雅思阅读全真练习系列：Next Year Marks the EU's 50th Anniversary of the Treaty

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　　Next Year Marks the EU's 50th Anniversary of the Treaty

　　A.　　After a period of introversion and stunned self-disbelief, continental European governments will recover their enthusiasm for pan-European institution-building in 2007. Whether the European public will welcome a return to what voters in two countries had rejected so short a time before is another matter.

　　B.　　There are several reasons for Europe’s recovering self-confidence. For years European economies had been lagging dismally behind America (to say nothing of Asia), but in 2006 the large continental economies had one of their best years for a decade, briefly outstripping America in terms of growth. Since politics often reacts to economic change with a lag, 2006’s improvement in economic growth will have its impact in 2007, though the recovery may be ebbing by then.

　　C.　　The coming year also marks a particular point in a political cycle so regular that it almost seems to amount to a natural law. Every four or five years, European countries take a large stride towards further integration by signing a new treaty: the Maastricht treaty in 1992, the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1997, the Treaty of Nice in 2001. And in 2005 they were supposed to ratify a European constitution, laying the ground for yet more integration—until the calm rhythm was rudely shattered by French and Dutch voters. But the political impetus to sign something every four or five years has only been interrupted, not immobilised, by this setback.

　　D.　　In 2007 the European Union marks the 50th anniversary of another treaty—the Treaty of Rome, its founding charter. Government leaders have already agreed to celebrate it ceremoniously, restating their commitment to “ever closer union” and the basic ideals of European unity. By itself, and in normal circumstances, the EU’s 50th-birthday greeting to itself would be fairly meaningless, a routine expression of European good fellowship. But it does not take a Machiavelli to spot that once governments have signed the declaration (and it seems unlikely anyone would be so uncollegiate as to veto it) they will already be halfway towards committing themselves to a new treaty. All that will be necessary will be to incorporate the 50th-anniversary declaration into a new treaty containing a number of institutional and other reforms extracted from the failed attempt at constitution-building and—hey presto—a new quasi-constitution will be ready.

　　E.　　According to the German government—which holds the EU’s agenda-setting presidency during the first half of 2007—there will be a new draft of a slimmed-down constitution ready by the middle of the year, perhaps to put to voters, perhaps not. There would then be a couple of years in which it will be discussed, approved by parliaments and, perhaps, put to voters if that is deemed unavoidable. Then, according to bureaucratic planners in Brussels and Berlin, blithely ignoring the possibility of public rejection, the whole thing will be signed, sealed and a new constitution delivered in 2009-10. Europe will be nicely back on schedule. Its four-to-five-year cycle of integration will have missed only one beat.

　　F.　　The resurrection of the European constitution will be made more likely in 2007 because of what is happening in national capitals. The European Union is not really an autonomous organisation. If it functions, it is because the leaders of the big continental countries want it to, reckoning that an active European policy will help them get done what they want to do in their own countries.

　　G.　　That did not happen in 2005-06. Defensive, cynical and self-destructive, the leaders of the three largest euro-zone countries—France, Italy and Germany—were stumbling towards their unlamented ends. They saw no reason to pursue any sort of European policy and the EU, as a result, barely functioned. But by the middle of 2007 all three will have gone, and this fact alone will transform the European political landscape.

　　H.　　The upshot is that the politics of the three large continental countries, bureaucratic momentum and the economics of recovery will all be aligned to give a push towards integration in 2007. That does not mean the momentum will be irresistible or even popular. The British government, for one, will almost certainly not want to go with the flow, beginning yet another chapter in the long history of confrontation between Britain and the rest of Europe. More important, the voters will want a say. They rejected the constitution in 2005. It would be foolish to assume they will accept it after 2007 just as a result of an artful bit of tinkering.

　　Questions 1-6　　Do the following statemets reflect the claims of the writer in Reading Passage 1?

　　Write your answer in Boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet.

　　TRUE if the statemenht reflets the claims of the writer

　　FALSE if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer

　　NOT GIVEN if it is possbile to say what the writer thinks about this

　　1.After years’ introspection and mistrust, continental European governments will resurrect their enthusiasm for more integration in 2007.

　　2. The European consitution was officially approved in 2005 in spite of the oppositon of French and Dutch voters.

　　3. The Treaty of Rome , which is considered as the fundamental charter of the European Union, was signed in 1957.

　　4.It is very unlikely that European countries will sign the declaration at the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome.

　　5.French government will hold the EU’s presidency and lay down the agenda during the first half of 2008.

　　6.For a long time in hisotry, there has been confrontation between Britain and the rest of European countries.

　　Questions 7-10　　Complet the following sentencces.

　　Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from Reading Passage 1 for each answer.

　　Write your answer in Boxes 7-10 on your answer sheet.

　　7. Every four or five years, European countries tend to make a rapid progress towards ___________________by signing a new treaty.

　　8. The European constitution is supposed to ______________________for yet more integration of European Union member countries.

　　9. The bureaucratic planners in Brussels and Berlin rashly ignore the possibility of __________________and think the new consitution will be delivered in 2009-10.

　　10. The politics of the three large continental countries, __________________ and the economic recovery will join together to urge the integration in 2007.

　　Questions 11-14　　Choose the appropriate letters A-D and write them in boxes 11-14 on your answer sheet.

　　11. Which of the following statemnts is true of Euopean economic development.

　　A. The economy of Europe developed much faster than that of Asia before 2006.

　　B. The growth of European economy was slightly slower than that of America in 2006.

　　C. The development of European economy are likely to slow down by 2007.

　　D. The recovery of European economy may be considerably accelerated by 2007.

　　12. The word “immobilised” in the last line of Section C means ___________.

　　A. stopped completely.

　　B. pushed strongly.

　　C. motivated wholely.

　　D. impeded totally.

　　13. Which of the following statements about the treaties in European countries is NOT TRUE.

　　A. The Maastricht Treaty was signed in 1992.

　　B. The Treaty of Amsterdan was signed in 1997.

　　C. The Treaty of Nice was signed in 2001.

　　D. The Treaty of Rome was signed in 2007.

　　14. The European constitution failed to be ratified in 2005--2006, because

　　A. The leaders of France, Italy and Germany were defensive, cynical and self-destructuve..

　　B. The voters in two countries of the Union --France and Holland rejected the constitution.

　　C. The leaders of the EU thought that it was unneccessary to pursue any European policy.

　　D. France, Italy and Germany are the three largest and most influential euro-zone countries.

　　Notes to the Reading Passage

　　1. pan-Enropean

　　pan-: 前缀：全，总，泛

　　pan-African 全/泛非洲的(运动)

　　pan-Enropean全/泛欧的(机构建设)

　　2. outstrip

　　超越，胜过，超过，优于

　　Material development outstripped human development”“物质的发展超过了人类的进步”

　　3. ebb

　　回落跌落;衰退或消减

　　The tide is on the ebb.正在退潮。

　　4. Machiavelli

　　马基雅维利，尼克尔1469-1527意大利政治理论家，他的著作君主论(1513年)阐述了一个意志坚定的统治者不顾道德观念的约束如何获得并保持其权力。

　　文章中意为“任何一个人都可以看到，显而易见。。。”。

　　5. hey presto

　　突然地;立即(魔术师用语)您看，变!

　　6. upshot

　　结果;结局