单选题 Choose the best from the following sentences marked A to E to complete the article below. Write your answers on the ANSWER SHEET. History records that the then prime minister Margaret Thatcher scoffed at British diplomats" self-interested realism. Waving a map delineating past German expansionism, she embarked on a doomed effort to thwart unification. Francois Mitterrand was enlisted but the French president soon changed sides in the face of Helmut Kohl"s resolve. Britain found itself marginalised in Washington, where George H. W. Bush backed Mr. Kohl, and unwelcome in Bonn.
11. 1 This is not to say they are good. The relationship between Angela Merkel and David Cameron has turned from lukewarm to distinctly cool. Asked when the two leaders will next meet, one German official remarks: "What"s the point?"
The eurozone crisis has bred a more assertive Germany—witness its willingness this week to scupper the proposed takeover of BAE Systems by EADS. 12. 2.
The rot set in last December when Mr. Cameron tried to veto deeper economic and political eurozone integration. His pitch for special privileges and protections for the City of London was viewed in Berlin as an attempt to unpick the essential fabric of the single market—the EU"s cherished "acquis".
13. 3 What"s the point of Ms Merkel striking deals in Downing Street if they are cast aside when he feels a need to play to the eurosceptic gallery?
Germany recently signed up to a British initiative to freeze the EU budget. Now it finds Mr. Cameron waving a unilateral veto. British ministers are also questioning some of the union"s fundamental pillars, including free movement of people.
14. 4 British disengagement from "core" Europe is inevitable. The government has already said it will not join a new banking union. Mr. Cameron is now suggesting a two-tier EU budget so that Westminster can pay less.
Were Britain planning to leave the union—and on its present trajectory it is heading in that direction, such complacency might just make sense. But Mr. Cameron insists that EU membership remains vital to the nation"s prosperity. Any serious business leader would agree.
Britain, albeit mostly by choice, is sliding fast into Europe"s second division. Whether a new relationship can be made to work will depend on how many friends it has.
15. 5 The breakdown of the EADS-BAE deal was another reminder, if one were needed, that Britain cannot escape the consequences of decisions taken on the continent. Mr. Cameron has Chosen the wrong moment to bid auf Wiedersehen to a natural ally.
Questions
A. But the real argument with Britain is about Europe.
B. Relations between Britain and Germany are not as bad now as they were then.
C. The answer at the moment is precious few.
D. Mr. Cameron"s indulgence of hardline Tory eurosceptics has cast him as an unreliable partner.
E. What does it matter if the Germans are cross?