-
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
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.
is
very
unlikely
that
European
countries
will
sign
the
declaration
at
the
50th anniversary of the
Treaty of Rome.
government
will
hold
the
EU
’
s
presidency
and
lay
down
the
agenda
during
the
first half of 2008.
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.