桥接坏死(bridging necrosis)
Attacks on Jose Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Commission, have intensified before the European election held between June 4th and 7th, and ahead of a European Union summit when national leaders will discuss his reappointment to a second five- year term. On the left, the Party of European Socialists (PES) calls Mr. Barroso a conservative who "puts markets before people". Should the PES emerge as the largest group in the European Parliament, it will try to block him.
But prominent federalists are also unimpressed. Guy Verhofstadt, a former Belgian prime minister, speaks for many in Brussels when he denounces Mr. Barroso for a lack of ambition for Europe. Mr. Verhofstadt invokes the memory of Jacques Delors, the pugnacious Frenchman who ran the commission from 1985 to 1995.Mr. Delors proposed many ambitious plans, he says, and got 30% of them: that 30% then became the European internal market. Mr. Verhofstadt thinks that last autumn Mr. Barroso should have proposed such things as a single EU financial regulator, a single European bad bank, or a multi-trillion issue of "Eurobonds". That would have triggered a " big fight" with national governments, he concedes. But "maybe the outcome would have been 10%, 20% or 30% of his plan. "
The French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, has endorsed a second tenn for Mr. Barroso, a former centre-right prime minister of Portugal. Yet he seems keen to make him sweat. French officials have briefed that the decision on Mr. Barroso’s future taken at the June 18th-19th summit should be only political, leaving a legally binding nomination for later.
Yet the attacks on Mr. Barroso are unlikely to block him. No opinion poll shows the PES overtaking the centre-right European People’s Party in the European Parliament. The centre- right leaders who hold power in most of Europe have endorsed Mr. Barroso, as have the (nominally) centre-left leaders of Britain, Spain and Portugal. This helps to explain why the PES, for all its bluster, has not fielded a candidate against Mr. Barroso.
It is equally wrong to pretend that Europe was ready for a federalist big bang last autumn. Officials say Mr. Barroso spent the first weeks of the economic crisis bridging differences between Britain and France on such issues as accounting standards and the regulation of rating agencies. Later, he kept the peace between Mr. Sarkozy and the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, after the French president pushed for summits of EU leaders from euro-area countries (Ms Merkel thought that sounded like a two-speed Europe). In any case France has no veto over Mr. Barroso’s reappointment: the decision is now taken by majority vote. Some diplomats suggest that France’s stalling tactics are meant to extract such concessions as a plum portfolio for its commissioner.
Those calling for "European" action often talk as if they are describing an elegant mechanism, needed to make the union work properly. They argue that only a single financial regulator can police Europe’s single market, or complain that 27 national bail-out plans lack "coherence". In fact, these apparently structural calls for "more Europe" are pitches for specific ideological programmes. Thus, in a joint statement on May 30th Mr. Sarkozy and Ms Merkel announced that "Liberalism without rules has failed. " They called for a European economic model in which capital serves "entrepreneurs and workers" rather than "speculators", and hedge funds and bankers’ pay are tightly regulated. They added that competition policies should be used to favour the "emergence of world-class European companies", and gave warning against a "bureaucratic Europe" that blindly applies "pernickety rules". If all this sounds like Europe as a giant Rhineland economy, that is no accident.
Mr. Verhofstadt, a continental liberal, means something different by "Europe" He agrees that the crisis "represents the crash of the Anglo-American model". But he is not keen on heavy regulation. When he calls for economic policies to reflect Europe’s " way of thinking", he means things like raising savings. Above all, he considers the nation-state to be incapable of managing today’s "globalised" economy, so Europe must take over. This is fighting talk. Britain, notably, does not accept that everything about the Anglo-Saxon model has failed, nor is it about to cede more power to Brussels. And it has allies, notably in eastern Europe.
What does PES mean by attacking Mr. Barroso "puts markets before people" (Para 1, Line 5)
A:Barroso adopts policies that are in favour of market economy rather than social welfare. B:Barroso does not care about European people. C:Barroso suggests EU establish more markets for the convenience of European people. D:Barroso is the owner of many markets in Europe.
Attacks on Jose Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Commission, have intensified before the European election held between June 4th and 7th, and ahead of a European Union summit when national leaders will discuss his reappointment to a second five- year term. On the left, the Party of European Socialists (PES) calls Mr. Barroso a conservative who "puts markets before people". Should the PES emerge as the largest group in the European Parliament, it will try to block him.
But prominent federalists are also unimpressed. Guy Verhofstadt, a former Belgian prime minister, speaks for many in Brussels when he denounces Mr. Barroso for a lack of ambition for Europe. Mr. Verhofstadt invokes the memory of Jacques Delors, the pugnacious Frenchman who ran the commission from 1985 to 1995.Mr. Delors proposed many ambitious plans, he says, and got 30% of them: that 30% then became the European internal market. Mr. Verhofstadt thinks that last autumn Mr. Barroso should have proposed such things as a single EU financial regulator, a single European bad bank, or a multi-trillion issue of "Eurobonds". That would have triggered a " big fight" with national governments, he concedes. But "maybe the outcome would have been 10%, 20% or 30% of his plan. "
The French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, has endorsed a second tenn for Mr. Barroso, a former centre-right prime minister of Portugal. Yet he seems keen to make him sweat. French officials have briefed that the decision on Mr. Barroso’s future taken at the June 18th-19th summit should be only political, leaving a legally binding nomination for later.
Yet the attacks on Mr. Barroso are unlikely to block him. No opinion poll shows the PES overtaking the centre-right European People’s Party in the European Parliament. The centre- right leaders who hold power in most of Europe have endorsed Mr. Barroso, as have the (nominally) centre-left leaders of Britain, Spain and Portugal. This helps to explain why the PES, for all its bluster, has not fielded a candidate against Mr. Barroso.
It is equally wrong to pretend that Europe was ready for a federalist big bang last autumn. Officials say Mr. Barroso spent the first weeks of the economic crisis bridging differences between Britain and France on such issues as accounting standards and the regulation of rating agencies. Later, he kept the peace between Mr. Sarkozy and the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, after the French president pushed for summits of EU leaders from euro-area countries (Ms Merkel thought that sounded like a two-speed Europe). In any case France has no veto over Mr. Barroso’s reappointment: the decision is now taken by majority vote. Some diplomats suggest that France’s stalling tactics are meant to extract such concessions as a plum portfolio for its commissioner.
Those calling for "European" action often talk as if they are describing an elegant mechanism, needed to make the union work properly. They argue that only a single financial regulator can police Europe’s single market, or complain that 27 national bail-out plans lack "coherence". In fact, these apparently structural calls for "more Europe" are pitches for specific ideological programmes. Thus, in a joint statement on May 30th Mr. Sarkozy and Ms Merkel announced that "Liberalism without rules has failed. " They called for a European economic model in which capital serves "entrepreneurs and workers" rather than "speculators", and hedge funds and bankers’ pay are tightly regulated. They added that competition policies should be used to favour the "emergence of world-class European companies", and gave warning against a "bureaucratic Europe" that blindly applies "pernickety rules". If all this sounds like Europe as a giant Rhineland economy, that is no accident.
Mr. Verhofstadt, a continental liberal, means something different by "Europe" He agrees that the crisis "represents the crash of the Anglo-American model". But he is not keen on heavy regulation. When he calls for economic policies to reflect Europe’s " way of thinking", he means things like raising savings. Above all, he considers the nation-state to be incapable of managing today’s "globalised" economy, so Europe must take over. This is fighting talk. Britain, notably, does not accept that everything about the Anglo-Saxon model has failed, nor is it about to cede more power to Brussels. And it has allies, notably in eastern Europe.
Why did Guy Verhofstadt put forward the example of Jacques Delors
A:Barroso should put forward more plans in strengthening EU’s economic power. B:Barroso should get more of his proposed plans implemented and carried into effects. C:Despite some anticipated serious obstacles, Barroso should implement the policies and they should produce some results. D:Jacques Delors is a better president than Barroso in dealing with financial issues.
The average American drinks a gallon of soda a week, which delivers roughly 1, 000 calories and no nutrition. The average American is also overweight or obese. Could changing one of those things help change the other
A growing number of officials think so, which accounts for a spate of proposed new taxes on soda as a way to discourage consumption while at the same time raising money to fund other obesity-fighting initiatives. Some 20 states and cities, from New Mexico to Baltimore, contemplated soda taxes this spring.
The reaction against them has been swift and fierce. In March, scores of soda-company employees sporting Pepsi, Coke and 7-Up gear swarmed the Kansas state senate to fight a proposal that would have added a penny in tax for each teaspoon of sugar in a nonjuice drink. That would have increased the price of a 12-oz. soda by about 10
and generated some $90 million in revenue a year. "I thought this is a wise choice, " says state senator John Vratil, who, like counterparts across the country, has been struggling to address both a recession-induced budget gap and rising public-health costs stemming from obesity. Instead, he got an earful about how a soda tax would kill jobs, burden the poor and constitute an unwelcome government intrusion into the American diet.
Government involvement in what Americans eat is nothing new. But why tax soda and not, say, ice cream, pizza or Oreos — or, for that matter, the video games that discourage kids from going outside to run around Washington city-council member Mary Cheh says it’s because soda is where scientists have observed the clearest link to excess pounds. When Cheh set out to fund her Healthy Schools Act, which would raise food and physical-education standards at schools in D. C.where about 40% of kids are overweight or obese — she didn’t know she’d wind up going after soda. But the data overwhelmed her: The amount of soda the typical American drinks has grown by roughly 500% over the past 60 years, and of the 250 to 300 calories a day Americans have, on average, added to their diets since the late 1970s, nearly half have come from sugared drinks. "I don’t want to prescribe taxes for all sorts of dietary choices, " says Cheh, "but if we were going to only target one thing to make a material difference, soda would be it. "
The tougher question is whether increasing the price of soda would, in fact, reduce the number of calories people consume. Some research indicates the answer is yes. Other research leaves room for doubt. Though studies do show that a 10% increase in the price of soda leads people to purchase about 10% less of it, that doesn’t necessarily mean folks aren’t making up for those calories elsewhere.
How do people feel about soda taxes In April , the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute asked residents of New York State if they supported or opposed a "fat tax" on nondiet sugared soda. Thirty-one percent were in favor, and 66% were opposed. Yet when asked if they would support such a tax if the money raised were used to fund health care, people changed their opinions dramatically, with 48% in favor and just 49% opposed.
The officials proposed new taxes on soda for all these purposes Except()
A:reducing citizens’ calorie intake B:increasing government revenue C:bridging the gap between the rich and the poor D:raising money for public-health programs
Passage Four
Much of a parent’s job is to provide the gifts of caring, love, and emotional support to children. But one gift is often beyond their reach: the resources to meet the financial demands of college tuition.
For more than 54 years, the United Negro College Fund has fulfilled the dreams of deserving students by closing the gap between the cost of college and what their parents can afford. More than 300,000 students have graduated from United Negro College Fund member colleges since 1944, and 54,000 more axe currently enrolled (入学).
The oldest and most successful minority higher education support organization, the United Negro College Fund is a combination of 39 private, historically black member colleges and universities. Since its founding, it has raised more than $1.3 billion to keep the dream alive for needy families across the country.
What is it that makes the United Negro College Fund so important to America’s families As well as raising funds and giving technical support to member colleges and universities, it creates hope and opportunity by providing financial assistance to deserving students. Consider the contributions of just a few of the distinguished graduates who have realized the benefits: civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; opera diva Leontyne Price; Olympic track star Edwin Moses; and filmmaker Spike Lee.
A:Who Can Benefit from the Fund. B:Bridging the Gap Between Dreams and Reality. C:How the United Negro College Fund Operates. D:Introduction to an Education Support Organization.
Passage One
Much of a parent’s job is to provide the gifts of caring, love, and emotional support to children. But one gift is often beyond their reach: the resources to meet the financial demands of college tuition.
For more than 54 years, the United Negro College Fund has fulfilled the dreams of deserving students by closing the gap between the cost of college and what their parents can afford. More than 300,000 students have graduated from United Negro College Fund member colleges since 1944, and 54,000 more are currently enrolled.
The oldest and most successful minority higher education support organization, the United Negro College Fund, is a combination of 39 private, historically black member colleges and universities. Since its founding, it has raised more than $1.3 billion to keep the dream alive for needy families across the country.
What is it that makes the United Negro College Fund so important to America’s families As well as raising funds and giving technical support to member colleges and universities, it creates hope and opportunity by providing financial assistance to deserving students. Consider the contributions of just a few of the distinguished graduates who have realized the benefits: civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King; Olympic track star Edwin Moses; and filmmaker Spike Lee.
A:Who Can Benefit from the Fund B:Bridging the Gap Between Dreams and Reality. C:How the United Negro College Fund D:Introduction to an Education Support Organization.
Which of the following could probably be the title of the passage
A:Who Can Benefit from the Fund B:Bridging the Gap Between Dreams and Reality. C:How the United Negro College Fund D:Introduction to an Education Support Organization.
Which of the following could probably be the title of the passage
A:Who Can Benefit from the Fund. B:Bridging the Gap Between Dreams and Reality. C:How the United Negro College Fund Operates. D:Introduction to an Education Support Organization.