考研阅读精讲（四）（下）
2015 T1
1 King Juan Carlos of Spain once insisted “kings don’t abdicate, they die 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, dies 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?
abdicate
[ˈæbdikeit] 美 [ˈæbdəˌket]
vt.放弃（权利）；让位，辞职
[法律]废嫡
vi.（国王）退位
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.
scandal 丑闻
the republican left 共和党左派
eat one’s words 收回前言，承认说错了话
stand down 放弃席位
主语是A and B 形式，
谓语部分是have forced him to eat
宾语即his words and stand down
句中的in the recent Euro-elections 介词短语作定语。
但尴尬的丑闻和共和党左派在近期欧洲选举中的大受欢迎使他不得不收回前言，放弃席位。
2 The Spanish case provides arguments both for and against monarchy. When public opinion is particularly polarized, as it was following the end of the Franco regime, monarchs can rise above “mere” politics and “embody” a spirit of national unity.
弗朗西斯科·佛朗哥（西班牙语：Francisco Franco；1892年12月4日—1975年11月20日），西班牙内战期间推翻民主共和国的民族主义军队领袖，西班牙国家元首，大元帅，西班牙首相，西班牙长枪党党魁。1936年发动西班牙内战，自1939年开始到1975年独裁统治西班牙长达30多年。
When public opinion is particularly polarized, as it was following the end of the Franco regime, monarchs can rise above “mere” politics and “embody”a spirit of national unity.
polarize[‘pəuləraiz] vt.使两极分化
regime[rei‘ʒi:m] n.政权，政体
monarch[‘mɔnək] n.君主，帝王
rise above. ①克服； ②超出，超越
embody vt. ①体现，象征； ②包含，收录
monarchs作主语，rise above和“embody”是由and连接的两个并列谓语。
When public opinion is particularly polarized是由when引导的时间状语从句，修饰主句。
as it was following the end of the Franco regime是由as引导的方式状语从句，修饰前面的时间状语从句，而且由两个逗号隔开，可看作插入语。
When public opinion is particularly polarized, as it was following the end of the Franco regime, monarchs can rise above “mere” politics and “embody”a spirit of national unity.
当公众舆论严重两极分化时，正如佛朗哥政权结束后所发生的那样，君主可以超越“纯粹的”政治，成为国家统一精神的“象征”。
3 It is this apparent transcendence of politics that explains monarchs’s continuing popularity polarized. And so, the Middle East expected, 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.
transcendence
英 [trænˈsendəns] 美 [trænˈsendəns]
n.超越
The real value of life only exists in the transcendence of life between sadness and happiness.
人生的真正安身立命之处，只能在哀乐相生的情怀中。
4 Even so, kings and queens undoubtedly have a downside, symbolic of national unity as they claimed 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 families should still be the symbolic heart of modern democratic states.
5 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.
Intrusiveness
n.干涉性；侵扰性；侵入性
6 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.
7 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.
hierarchical [ˌhaɪəˈrɑːkɪkl] adj.按等级划分的；等级制度的
21、According to the first two paragraph, King Juan Carlos of Spain .
A. used to enjoy high public support
B. was unpopular among European royals
C. ceased his relationship with his rivals
D. ended his reign in embarrassment
参考答案：D
22、 Monarchs are kept as head of state in Europe mostly .
A. owing to their undoubted and respectable status
B. to achieve a balance between tradition and reality
C. to give voters more public figures to look up to
D. due to their everlasting political embodiment
参考答案：A
23、 Which of the following is shown to be odd, according to Paragraph 4?
A. Aristocrats’ excessive reliance on inherited wealth.
B. The role of the nobility in modern democracies.
C. The simple lifestyle of the aristocratic families.
D. The nobility’s adherence to their privileges.
参考答案：B
24、 The British royals “have most to fear” because Charles .
A. takes a tough line on political issues.
B. fails to change his lifestyle as advised.
C. takes republicans as his potential allies.
D. fails to adapt himself to his future role.
参考答案：D
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
参考答案：C
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