雅思英语阅读练习题及复习资料

雅思英语阅读练习题及答案：第十二篇

雅思英语阅读练习题及答案：第十二篇

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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

Europ

ean

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.

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.

Part II

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）

< br>

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< /p>

”

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

1. TRUE

Explanation

See

the

first

sentence

in

Sect

ion

A

“Aftera

period

of

introversion and stunned self- disbelief, continental European

governments

will

recover

their

enthusiasm

for

pan-European

institution-

building in 2007”.

1. TRUE

2. FALSE

Explanation

See the third sentence in Section C “An

d 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.”.

1. TRUE

2. FALSE

3. TRUE

Explanation

See the first sentenc

e in the Section D “In 2007 the European

Union marks the 50th anniversary of another treaty

—

the Treaty

of Rome, its founding charter.”.

1. TRUE

2. FALSE

3. TRUE

4. FALSE

Explanation

See the third sentence in Section D“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