核心提示：今天讲2015年第一篇文章，有很多同学留言说这一年的文章很难，其实方法还是那个方法，只不过，这一年的题目中的确有很多的同义改写内容，如果大家没有记住，可能会在这个上面吃一些亏。 昨天给大家发了作文预测，最后一次预测终极作文预测：四六级之后的大小作文预测（聚沙成塔），大家可以好好看看，一次是消化不完...
今天讲2015年第一篇文章，有很多同学留言说这一年的文章很难，其实方法还是那个方法，只不过，这一年的题目中的确有很多的同义改写内容，如果大家没有记住，可能会在这个上面吃一些亏。
昨天给大家发了作文预测，最后一次预测终极作文预测：四六级之后的大小作文预测（聚沙成塔），大家可以好好看看，一次是消化不完的，加油。
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英语一2015年第一篇文章讲解
注意配合语音，看文章中我标记的部分：
Text 1
King Juan Carlos of Spainonce insisted “kings don’t abdicate, they dare in their sleep.” But embarrassing scandalsand 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 meanthe writing is on the wall for all European royals, with their magnificentuniforms and majestic lifestyle?
The Spanish case provides arguments both for and against monarchy. When public opinion isparticularly polarised, as it was following the end of the Franco regime,monarchs can rise above “mere” politics and “embody” a spirit of nationalunity.
It is this apparent transcendence of politics that explains monarchs’ continuing popularity as heads of state. And so, the Middle East excepted, Europe is the mostmonarch-infested region in the world, with 10 kingdoms (not counting VaticanCity and Andorra). But unlike their absolutist counterparts in the Gulf and Asia, most royal families have survivedbecause they allow voters to avoid the difficult search for a non-controversial but respected public figure.
Even so, kingsand queens undoubtedly have a downside. Symbolic of national unity as theyclaim to be, their very history—and sometimes the way they behave today –embodies outdated and indefensible privileges and inequalities. At a time whenThomas Piketty and other economists are warning of rising inequality and theincreasing power of inherited wealth, it is bizarre that wealthy aristocratic families should still be the symbolicheart 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 (orhelicopters). Even so, these are wealthy families who party with theinternational 1%, and media intrusiveness makes it increasingly difficult tomaintain the right image.
While Europe’smonarchies will no doubt be smart enough to survive for some time to come, itis 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.
21. According to the first two Paragraphs, King Juan Carlos of Spain
[A] used turn enjoy high public support
[B] was unpopularamong European royals
[C] cased his relationship with his rivals
[D]ended his reign in embarrassment
22. Monarchs are kept as heads of state in Europe mostly
[A] owing to their undoubted and respectable status
[B] toachieve abalance between tradition and reality
[C] togive voter more public figuresto look up to
[D] due totheir everlasting political embodiment
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 simplelifestyle of the aristocratic families
[D]The nobility’sadherence to their privileges
24. The British royals “have most to fear” because Charles
[A] takes a roughline on political issues
[B] fails to change his lifestyle as advised
[C] takes republicans as his potential allies
[D] fails toadapt himself to his future role
25. Which of thefollowing is the best titleof the text?
[A] Carlos, Gloryand 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
