King Juan Carlos of Spain once insisted“

考试题库2022-08-02 69

问题 King Juan Carlos of Spain once insisted“kings don’t abdicate,they dare 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 lifestyle?The Spanish case provides arguments both for and against monarchy.When public opinion is particularly polarised,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 polarized.And also,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of national unity as they claim to be,their very history—and sometimes the way they behave today–embodies outdated and indefensible privileges and inequalities.At a time when Thomas Piketty and other economists are warning of rising inequality and the increasing power of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.Monarchs are kept as heads of state in Europe mostlyA.owing to their undoubted and respectable statusB.to achieve a balance between tradition and realityC.to give voter more public figures to look up toD.due to their everlasting political embodiment

选项 A.owing to their undoubted and respectable status
B.to achieve a balance between tradition and reality
C.to give voter more public figures to look up to
D.due to their everlasting political embodiment

答案 A

解析事实细节根据题干关键词“monarchs”和“heads of state”，定位到第三段的最后一句话“...most royal families have survived because they allow voters to avoid the difficult search for a non-controversial but respected public figure.”（大多数欧洲王室得以幸存是由于他们使选民们免除了寻找一个没有争议且受人尊敬的公众人物的困难）其中“non

转载请注明原文地址:https://tihaiku.com/xueli/2698639.html

本试题收录于：英语一研究生题库研究生入学分类

英语一研究生

研究生入学

相关试题推荐

随机试题

最新回复(0)

King Juan Carlos of Spain once insisted“

英语一研究生

研究生入学