The euro zone, which has adopted the euro as its sole legal currency, is now 15 members large and has a combined population of around 320 million. However, many more people are directly affected by the euro, from would-be members whose currencies are already nailed to it, to countries like Montenegro and Kosovo whose effective national currency is the euro. France's former African colonies also nail their common currency to Europe's. That means around 500 million people rely on the euro or euro-nailed currencies. The euro's tenth anniversary will see the euro zone take on a 16th member, Slovakia. A further eight other central and eastern European countries have set themselves the goal of joining within the next six years, including Poland, whose political establishment dropped its longtime opposition after a recent run (挤兑) on the Polish zloty (the basic unit of money in Poland). The euro has found some other unexpected converts, too, thanks to the financial crisis. The Danes voted against joining the euro zone in 2000, but they are set to hold another referendum in March. Iceland—not even an E.U. member—is pondering "unilateral euroization" (单边欧元化) after seeing its krona plunge nearly 80% against the euro between September and October. And the biggest prize of all, Britain, is said to be warming to the euro. Barroso recently claimed that London is "closer than ever before" to euro zone entry and that "the people who matter in Britain" think it should join. That may be overstating things a bit, but a report by research group Chatham House warns that as the euro zone grows, the U.K. risks being excluded from "deeper intra-E.U. (欧盟内部的) economic consultation and coordination, including in areas of significant national interest, such as financial market regulation." It doesn't help that the pound is losing its energy. Two years ago, one euro was worth just 0.65. Now, humbled by bank crashes, government aids and a collapsing housing market that has forced massive interest rate cuts, Europe's currency is within a pence or two of difference from the pound. "The debate has changed from a total fantasy in the U.K.," says Jean Pisani-Ferry, director of Brussels-based think tank Bruegel. "The political obstacles still remain strong, but it has changed the perception of the U.K as the perfect system."

单选题 It is mentioned in the first paragraph that Kosovo _____.

单选题 What has happened to the Polish political establishment?

单选题 What do we learn about the situation of Iceland from the passage?

单选题 Chatham House most probably agrees that the U.K. had better_____.

单选题 How is the euro compared with pound according to the passage?