时间:2018-12-16 作者:英语课 分类:VOA标准英语2012年(十一月)


英语课

 


Spain’s Economic Crisis Sparks Catalonia Independence Drive



On the shores of the Mediterranean 1, Barcelona is a beautiful and prosperous city. Polls indicate its people are increasingly unhappy, however, about having their tax money go to support poorer parts of Spain, and a quick walk down a main street confirms the findings.


“ I am in favor of independence because I think Catalonia would have more money if I didn’t have to send so much to Spain,” said a woman named Mariana.


“Yes, I am a supporter of independence for Catalonia for many reasons. The main reason is the lack of understanding of the Catalan reality over many years," said a man named Manuel.


“Catalonia pays a lot in taxes to Spain, when really it’s money that should stay here and could be used to improve Catalonia,” said another woman name Paulina.


The feeling is evident on many of Barcelona’s balconies. The Catalan regional flag is red and yellow stripes, but add a blue triangle and a star, and it becomes an independence banner. More and more of them are appearing all across the city, sometimes right next to the regional flag.


Still, there are concerns that opposition 2 from the rest of Spain would cause a long, bitter conflict, and Spain could block an independent Catalonia’s desire to join the European Union. 


The Catalan move comes as other regions in Europe also are seeking independent status. Regional pride and culture are a big part of the independence movements. 


Economics Professor Juan Carlos Conesa at Barcelona Autonomous 3 University said practicalities, though, should play a larger role in the debate.


“My view is that it is going to be a loss-loss situation. The process implies a huge amount of uncertainty 4," said Conesa. "And in the middle of a big economic crisis, introducing additional uncertainty is not necessarily a good way to get out of the crisis.”


But in a lounge near his office, some of his Catalan graduate students disagree.


“In the very, very short run it can be causing some problems. Maybe a break like Catalan independence will help both the Catalans and also the Spaniards," said a graduate student named Pau.


“The political elite 5 in Madrid, they are trying to build a centralized state and basically, they use the money from the wealthy regions like Catalonia,” said another grad student named Arnau.


“In a more plural 6 society in Spain, we could fit, Catalans could fit there perfectly 7 okay. But not in the way that it is right now,” said grad student Joaquin.


Professor Conesa tells them no one really knows the impact of a serious move toward Catalan independence. He believes the only thing that is certain is the potentially damaging uncertainty such a move would cause.




1 Mediterranean
adj.地中海的;地中海沿岸的
  • The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
  • Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。
2 opposition
n.反对,敌对
  • The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
  • The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。
3 autonomous
adj.自治的;独立的
  • They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
  • This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。
4 uncertainty
n.易变,靠不住,不确知,不确定的事物
  • Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
  • After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后,压力开始产生影响了。
5 elite
n.精英阶层;实力集团;adj.杰出的,卓越的
  • The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
  • We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。
6 plural
n.复数;复数形式;adj.复数的
  • Most plural nouns in English end in's '.英语的复数名词多以s结尾。
  • Here you should use plural pronoun.这里你应该用复数代词。
7 perfectly
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地
  • The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
  • Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。
学英语单词
adelogenic
angiosclerotic myasthenia
applictions
appointings
axial force of rail
baseball-related
be alive to
block cipher system
burgeri
cavenger jig
celling rate
cheongsam
chive
chrome bleaching
chrysanthemaxenthin
closing error in coordinate increment
coleosporium clematidis barclay
contact loss
continuous-wave interference
cooperative enterprises
data collection facility
dessert fork
dysluite
electrophoresis force
Epist.
erratic flow
event horizon
excitancy
fillmass chute
flat-platform body
floor-operated crane
goldchip
Gui Xian
half a loaf is better than none
harry
heat in the exterior
hidden reserve
hydrochlorothiazides
i-telle
Indigofera muliensis
informatical
information quantity
itbs
jacky 2,Jacky
kickiest
Kivitoo
lanting
law of independent assortment
lionskin
loading sequence
make system
mohnyins
morpholinobiguanide
moveout correction
myelosclerotic
naturalistic conception of definitions
Neocinnamomum
New Forest pony
non-deterministic space complexity
non-self-luminous object
option buyer
patchlike
peak magnetizing force
phagostatin
phase-shifter
physical loss or damage
pole-plate
powersafes
pump discharge manifold
pushing rod jack
Pyrenaria
quaking puddings
rackingly
radar equipment feeding
residual cake valve
resistivity sounding configuration
Riccitensor
sea monkeys
secondary acid
sensitive plant
separate regenerative chamber
severe heat stroke
short land memo
ssfa
stress-relaxation modulus
sualci venosi
suckled
take care tonight
tender chafing block
thymolytic
timed indefinite shipment
top needle
transition process
transparence diaphaneity
undefeatableness
unionless
unit of budget
valvulotomies
without much further ado
WSBA
Xuan Phu