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  3. King Juan Carlos of Spain once insisted "kings don’t abdicate, they dare in their sleep. " But embarrassing scandals and the pop

King Juan Carlos of Spain once insisted "kings don’t abdicate, they dare in their sleep. " But embarrassing scandals and the pop

admin2020-03-30  19
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 polarized, as it was following the end of the Franco regime, mon-archs 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 Symbolic of national unity as they claim to be, their very history—and sometimes the way they behave today—embodies outdated and indefensible privileges and inequalities.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 intru-siveness 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.
Which of the following is the best title of the text?
选项 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
解析 这里要在通读全文并掌握主题大意后进行选择。文中说到了西班牙国王Carlos退位的事情，对欧洲各国当下君主的优劣势进行了分析，同时对君主制是否穷途末路进行了探讨。“Carlos，a Lesson for All European Monarchs”的标题恰当地对全文进行了概括，因此选择C。
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