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Will the European Union make it? The question would have sounded strange not

游客2024-05-20  41
问题     Will the European Union make it? The question would have sounded strange not long ago. Now even the project’s greatest cheerleaders talk of a continent facing a "Bermuda triangle" of debt, demographic decline and lower growth.
    As well as those chronic problems, the EU faces an acute crisis in its economic core, the 16 countries that use the single currency. Markets have lost faith that the euro zone’s economies, weaker or stronger, will one day converge thanks to the discipline of sharing a single currency, which denies uncompetitive members the quick fix of devaluation.
    Yet the debate about how to save Europe’s single currency from disintegration is stuck. It is stuck because the euro zone’s dominant powers, France and Germany, agree on the need for greater harmonisation within the euro zone, but disagree about what to harmonise.
    Germany thinks the euro must be saved by stricter rules on borrowing, spending and competitiveness, backed by quasi-automatic (半自动的) sanctions for governments that stray. These might include threats to freeze EU funds for poorer regions and EU mega-projects, and even the suspension of a country’s voting rights in EU ministerial councils. It insists that economic coordination should involve all 27 members of the EU club, among whom there is a small majority for free-market liberalism and economic rigour; in the inner core alone, Germany fears, a small majority favour French interference.
    A "southern" camp headed by France wants something different: "European economic government" within an inner core of euro-zone members. Translated, that means politicians intervening in monetary policy and a system of redistribution from richer to poorer members, via cheaper borrowing for governments through common Eurobonds or complete fiscal transfers. Finally, figures close to the French government have murmured, euro-zone members should agree to some fiscal and social harmonisation: e.g., curbing competition in corporate-tax rates or labour costs.
    It is too soon to write off the EU. It remains the world’s largest trading block. At its best, the European project is remarkably liberal: built around a single market of 27 rich and poor countries, its internal borders are far more open to goods, capital and labour than any comparable trading area. It is an ambitious attempt to blunt the sharpest edges of globalisation, and make capitalism kind and gentle.
    The problem is that the "European social model" has become, too often, a synonym (同义词)for a very expensive way of doing things. It has also become an end in itself, with some EU leaders calling for Europe to grow purely in order to maintain its social-welfare systems. That is a pretty depressing call to arms: become more dynamic so Europe can still afford old-age pensions and unemployment benefits. [br] What does the author say about the "European social model"?
选项 A、It will come to an end very soon.
B、It is supported by most EU leaders.
C、It has been followed by many countries.
D、It has become an expensive system.
答案 D
解析 根据题干中的“European social model”将本题出处定位到末段首句。该句提到，现在的问题是欧洲的社会模式已经变成了一种非常昂贵的生产模式的同义词，而且经常如此。[D]“它已经成为一种昂贵的体制”是对该句中的a very expensive way of doing things的同义转述，故为答案。[A]“它将很快走向灭亡”是对该段第2句中的It has also become an end in itself的错误理解。原句中的“end”是“目标”之意。[B]“它受到欧盟大部分领导的支持”和[C]“它已经有很多国家追随”的信息均未在文中出现，故都排除。
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