In the past, women tended to assume that they woul...

Never has a straitjacket seemed so ill-fitting or so insecure. The Euro area's "stability and growth pact" was supposed to stop irresponsible member states running excessive budget deficits, defined as 3% of GDP or more. Chief among the restraints was the threat of large fines if member governments breached the limit for three years in a row. For some time now, no one has seriously believed those restraints would hold. In the early hours of Tuesday November 25th, the Euro's fiscal straitjacket finally came apart at the seams.

The pact's fate was sealed over an extended dinner meeting of the Euro area's 12 finance ministers. They chewed over the sorry fiscal record of the Euro's two largest members, France and Germany. Both governments ran deficits of more than 3% of GDP last year and will do so again this year. Both expect to breach the limit for the third time in 2004. Earlier this year the European Commission, which polices the pact, agreed to give both countries an extra year, until 2005, to bring their deficits back into line. But it also instructed them to revisit their budget plans for 2004 and make extra cuts. France was asked to cut its underlying, cyclically adjusted deficit by a full 1% of GDP, Germany by 1.8%. Both resisted.

Under the pact's hales, the commission's prescriptions have no force until formally endorsed in a vote by the Euro area's finance ministers, known as the "Eurogroup". And the votes were simply not there. Instead, the Eurogroup agreed on a set of proposals of its own, drawn up by the Italian finance minister, Giulio Tremonti. France will cut its structural deficit by 1.8% of GDP next year, Germany by 0. 6%. In 2005, both will bring their deficits below 3%, economic growth permitting. Nothing will enforce or guarantee this agreement except France and Germany's word. The European Central Bank (ECB) was alarmed at this outcome, the commission was dismayed, and the smaller Euro-area countries who opposed the deal were apoplectic: treaty law was giving way to the "Franco-German steamroller", as Le Figaro, a French newspaper, put it.

This anger will sour European politics and may spill over into negotiations on a proposed EU constitution. Having thrown their weight around this week, France and Germany may find other smaller members more reluctant than ever to give ground in the negotiations on the document. The EU's midsized countries also hope to capitalize on this ressentiment. Spain opposes the draft constitution because it will give it substantially less voting weight than it currently enjoys. It sided against France and Germany on Tuesday, and will point to their fiscal transgressions to show that the EU's big countries do not deserve the extra power the proposed constitution will give them.

The text is mainly about______

A．the enforcement of Eurogroup's prescriptions.

B．the hypocrisy of some Euro's members on deficit.

C．the Euro's dilemma in solving deficit problems.

D．the implementation of Euro's monetary policies.

Directions: In this section you will hear several conversations. Listen to the conversations carefully and then answer the questions that follow.

听力原文：M: Hi, Doctor Muir. Can I discuss my grade on my term paper with you？

W: Sure, Andrew. What is the problem？

M: It's a bit complicated, or rather, kind of embarrassing. To be honest, I made a rather stupid mistake.

W: OK, go on, Andrew.

M: The term paper I banded in is not my final edited version. The paper you marked is not the paper I had intended to submit. Perhaps I was overtired and stressed, but when I saw the mark on my paper, I quickly realized what bad happened. I must have printed an earlier draft at the last minute, thinking I was printing out the final paper. Doctor Muir, I must be honest with you, maintaining my average is extremely important to me, as this will affect my application to grad school.

W: Well, Andrew, that sounds like a terrible mistake. I'm not sure what can be done about it at this point. The paper was due three weeks ago, and they've all been marked and given hack to the students. Let me talk to some of my colleagues about your situation, and we'll go from there.

M: Thank you, Doctor Muir. I really appreciate this. Should I give you the correct paper today？

W: No, Andrew. Let's wait until I talk to some people. Check hack with me on Wednesday, and I'll let you know the outcome.

Why does the student say that it's complicated and embarrassing？

A．To confess that he lied to the professor.

B．To emphasize what he is about to say.

C．To prove that he is innocent.

D．To warn the professor not to ignore him.

The word "adjacent" in the passage is closest in meaning to

61. THE SUBJECTS OF THE PAINTINGS ARE MOSTLY ANIMALS. THE PAINTINGS REST ON BARE WALLS, WITH NO BACKDROPS OR ENVIRONMENTAL TRAPPINGS. PERHAPS, LIKE MANY CONTEMPORARY PEOPLES, UPPER PALEOLITHIC MEN AND WOMEN BELIEVED THAT THE DRAWING OF A HUMAN IMAGE COULD CAUSE DEATH OR INJURY, AND IF THAT WERE INDEED THEIR BELIEF, IT MIGHT EXPLAIN WHY HUMAN FIGURES ARE RARELY DEPICTED IN CAVE ART. ANOTHER EXPLANATION FOR THE FOCUS ON ANIMALS MIGHT BE THAT THESE PEOPLE SOUGHT TO IMPROVE THEIR LUCK AT HUNTING.THIS THEORY IS SUGGESTED BY EVIDENCE OF CHIPS IN THE PAINTED FIGURES, PERHAPS MADE BY SPEARS THROWN AT THE DRAWINGS.BUT IF IMPROVING THEIR HUNTING LUCK WAS THE CHIEF MOTIVATION FOR THE PAINTINGS, IT IS DIFFICULT TO EXPLAIN WHY ONLY A FEW SHOW SIGNS OF HAVING BEEN SPEARED.PERHAPS THE PAINTINGS WERE INSPIRED BY THE NEED TO INCREASE THE SUPPLY OF ANIMALS. CAVE ART SEEMS TO HAVE REACHED A PEAK TOWARD THE END OF THE UPPER PALEOLITHIC PERIOD, WHEN THE HERDS OF GAME WERE DECREASING.LOOK AT THE FOUR SQUARES[]THAT INDICATE WHERE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCE CAN BE ADDED TO THE PASSAGE. THEREFORE, IF THE PAINTINGS WERE CONNECTED WITH HUNTING, SOME OTHER EXPLANATION IS NEEDED. WHERE WOULD THE SENTENCE BEST FIT?

In the past ， most cities usually were the natural outgrowth of villages and towns that happened to prosper． Rome started out as a small village， as did Athens， Paris， London and New York． Of course， there were exceptions to this general rule． In ancient times， Alexandria in Egypt， and Saint Petersburg， were both planned cities． But for the most part， cities throughout history were not the products of deliberate thought． Today the reverse is true ． Many nations， alarmed by the urban sprawl that has been gobbling up farmland and open countryside ， and appalled by the staggering urban problems in the central cities， have begun building new cities that are specifically designed to meet modern needs． Britain has long been a pioneer in planning new cities ． As the first nation to become industrialized and urbanized， it faced traffic， slums and pollution long before anyone else． In 1898 an Englishman， Sir Ebenezer Howard， published a book called To－morrow： a Peaceful Path to Real Reform， in which he advocated a new form of urban growth and organization： the “garden city”． Such a city combined the beauty of nature－trees， grass， sunshine and fresh air －with all the advantages of city living， including an abundance of jobs， social and cultural centres and good shopping facilities ． The garden city was to be fairly small int size and the inhabitants would have easy access to the countryside， while at the same time they would be close to their work． In 1899 Howard organized the Garden City Association and in 1903 and 1920 he built the first and the second garden city ， Letchworth and Welwyn Garden City ． These projects encountered many difficulties and failed to arouse widespread enthusiasm． Nevertheless， both Welwyn and Letchworth survived and grew， and in later years－particularly after World War II －British planners looked at them with renewed interest． The war had given the British a painful lesson in the weakness of modern，heavily populatedcities． Cities were not the places of refuge they had once been． One the contrary， the invention of the aeroplane had made them the most vulnerable targets for attack． Aerial warfare made it clear that people were far safer outside the great urban centres． It was better not to concentrate so much of the population and industrial resources in a few large cities， but to spread them out into many smaller towns and cities ． Fast ， modern transportation methods made such dispersal possible．Furthermore，these new towns－modeled on Howard’s garden cities－could also drain off the surplus population of the large cities， relieving the overcrowded conditions， housing shortages， slums and traffic jams that plagued them． Questions 1 to 3 Mark each statement as either true （T） or false （F） according to the passage． 1． In the past， most cities were not planned and they just grew up spontaneously． 2． Garden cities built by Howard never aroused widespread enthusiasm． 3． It can be inferred that the author believes the construction of big cities is a mistake． Questions 4—5 Translate the following sentences of the passage into Chinese ． Remember to write the answers on the answer sheet． 4． Many nations， alarmed by the urban sprawl that has been gobbling up farmland and open countryside， and appalled by the staggering urban problems in the central cities， have begun building new cities that are specifically designed to meet modern needs． 5． Furthermore， these new towns－modeled on Howard’s garden cities－could also drain off the surplus population of the large cities， relieving the overcrowded conditions， housing shortages， alums and traffic jams that plagued them．