每日一题（201524）——考研英语复习进行时

反陷阱法

24. The British royals “have most to fear” because Charles
　　[A] takes a rough line on political issues　　
       [B] fails to change his lifestyle as advised
　　[C] takes republicans as his potential allies　
       [D] fails to adapt himself to his future role

2015Text 1
King Juan Carlos of Spain once insisted “kings don’t abdicate, they dare in their sleep.” But embarrassing scandals and 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 mean the writing is on the wall for all European royals, with their magnificent uniforms and majestic lifestyle?
The Spanish case provides arguments both for and against monarchy. When public opinion is particularly polarized, as it was following the end of the Franco regime, monarchs can rise above “mere” politics and “embody” a spirit of national unity.
It is this apparent transcendence of politics that explains monarchs’ continuing popularity as heads of state. And also, the Middle East excepted, Europe is the most monarch-infested region in the world, with 10 kingdoms (not counting Vatican City and Andorra). But unlike their absolutist counterparts in the Gulf and Asia, most royal families have survived because they allow voters to avoid the difficult search for a non-controversial but respected public figure.
Even so, kings and queens undoubtedly have a downside. Symbolic of national unity as they claim to be, their very history—and sometimes the way they behave today—embodies outdated and indefensible privileges and inequalities. At a time when Thomas Piketty and other economists are warning of rising inequality and the increasing power of inherited wealth, it is bizarre that wealthy aristocratic families should still be the symbolic heart 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 (or helicopters). Even so, these are wealthy families who party with the international 1%, and media intrusiveness makes it increasingly difficult to maintain the right image.
While Europe’s monarchies will no doubt be smart enough to survive for some time to come, it is 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.

分析：
24．【细节题】“英国王室‘最害怕’是因为查尔斯……”
题干对应的信息出现在倒数第二段“it is the British royals who have most to fear from the Spanish example.”但是有关Charles及原因的内容在最后一段。对应句子是最后一段第二句“The danger will come with Charles, who has both an expensive taste of lifestyle and a pretty hierarchical view of the world.”（查尔斯可能会遇到麻烦，他既喜欢奢华的生活方式，又认为这个世界的等级相当分明。）可见，查尔斯的麻烦是生活方式和形势的认知。再看看选项：
选项A“在政治问题上采取强硬政策”，文中压根没提，没发现直接的命题出处。
选项B“没能听取建议改变生活方式”，对应句子中提到“an expensive taste of lifestyle”。对它所在的句群进行分析，最后一段的第二、第三、第四句在句群上是并列关系的，把句首意思罗列在一起就是“查尔斯可能会遇到麻烦……”、“他没能明白……”、“查尔斯应该知道……”。显然，是在指出查尔斯没有听从建议去改变自己的生活方式。所以选项B是正确答案。
选项C“将共和党人作为潜在的盟友”，文中在最后一句提到了republicans，文中说的“查尔斯应该知道，……国王才是君主制最大的敌人，而不是共和党人”。从这里可以看出查尔斯似乎是把共和党人当敌人，而不是当盟友。
选项D“没有适应自己未来的角色”，“fails to”这个词原文倒数第二句出现过，但是原文中出现它的句子跟本选项内容无关。用在这里太过绝对，查尔斯现在还只是王子，文中并没有任何信息表明他已经失败、他将来不可能成为君王。原文说的是英国王室的“担心”，担心他可能会有麻烦，并不是说他失败了。所以选项D错误。