The striving of countries in Central Europe to enter the European Union may offer an unprecedented chance to the continent’s Gypsies (or Roman) to be recognized as a nation, albeit one without a defined territory. And if they were to achieve that they might even seek some kind of formal place—at least a total population outnumbers that of many of the Union’s present and future countries. Some experts put the figure at 4m-plus; some proponents of Gypsy rights go as high as 15m.

Unlike Jews, Gypsies have had no known ancestral land to hark back to. Though their language is related to Hindi, their territorial origins are misty. Romanian peasants held them to be born on the moon. Other Europeans (wrongly) thought them migrant Egyptians, hence the derivative Gypsy. Most probably they were itinerant metal workers and entertainers who drifted west from India in the 7th century.

However, since communism in Central Europe collapsed a decade ago, the notion of Romanestan as a landless nation founded on Gypsy culture has gained ground. The International Romany Union, which says it stands for 10m Gypsies in more than 30 countries, is fostering the idea of “self-rallying”. It is trying to promote a standard and written form of the language; it waves a Gypsy flag (green with a wheel) when it lobbies in such places as the United Bations; and in July it held a congress in Prague, The Czech capital. Where President Vaclav Havel said that Gypsies in his own country and elsewhere should have a better deal.

At the congress a Slovak-born lawyer, Emil Scuka, was elected president of the International Tomany Union. Later this month a group of elected Gypsy politicians, including members of parliament, mayors and local councilors from all over Europe (OSCE), to discuss how to persuade more Gypsies to get involved in politics.

The International Romany Union is probably the most representative of the outfits that speak for Gypsies, but that is not saying a lot. Of the several hundred delegates who gathered at its congress, few were democratically elected; oddly, none came from Hungary, whose Gypsies are perhaps the world’s best organized, with some 450 Gypsy bodies advising local councils there. The union did, however, announce its ambition to set up a parliament, but how it would actually be elected was left undecided.

So far, the European Commission is wary of encouraging Gypsies to present themselves as a nation. The might, it is feared, open a Pandora’s box already containing Basques, Corsicans and other awkward peoples. Besides, acknowledging Gypsies as a nation might backfire, just when several countries, particularly Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, are beginning to treat them better, in order to qualify for EU membership. “The EU’s whole premise is to overcome differences, not to highlight them,” says a nervous Eurocrat.

But the idea that the Gypsies should win some kind of special recognition as Europe’s largest continent wide minority, and one with a terrible history of persecution, is catching on . Gypsies have suffered many pogroms over the centuries. In Romania, the country that still has the largest number of them (more than 1m), in the 19th century they were actually enslaved. Hitler tried to wipe them out, along with the Jews.

“Gypsies deserve some space within European structures,” says Jan Marinus Wiersma, a Dutchman in the European Parliament who suggests that one of the current commissioners should be responsible for Gypsy affairs. Some prominent Gypsies say they should be more directly represented, perhaps with a quota in the European Parliament. That, they argue, might give them a boost. There are moves afoot to help them to get money for, among other things, a Gypsy university.

One big snag is that Europe’s Gypsies are, in fact, extremely heterogeneous. They belong to many different, and often antagonistic, clans and tribes, with no common language or religion, Their self-proclaimed leaders have often proved quarrelsome and corrupt. Still, says, Dimitrina Petrova, head of the European Roma Rights Center in Budapest, Gypsies’ shared experience of suffering entitles them to talk of one nation; their potential unity, she says, stems from “being regarded as sub-human by most majorities in Europe.”

And they have begun to be a bit more pragmatic. In Slovakia and Bulgaria, for instance, Gypsy political parties are trying to form electoral blocks that could win seats in parliament. In Macedonia, a Gypsy party already has some—and even runs a municipality. Nicholas Gheorge, an expert on Gypsy affairs at the OSCE, reckons that, spread over Central Europe, there are now about 20 Gypsy MPS and mayors, 400-odd local councilors, and a growing number of businessmen and intellectuals.

That is far from saying that they have the people or the cash to forge a nation. But, with the Gypsy question on the EU’s agenda in Central Europe, they are making ground.

1.    The Best Title of this passage is

[A]. Gypsies Want to Form a Nation.         [B]. Are They a Nation.

[C]. EU Is Afraid of Their Growth.           [C]. They Are a Tribe

2.    Where are the most probable Gypsy territory origins?

[A]. Most probably they drifted west from India in the 7th century.

[B]. They are scattered everywhere in the world.

[C]. Probably, they stemmed from Central Europe.

[D]. They probably came from the International Romany Union.

3.    What does the International Romany lobby for?

[A]. It lobbies for a demand to be accepted by such international organizations as EU and UN.

[B]. It lobbies for a post in any international Romany Union.

[C]. It lobbies for the right as a nation.

[D]. It lobbies for a place in such international organizations as the EU or UN.

4.    Why is the Europe Commission wary of encouraging Gypsies to present themselves as a nation?

[A]. It may open a Pandora’s Box.

[B]. Encouragement may lead to some unexpected results.

[C]. It fears that the Basgnes, Corsicans and other nations seeking separation may raise the same demand.

[D]. Gyspsies’ demand may highlight the difference in the EU.

5.    The big problem lies in the fact that

[A]. Gypsies belong to different and antagonistic clans and tribes without a common language or religion.

[B]. Their leaders prove corrupt.

[C]. Their potential unity stems from “being regarded as sub-human”.

[D]. They are a bit more pragmatic.

Read the following passage. Answer the questions according to the information given in the passage.

Indian’s snake charmers are to be retrained as wildlife teachers under a plan to prevent their unique skills and knowledge from being lost. The charmers, who make snakes dance to the sound of flutes, used to be a traditional feature of Indian life, performing in towns and villages, until they were banned in 1972 to control the trade in snake skins.

The government is now considering a plan to train the saperas, as they are known, to visit schools and zoos to tell children about forests and wildlife. There is also a proposal to set up a “dial a snake charmer” service to help householders to deal with unwelcome intruders.

“For generations they have been a feature of Indian life but now they can’t earn a living for fear of arrest,” said Behar Dutt, a conservationist behind the plans, “if a policeman doesn’t catch them, animal rights activists report them.”

Many snake charmers have continued to work clandestinely(暗中地) since the ban, despite the threat of up to three years in jail. But their trademark cloth-covered baskets, hung from a bamboo pole carried across their shoulders, make them an easy target for police.

The fate of Shisha Nath, 56, from Badarpur, a village just outside of New Delhi, is typical of practitioners(从业者) of the dying art. “I used to earn enough to support my family and send my children to school,” he said. “Now it’s hard to earn even $1 a day. My children want to be snake charmers. It’s our identity. We love the work. But it’s become impossible.”

Next month Dutt’s project to train 30 snake charmers will begin at a snake park in Pune, western India, where experts will enrich their home-grown skills with some formal knowledge.

More than the law, though, it is the dishonest attitude of their fellow countrymen that anger many snake charmers.

“We’re disturbed all the time but when people want a snake removed from the house, they rush to us,” said Prakash Nath, who was ordered recently to the home of Sonia Gandhi, the Congress party leader.

What do snake charmers usually do in India? (no more than 8 words) (2 marks)

How long will a saperas be in prison if he is caught during the ban? (no more than 3 words) (2 marks)

 

For what purpose will snake charmers in India be retrained as wildlife teachers?(no more than 10 words) (3 marks)

 

According to the passage, what will make snake charmers angry? (no more than 11 words) (3 marks)

Passage Seventeen (On the President’s Program)

President Arling has put his long awaited economic restructuring program before the Congress. It provides a coordinated program of investment credits, research grants, education reforms, and tax changes designed to make American industry more competitive. This is necessary to reverse the economic slide into unemployment, lack of growth, and trade deficits that have plagued the economy for the past six years.

The most liberal wing of the President’s party has called for stronger and more direct action. They want an incomes policy to check inflation while federal financing helps rebuild industry behind a wall of protective tariffs.

The Republicans, however, decry even the modest, graduated tax increases in the President’s program. They want tax cuts and more open market. They say if federal money has to be injected into the economy, let it through defence spending.

Both these alternatives ignore the unique nature of the economic problem before us. It is not simply a matter of markets or financing. The new technology allows vastly increased production for those able to master it. But it also threatens those who fail to adopt it with permanent second-class citizenship in the world economy. If an industry cannot lever itself up to the leading stage of technological advances, then it will not be able to compete effectively. If it cannot do this, no amount of government protectionism or access to foreign markets can keep it profitable for long. Without the profits and experience of technological excellence to reinvest, that industry can only fall still further behind its foreign competitors

So the crux is the technology and that is where the President’s program focused. The danger is not that a plan will not be passed, it is that the ideologues of right and left will distort the bill with amendments that will blur its focus on technology. The economic restructuring plan should be passed intact. If we fail to restructure our economy now, we may not get a second chance.

1.The focus of the President’s program is on

A.investment.

B.economy.

C.technology.

D.tax.

2.What is the requirement of the most liberal wing of the Democratic-party?

A.They want a more direct action.

B.They want an incomes policy to check inflation.

C.They want to rebuild industry.

D.They want a wall of protective tariffs.

3.What is the editor’s attitude?

A.support.

B.distaste.

C.Disapproval.

D.Compromise.

4.The danger to the plan lies in

A.the two parties’ objection.

B.different idea of the two parties about the plan.

C.its passage.

D.distortion.

5.The passage is

A.a review.

B.a preface.

C.a advertisement.

D.an editorial.


Passage Seventeen (On the President’s Program)
President Arling has put his long awaited economic restructuring program before the Congress. It provides a coordinated program of investment credits, research grants, education reforms, and tax changes designed to make American industry more competitive. This is necessary to reverse the economic slide into unemployment, lack of growth, and trade deficits that have plagued the economy for the past six years.
The most liberal wing of the President’s party has called for stronger and more direct action. They want an incomes policy to check inflation while federal financing helps rebuild industry behind a wall of protective tariffs.
The Republicans, however, decry even the modest, graduated tax increases in the President’s program. They want tax cuts and more open market. They say if federal money has to be injected into the economy, let it through defence spending.
Both these alternatives ignore the unique nature of the economic problem before us. It is not simply a matter of markets or financing. The new technology allows vastly increased production for those able to master it. But it also threatens those who fail to adopt it with permanent second-class citizenship in the world economy. If an industry cannot lever itself up to the leading stage of technological advances, then it will not be able to compete effectively. If it cannot do this, no amount of government protectionism or access to foreign markets can keep it profitable for long. Without the profits and experience of technological excellence to reinvest, that industry can only fall still further behind its foreign competitors
So the crux is the technology and that is where the President’s program focused. The danger is not that a plan will not be passed, it is that the ideologues of right and left will distort the bill with amendments that will blur its focus on technology. The economic restructuring plan should be passed intact. If we fail to restructure our economy now, we may not get a second chance.
1.The focus of the President’s program is on
A.investment.
B.economy.
C.technology.
D.tax.
2.What is the requirement of the most liberal wing of the Democratic-party?
A.They want a more direct action.
B.They want an incomes policy to check inflation.
C.They want to rebuild industry.
D.They want a wall of protective tariffs.
3.What is the editor’s attitude?
A.support.
B.distaste.
C.Disapproval.
D.Compromise.
4.The danger to the plan lies in
A.the two parties’ objection.
B.different idea of the two parties about the plan.
C.its passage.
D.distortion.
5.The passage is
A.a review.
B.a preface.
C.a advertisement.
D.an editorial.

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