单选题
The Welsh language has always been the ultimate marker of
Welsh identity, but a generation ago it looked as if Welsh would go the way of
Manx, once widely spoken on the Isle of Man but now extinct. Government
financing and central planning, however, have helped reverse the decline of
Welsh. Road signs and official public documents are written in both Welsh and
English, and schoolchildren are required to learn both languages. Welsh is now
one of the most successful of Europe's regional languages, spoken by more than a
half-million of the country's three million people. The revival
of the language, particularly among young people, is part of a resurgence of
national identity sweeping through this small, proud nation. Last month Wales
marked the second anniversary of the opening of the National Assembly, the first
parliament to be convened here since $404. The idea behind devolution was to
restore the balance within the union of nations making up the United Kingdom.
With most of the people and wealth, England has always had bragging rights. The
partial transfer of legislative powers from Westminster, implemented by Tony
Blair, was designed to give the other members of the club—Scotland, Northern
Ireland, and Wales—a bigger say and to counter centrifugal forces that seemed to
threaten the very idea of the union. The Welsh showed little
enthusiasm for devolution. Whereas the Scots voted overwhelmingly for a
parliament, the vote for a Welsh assembly scraped through by less than one
percent on a turnout of less than 25 percent. Its powers were proportionately
limited. The Assembly can decide how money from Westminster or the European
Union is spent. It cannot, unlike its counterpart in Edinburgh, enact laws. But
now that it is here, the Welsh are growing to like their Assembly. Many people
would like it to have more powers. Its importance as figurehead will grow with
the opening in 2003, of a new debating chamber, one of many new buildings that
are transforming Cardiff from a decaying seaport into a Baltimore-style
waterfront city. Meanwhile a grant of nearly two million dollars from the
European Union will tackle poverty. Wales is one of the poorest regions in
Western Europe—only Spain, Portugal, and Greece have a lower standard of
living. Newspapers and magazines are filled with stories about
great Welsh men and women, boosting self-esteem. To familiar faces such as Dylan
Thomas and Richard Burton have been added new icons such as Catherine
Zeta-Jones, the movie star, and Bryn Terfel, the opera singer. Indigenous foods
like salt marsh lamb are in vogue. And Wales now boasts a national airline, Awyr
Cymru. Cymru, which means "land of compatriots", is the Welsh name for Wales.
The red dragon, the nation's symbol since the time of King Arthur, is
everywhere—on T-shirts, rugby jerseys and even cell phone covers.
"Until very recent times most Welsh people had this feeling of being
second-class citizens," said Dyfan Jones, an 18-year-old student. It was a warm
summer night, and I was sitting on the grass with a group of young people in
Llanelli, an industrial town in the south, outside the rock music venue of the
National Eisteddfod, Wales's annual cultural festival. The disused factory in
front of us echoed to the sounds of new Welsh bands. "There was
almost a genetic tendency for lack of confidence," Dyfan continued. Equally
comfortable in his Welshness as in his membership in the English-speaking,
global youth culture and the new federal Europe, Dyfan, like the rest of his
generation, is growing up with a sense of possibility unimaginable ten years
ago. "We used to think. We can't do anything, we're only Welsh. Now I think
that's changing."
单选题
According to the passage, devolution was mainly meant to
A. maintain the present status among the nations.
B. reduce legislative powers of England.
C. create a better state of equality among the nations.
D. grant more say to all the nations in the union.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】
单选题
The word "centrifugal" in the second paragraph means
A. separatist.
B. conventional.
C. feudal.
D. political
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】
单选题
Wales is different from Scotland in all the following aspects EXCEPT
A. people's desire for devolution.
B. locals' turnout for the voting.
C. powers of the legislative body.
D. status of the national language.
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】
单选题
Which of the following is NOT cited as an example of the resurgence of
Welsh national identity?
A. Welsh has witnessed a revival as a national language.
B. Poverty-relief funds have come from the European Union.
C. A Welsh national airline is currently in operation.
D. The national symbol has become a familiar sight.