单选题 Will the European Union make it? The question would have sounded strange not long ago. Now even the project's greatest cheerleaders talk of a continent facing a "Bermuda triangle" of debt, population decline and lower growth.
As well as those chronic problems, the EU face an acute crisis in its economic core, the 16 countries that use the single currency. Markets have lost faith that the euro zone's economies, weaker or stronger, will one day converge thanks to the discipline of sharing a single currency, which denies uncompetitive members the quick fix of devaluation.
Yet the debate about how to save Europe's single currency from disintegration is stuck. It is stuck because the euro zone's dominant powers, France and Germany, agree on the need for greater harmonization within the euro zone, but disagree about what to harmonies.
Germany thinks the euro must be saved by stricter rules on borrow spending and competitiveness, marked by quasi-automatic sanctions for governments that do not obey. These might include threats to freeze EU funds for poorer regions and EU mega-projects and even the suspension of a country's voting rights in EU ministerial councils. It insists that economic co-ordination should involve all 27 members of the EU club, among whom there is a small majority for free-market liberalism and economic rigour; in the inner core alone, Germany fears, a small majority favour French interference.
A "southern" camp headed by French wants something different: "European economic government" within an inner core of euro-zone members. Translated, that means politicians intervening in monetary policy and a system of redistribution from richer to poorer members, via cheaper borrowing for governments through common Eurobonds or complete fiscal transfers. Finally, figures close to the France government have murmured, euro-zone members should agree to some fiscal and social harmonization: e. g. , curbing competition in corporate-tax rates or labour costs.
It is too soon to write off the EU. It remains the world's largest trading block. At its best, the European project is remarkably liberal: built around a single market of 27 rich and poor countries, its internal borders are far more open to goods, capital and labor than any comparable trading area. It is an ambitious attempt to blunt the sharpest edges of globalization, and make capitalism benign.

单选题 The EU is faced with so many problems that ______.
A. it has more or less lost faith in markets
B. even its supporters begin to feel concerned
C. some of its member countries plan to abandon euro
D. it intends to deny the possibility of devaluation

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[考点] 细节题
[解析] 很多考生做错了该题，因为定位出现了偏差。题干中的many problem定位在第2段第1句，对应those chronic problems。然后作者开始提出acute crisis。因此答案指向第1段。同时第1段最后提到了“Bermuda triangle”of debt, population decline and lower growth, 债务、人口下降和低增长指的就是这些问题。而且句首的even对应题干的so...that...句型。因此答案指向第1段第2句的even...“Bermuda triangle”。对应B选项，A选项指出市场失去信任本身没有错误，但是定位在第2段，缺少题干中many problems的对应，因此错误。B选项是对定位处的同义改写，选项中的supporters对应原文的cheerleaders。C选项中的abandon euro，在第1段和第2段均没有提到，属于无中生有。D选项中deny定位在第2段最后一句，定位错误。

单选题 The debate over the EU's single currency is stuck because the dominant powers ______.
A. are competing for the leading position
B. are busy handling their own crises
C. fail to reach an agreement on harmonization
D. disagree on the steps towards disintegration

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[考点] 细节题
[解析] 题干中The debate over the EU's single currency is stuck定位在第3段第1句，第2句的it is stuck是对第1句内容的重复，并且出现了because，因此答案指向because后面的内容。A选项leading position在原文没有体现。B选项handling their own crisis在原文没有体现。C选项是对原文的同义替换，该句指出德法就协作的需求达成一致，而对如何协作存在分歧，也就是他们对协作达成共识。D选项中disintegration(分离)与原文的harmonization相反。

单选题 To solve the euro problem, Germany proposed that ______.
A. EU funds for poor regions be increased
B. stricter regulations be imposed
C. only core members be involved in economic co-ordination
D. voting rights of the EU members be guaranteed

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[考点] 细节题
[解析] 题干中的Germany定位在第4段，第1句是该段的概括提出应该强化法规。第2句these指代的第1句中的rules。第3句的主语it指代的Germany。第4段提到了Germany，没有明确定位在某句话上。因此需要选项回原文一一对应。A选项中的poor regions在第4段没有提及，定位错误。B选项中是对第1句的同义改写。C选项中core members和economic co-ordination定位在第4段第3句，原文的意思是包括全部27个成员，而非选项中提到的仅仅是核心成员。D选项中的voting rights定位在第4段第2句，但是原文用的suspension暂时取消，而不是选项中的guarantee。

单选题 The French proposal of handling the crisis implies that ______.
A. poor countries are more likely to get funds
B. strict monetary policy will be applied to poor countries
C. loans will be readily available to rich countries
D. rich countries will basically control Eurobonds

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[考点] 推理题
[解析] 题干的French定位在第5段，该段重复出现French和France，因此没有明确的定位，需要选项回原文一对应。A选项poor countries定位在第5段第2句，是对第2句内容的同义改写，选项的more likely to get funds对应原文a system of redistribution from richer to poorer members, via cheaper borrowing for governments through common Eurobonds or complete fiscal transfers. B选项中strict monetary policy是第4段Germany的观点，定位错误。C选项中的loans在第5段根本没有提到，而且第5段谈到的是对穷国的措施而非富国。D选项中的Eurobonds定位在第5段第3句，原文的意思是通过欧盟债券来廉价地借钱，而是否是富国控制债券无从知晓。