首页
登录
职称英语
The Welsh language has always been the ultimate marker of Welsh identity, but
The Welsh language has always been the ultimate marker of Welsh identity, but
游客
2023-12-23
43
管理
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, has 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." [br] Which of the following is NOT cited as an example of the resurgence of Welsh national identity?
选项
A、Welsh has witnessed a revival as a national language.
B、Poverty-relief funds have come from the European Union.
C、A Welsh national airline is currently in operation.
D、The national symbol has become a familiar sight.
答案
B
解析
转载请注明原文地址:https://tihaiku.com/zcyy/3299289.html
相关试题推荐
Childrenshouldalways________thesamebasicprocedure:seeingthewholeWord—he
Humanbeingsaresuperiortoanimalsbecausetheycanuselanguageasatoolof
Fashionispartlyasearchfornewlanguagetodiscredittheold,awayinwhich
Thephrasehasalwaysbeenusedalittlepejorativelyandevenfacetiouslybyth
ThetwopsychologistshadtomodifytheAmericanSignLanguagesomewhatinorder
Themorepeopleyouknow,thelessyouhavetimetoseethembutyoucanalways
Heappendedaglossarytohisnovelwhereheusedaninventedlanguage.A、addedB
Computerscanbeusedtomakelanguagelearningeasier.A、facilitateB、accelerate
Hisplotsarealwaysveryingenious.A、stupidB、smartC、absurdD、consistentB他设计的
Theseobservationsonhumanlanguagelearning,coupledwithevolutionaryspecula
随机试题
Morethanfiftyyearsago,theUnitedNationsdeclaredthatliteracyisaba
[img]2014m3x/ct_eyyjscz2013j_eyyjscreada_0162_20138[/img]Nowadays,mostpeo
[originaltext]W:Dad,youalwaysloveme,don’tyou?M:Sure.But,wait,wait.
消防水泵、防烟和排烟风机的控制设备当釆用总线编码模块控制时,还应在消防控制时设置
A.发汗过多,心下悸,欲得按 B.伤寒二三日,心中悸而烦 C.阳明病下之,心
下列选项中不属于政企分开的措施的是()。 A.政府部门与所办经济实
厂房内的检修平台、操作平台,当使用人数少于()人时,平台的面积可不计入所在防火
甲企业有一项年金,存续期为10年,前3年无现金流出,后7年每年年初现金流出180
下列合同中,属于可变更、可撤销合同的有()。A.项目经理越权订立的合同 B.
与发生前置胎盘关系最小的病因是 A.胎盘面积过大B.曾患产褥感染 C.本次
最新回复
(
0
)