphs, king Juan Carl of span_____.
A.ud to enjoy high public support
B.was unpopular among European royals
C.ended his reign in embarrassment
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D.ead his relationship with his rivals
正确答案是:C
22password是什么意思>smirk什么意思、Monarchs are kept as head of state in European mostly_____.
A.owing to their undoubted and respectable status
B.to achieve a balance between tradition and reality
C.to give voters more public figures to look up to
D.due to their everlasting political embodiment
正确答案是:A
23dave、Which of the following is shown to be odd, according to Paragraph 4?_____.
A.Aristocrats' excessive reliance on inherited wealth.
B.The simple lifestyle of the aristocratic families.
C.The role of the nobility in modern democracies.
初中命题作文
英译汉 在线翻译D.The nobility's adherence to their privileges.
正确答案是:C
24、The British royals "have most to fear" becau Charles_____.
A.takes a tough line on political issues.
B.fails to change his lifestyle as advid.
C.takes republicans as his potential allies.
D.fails to adapt himlf to his future role.
正确答案是:B
it狂人下载25、Which of the following is the best title of the text?_____.
direct是什么意思
A.Carlos, Glory and Disgrace Combined
B.Carlos, a Lesson for All European Monarchs
C.Charles, Slow to React to the Coming Threats
D.Charles, Anxious to Succeed to the Throne
正确答案是:B
Text 2
Just how much does the Constitution protect your digital data? The Supreme Cpurt will now consider whether police can arch the contents of a mobile phone without a warrant if the phone is on or around a person during an arrest.
California has asked the justices to refrain from a sweeping ruling, particularly one that upts the old assumptions that authorities may arch through the posssions of suspects at the time of their arrest. It is hard, the state argues, for judges to asss the implications of new and rapidly changing technologies.