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  3. The NHS remains one of the reasons why people are proud to be British. It provides outstanding care to more than a million of us

The NHS remains one of the reasons why people are proud to be British. It provides outstanding care to more than a million of us

admin2017-02-28  53
问题     The NHS remains one of the reasons why people are proud to be British. It provides outstanding care to more than a million of us every day, despite huge pressure caused by tight finances and an ageing population. At the last election, the British people were clear—a strong NHS needs a strong economy. So those who back Brexit need to explain what that would mean for the NHS.
    I am not someone who believes we could not survive economically outside the EU. Nor do I believe that—as the world’s fifth largest economy—we would not eventually negotiate new trade deals. But we know that would involve years of economic uncertainty and that no country outside the EU has ever secured full, unfettered access to the single market.
    Even the most bullish Brexiteers concede that the short-term impact on the British economy would be a period of uncertainty and volatility. The independent Office for Budget Responsibility has said that "there appears to be a greater consensus that a vote to leave would result in a period of potentially disruptive uncertainty while the precise details of the UK’s new relationship with the EU were negotiated". And therein lies the risk to the NHS of leaving.
    Those wishing to leave might say this uncertainty is a price worth paying, but my concern is more practical. The NHS consumes the second biggest budget in Whitehall. Next year, thanks to this government’s success in turning around the economy, it will have the sixth biggest increase in its history.
    Investing in the NHS will always be a priority for this government, but the simple fact is this: an economic shock would put pressure on our finances. According to the OECD, Greece, Portugal, Spain and Italy all cut health spending per head following the economic crisis.
    Of course, our economy is stronger and more resilient, but only in the last two weeks a series of studies from the likes of the London School of Economics, Oxford Economics and the CBI have shown that the impact of an exit could cost the UK more than 5% of the size of our economy.
This would inevitably mean less money for public services like the NHS. Those who want to leave need to explain how they could protect the NHS from this economic shock.
    It is not just a question of the risk to the pounds in our pocket, but to the pounds in the NHS budget as well. We should not take that risk.  
The word "bullish" (Para. 3) is closest in meaning to
选项 A、aggressive.
B、feverish.
C、optimistic.
D、reserved.
答案C
解析 (1)根据题干关键词定位至第3段，该词修饰Brexiteers(支持英国退出欧盟的人)。(2)从构词看，bullish的词根为bull(牛，公牛)，后缀为ish，含义为“牛脾气的；看涨的；乐观的”。(3)从上下文语境看，“即便是最……(bullish)的支持退出欧盟的人也承认，英国经济短期内会充满变数”(第3段：concede，uncertainty)。本文作者观点与这些支持者相悖，作者持有的是慎重的态度，认为退出欧盟会影响英国经济，充满不确定性，从而影响了NHS。综合这些分析，选项[C]为最佳答案。
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