【段1】①King Juan Carlos of Spain once insi

2024-08-17 16:28:35

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【段1】①King Juan Carlos of Spain once insisted “kings don’t abdicate, they die in their sleep.” ②But embarrassing scandals and the popularity of the republican left in the recent Euro-elections have forced him to eat his words and stand down. ③So, does the Spanish crisis suggest that monarchy is seeing its last days? ④Does that mean the writing is on the wall for all European royals, with their magnificent uniforms and majestic lifestyles?

【段2】①The Spanish case provides arguments both for and against monarchy. ②When 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.

【段3】①It is this apparent transcendence of politics that explains monarchs’ continuing popularity as heads of state. ②And so, the Middle East excepted, Europe is the most monarch-infested region in the world, with 10 kingdoms (not counting Vatican city and Andorra). ③But 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.

【段4】①Even so, kings and queens undoubtedly have a downside. ②Symbolic of national unity as they claim to be, their very history—and sometimes the way they behave today—embodies outdated and indefensible privileges and inequalities. ③At 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.

【段5】①The most successful monarchies strive to abandon or hide their old aristocratic ways. ②Princes and princesses have day-jobs and ride bicycles, not horses (or helicopters). ③Even so, these are wealthy families who party with the international 1%, and media intrusiveness makes it increasingly difficult to maintain the right image.

【段6】①While 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.

【段7】①It is only the Queen who has preserved the monarchy’s reputation with her rather ordinary (if well-heeled) granny style. ②The danger will come with Charles, who has both an expensive taste of lifestyle and a pretty hierarchical view of the world. ③He has failed to understand that monarchies have largely survived because they provide a service—as non-controversial and non-political heads of state. ④Charles ought to know that as English history shows, it is kings, not republicans, who are the monarchy’s worst enemies.

25.Which of the following is the best title of the text?

[A]Carlos, Glory and Disgrace Combined

[B]Charles, Anxious to Succeed to the Throne

[C]Carlos, a Lesson for All European Monarchs

[D]Charles, Slow to React to the Coming Threats

答案：C

问：D选项不适合作为本文标题的原因是什么？（多选）

A : 原文说查尔斯能够对未来的威胁迅速做出反应，选项与原文内容相反

B : 原文只有最后一段提及“查尔斯”，选项无法覆盖全文

C : 原文没有提及“查尔斯”，也没有提及他“对于即将到来的威胁反应迟钝”

D : 原文没有提及查尔斯对即将到来的威胁反应迟钝，选项偏离文章内容

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