阅读理解

Passage One

Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage.
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 reserve 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 1404. 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 a 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‟ 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 ________.

【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】

文章第二段第三句提出“The idea behind devolution was to restore the balance within the union of nations making up the United Kingdom.”权力下放的目的是恢复组成联合王国的国家联盟内部的平衡。 因此选择C。

单选题

The word “centrifugal” in the second paragraph means ________.

【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】

文章第二段最后一句提出“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.”托尼•布莱尔从威斯敏斯特移交部分立法权的目的是为了让俱乐部的其他成员——苏格兰、 北爱尔兰和威尔士——拥有更大的发言权, 对抗似乎威胁到欧盟整体理念的分裂势力。 separatist分裂主义者; 独立派。 因此选A。

单选题

Wales is different from Scotland in all the following aspects EXCEPT________.

【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】

文章第一段最后一句提出“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.”威尔士语现在是欧洲最成功的地方语言之一, 该国300万人口中有50多万讲威尔士语。 因此选D。

单选题

Which of the following is NOT cited as an example of the resurgence of Welsh national identity?

【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】

第三段第二句提出“The Assembly can decide how money from Westminster or the European Union is spent.”议会可以决定来自威斯敏斯特或欧盟的资金如何使用。 选项B的表述意思是扶贫资金来自欧盟。 与原文不符, 故选B。

单选题

According to Dyfan Jones, what has changed is ________.

【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】

文章最后一段最后一句提出“We used to think: We can‟t do anything,we‟re only Welsh. Now I think that‟s changing.”我们曾经想:我们什么都做不了, 我们只是威尔士人。 现在我认为这种情况正在改变。 这是当代威尔士人的看法, 表明大家的想法正在发生改变。 因此选A。