2015考研英語閱讀真題:考研英語(一)第1篇
King Juan Carlos of Spain once insisted "kings don't abdicate, they die in their sleep."
But embarrassing scandals and the popularity of the republican left in the recent Euro-elections have forced him to eat his words and stand down.
So does the Spanish crisis suggest that monarchy is seeing its last days?
Does that mean the writing is on the wall for all European royals, with their magnificent uniforms and majestic lifestyles?
The Spanish case provides arguments both for and against monarchy.
When public opinion is particularly polarized,
as it was following the end of the Franco regime, monarchs can rise above "mere" politics and "embody" a spirit of national unity.
It is this apparent transcendence of politics that explains monarchs continuing popularity as heads of state.
And so, the Middle East excepted, Europe is the most monarch-infested region in the world, with 10 kingdoms (not counting Vatican City and Andorra).
But unlike their absolutist counterparts in the Gulf and Asia,
most royal families have survived because they allow voters to avoid the difficult search for a non-controversial but respected public figure.
Even so, kings and queens undoubtedly have a downside.
Symbolic of national unity as they claim to be,
their very history — and sometimes the way they behave today — embodies outdated and indefensible privileges and inequalities.
At a time when Thomas Piketty and other economists are warning of rising inequality and the increasing power of inherited wealth,
it is bizarre that wealthy aristocratic families should still be the symbolic heart of modern democratic states.
The most successful monarchies strive to abandon or hide their old aristocratic ways.
Princes and princesses have day-jobs and ride bicycles, not horses (or helicopters).
Even so, these are wealthy families who party with the international 1%,
and media intrusiveness makes it increasingly difficult to maintain the right image.
While Europe's monarchies will no doubt be smart enough to survive for some time to come,
it is the British royals who have most to fear from the Spanish example.
It is only the Queen who has preserved the monarchy's reputation with her rather ordinary (if well-heeled) granny style.
The danger will come with Charles, who has both an expensive taste of lifestyle and a pretty hierarchical view of the world.
He has failed to understand that monarchies have largely survived because they provide a service,
as non-controversial and non-political heads of state.
Charles ought to know that as English history shows, it is kings, not republicans, who are the monarchy's worst enemies.
西班牙國王胡安·卡洛斯曾堅稱“國王不會退位,他們在睡眠中死去?!?/P>
但最近幾次歐洲選舉中報出的種種尷尬的丑聞、以及共和黨人大受歡迎,迫使他食言并退位。
如此說來,西班牙的危急是不是表明君主制已時日不多了?
是否意味著所有衣著華麗、生活高貴的歐洲皇室成員將有大難了?
西班牙這一事例給支持和反對君主制的雙方提供了論據(jù)。
而公眾對此精神“象征”的意見兩極分化嚴重,
佛朗哥政權的終結后,君主可能超越“純粹的”政治,成為國家統(tǒng)一的精神“象征”。
正是這次明顯的超越政治,解釋了君主作為國家元首會繼續(xù)受到歡迎的原因。
正因如此,除中東外,歐洲是世界上君主制最盛行的地區(qū)——它有十個王國(這還不算梵蒂岡和安道爾)。
但不像海灣地區(qū)和亞洲的專制國家,
歐洲皇室家族得以留存,是因為他們讓選民們不用去艱苦地尋找一個不受爭議、受人尊重的公眾人物。
即使如此,國王和女王毫無疑問有其不足之處。
盡管他們宣稱自己是國家統(tǒng)一象征,
但他們的歷史和今日的行為都代表著他們享有的特權已經過時、且站不住腳,以及在他們身上體現(xiàn)出的不公平。
托馬斯·皮克提和其他經濟學家曾警告,皇室享受的特殊待遇和財產繼承權在增強,
貴族家族居然仍然是現(xiàn)代民主制國家的核心象征就很荒唐了。
最成功的君主在力圖拋棄或隱匿他們老套的貴族做派。
王子和公主白天上班,他們騎自行車出行,而不是騎馬(或乘直升飛機)。
盡管如此,他們是世界上百分之一的富裕家族,
媒體的侵擾讓他們難以在公眾面前維持良好的形象。
盡管歐洲君主們毫無疑問將很明智地留存一時,
但看到西班牙皇室的下場,最擔驚受怕的還是英國皇室。
只有英國女王以她平易近人、“老奶奶”式的行為方式(要是穿著考究的話)保住了王室的聲譽。
給英國王室?guī)砦kU的會是查爾斯親王,他既有奢侈的生活品味,又有濃重的等級制世界觀。
他沒能明白君主之所以得以保存是因為他們能提供服務,
他們是既無爭議,又不涉及政治的國家元首。
查爾斯親王本應懂得英國歷史所表明的道理:國王才是君主制的死敵,而非共和黨人。
strive[straiv]vi. 奮斗,努力,力求
bizarre[bi'zɑ:]adj. 奇異的,怪誕的 n. 奇異花
avoid[?'v?id]vt. 避免,逃避
preserved[pri'z?:vd]adj. 保藏的;腌制的;[美俚]喝醉的
understand[.?nd?'st?nd]vt. 理解,懂,聽說,獲悉,將 ... 理解為,認為<
majestic[m?'d?estik]adj. 宏偉的,高貴的,壯麗的
claim[kleim]n. 要求,要求權;主張,斷言,聲稱;要求物
smart[smɑ:t]adj. 聰明的,時髦的,漂亮的,敏捷的,輕快的,整潔的
regime[rei'?i:m]n. 政體,制度
n. 養(yǎng)生法(=regime)
survive[s?'vaiv]vt. 比 ... 活得長,幸免于難,艱難度過
小編說:時間從來都是很快的流逝,尤其是對于忙碌的人,今天的你如果感覺天黑來的很快,那么請慶幸你的忙碌,這樣的忙碌帶來不僅是成績的提升,還同時在提升你的個人能力,讓你在將來比其他人更快的步入財務相對自由的狀態(tài),高學歷不僅是成績的印證,更是能力的代表?。「淖?,就從你加入秋季集訓營開始!2018考研大綱發(fā)布 新增考點名師解讀 秋季集訓 提升成績 更提升個人能力
秋季提升需注意 | ||
重點關注 | 金九銀十 精準擇校 | 讀懂院校招簡,復習不跑偏 |
考研報名流程注意事項全解析 | 考研名師帶著走 視頻免費666 | |
2018考研知識“秋季提升”大作戰(zhàn) | 不得不知的考研大綱解讀 | 2018年考研報名注意事項問答專欄 |
2022考研初復試已經接近尾聲,考研學子全面進入2023屆備考,跨考為23考研的考生準備了10大課包全程準備、全年復習備考計劃、目標院校專業(yè)輔導、全真復試模擬練習和全程針對性指導;2023考研的小伙伴針也已經開始擇校和復習了,跨考考研暢學5.0版本全新升級,無論你在校在家都可以更自如的完成你的考研復習,暑假集訓營帶來了院校專業(yè)初步選擇,明確方向;考研備考全年規(guī)劃,核心知識點入門;個性化制定備考方案,助你贏在起跑線,早出發(fā)一點離成功就更近一點!
考研院校專業(yè)選擇和考研復習計劃 | |||
2023備考學習 | 2023線上線下隨時學習 | 34所自劃線院??佳袕驮嚪謹?shù)線匯總 | |
2022考研復試最全信息整理 | 全國各招生院??佳袕驮嚪謹?shù)線匯總 | ||
2023全日制封閉訓練 | 全國各招生院校考研調劑信息匯總 | ||
2023考研先知 | 考研考試科目有哪些? | 如何正確看待考研分數(shù)線? | |
不同院校相同專業(yè)如何選擇更適合自己的 | 從就業(yè)說考研如何擇專業(yè)? | ||
手把手教你如何選專業(yè)? | 高校研究生教育各學科門類排行榜 |
相關推薦
跨考考研課程
班型 | 定向班型 | 開班時間 | 高定班 | 標準班 | 課程介紹 | 咨詢 |
秋季集訓 | 沖刺班 | 9.10-12.20 | 168000 | 24800起 | 小班面授+專業(yè)課1對1+專業(yè)課定向輔導+協(xié)議加強課程(高定班)+專屬規(guī)劃答疑(高定班)+精細化答疑+復試資源(高定班)+復試課包(高定班)+復試指導(高定班)+復試班主任1v1服務(高定班)+復試面授密訓(高定班)+復試1v1(高定班) | |
2023集訓暢學 | 非定向(政英班/數(shù)政英班) | 每月20日 | 22800起(協(xié)議班) | 13800起 | 先行階在線課程+基礎階在線課程+強化階在線課程+真題階在線課程+沖刺階在線課程+專業(yè)課針對性一對一課程+班主任全程督學服務+全程規(guī)劃體系+全程測試體系+全程精細化答疑+擇校擇專業(yè)能力定位體系+全年關鍵環(huán)節(jié)指導體系+初試加強課+初試專屬服務+復試全科標準班服務 |