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  3. The Welsh language has always been the u

The Welsh language has always been the u

考试题库2022-08-02  127
问题 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 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 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.”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.
选项 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.
答案 C
解析 推理判断题。文章第二段第三句提到“the idea behind devolution was to restore the balance within the union of nations making up the United Kingdom.”为了重新建立英联邦各成员国之间的平衡。该段后面又具体指出，一直以来，英格兰都是had bragging rights，而这次部分立法权的转交就是为了让其它成员国有更大的发言权，这样做的目的就是实现各成员国之间的平等，故C项符合。A文中并未提及，可直接排除。本段第五句提到“The partial transfer of legislative powers from Westminster, implemented by Tony Blair...”由此可见减少英格兰的立法权并不精准，只是转移了它的立法权，并且这并不是devolution的目的，而是一项措施，故B项也可排除。D项说法过于绝对，并不是所有的成员，只是“to give the other members of the club-Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales”，故排除D。
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