做这种题，概括一下每段大意比较重要

本篇关键的字眼是Welsh identity，而实际最重要的字是devolution

没抓住这点，基本不会读出什么名堂，

下面我给你配发了每段的主旨含义，具体你自己再快速阅读：

The Welsh language has always been the ultimate marker of Welsh identity, but a generation ago it looked as if Welsh would go the way of Manx. Once widely spoken on the Isle of Man but now extinct. Governments financing and central planning, however, have helped reverse the decline of Welsh. Road signs and official public documents are written in both Welsh and English, and school children are required to learn both languages. Welsh is now one of the most successful of Europe’s regional languages, spoken by more than a half-million of the country’s three million people.

## 这段讲威尔士语“幸免于难”，也成了威尔士人最大的身份认同

The revival of the language, particularly among young people, is part of a resurgence of national identity sweeping through this small, proud nation. Last month Wales marked the second anniversary of the opening of the National Assembly, the first parliament to be convened here since 1404. The idea behind devolution was to restore the balance within the union of nations making up the United Kingdom. With most of the people and wealth, England has always had bragging rights. The partial transfer of legislative powers from Westminster, implemented by Tony Blair, was designed to give the other members of the club--- Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales---a bigger say and to counter centrifugal forces that seemed to threaten the very idea of the union.

## 威尔士语复兴的原因；威尔士国民大会的历史；英国几个部分的分权

英国= England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales

The Welsh showed little enthusiasm for devolution. Whereas the Scots voted overwhelmingly for a parliament, the vote for a Welsh assembly scraped through by less than one percent on a turnout of less than 25 percent. Its powers were proportionately limited. The Assembly can decide how money from Westminster or the European Union is spent. It cannot, unlike its counterpart in Edinburgh, enact laws. But now that it is here, the Welsh are growing to like their Assembly. Many people would like it to have more powers. Its importance as figurehead will grow with the opening in 2003, of a new debating chamber, one of many new buildings that are transforming Cardiff from a decaying seaport into a Baltimore-style waterfront city. Meanwhile a grant of nearly two million dollars from the European Union will tackle poverty. Wales is one of the poorest regions in Western Europe--- only Spain, Portugal, and Greece have a lower standard of living.

## 讲威尔士人对分权从不感兴趣到感兴趣的转变

Newspapers and magazines are filled with stories about great Welsh men and women, boosting self-esteem. To familiar faces such as Dylan Thomas and Richard Burton have been added new icons such as Catherine Zeta-Jones, the movie star, and Bryn Terfel, the opera singer. Indigenous foods like salt marsh lamb are in vogue. And Wales now boasts a national airline. Awyr Cymru. Cymru, which means “land of compatriots,” is the Welsh name for Wales. The red dragon, the nation's symbol since the time of King Arthur, is everywhere- on T-shirts, rugby jerseys and even cell phone covers.

## 讲威尔士人现在“胆肥”了，有了作为"威尔士国民"的自信

 “Until very recent times most Welsh people had this feeling of being second-class citizens,” said Dyfan Jones, an 18-year-old student. It was a warm summer night, and I was sitting on the grass with a group of young people in Llanelli, an industrial town in the south, outside the rock music venue of the National Eisteddfod, Wales’s annual cultural festival. The disused factory in front of us echoed to the sounds of new Welsh bands.

“There was almost a genetic tendency for lack of confidence,” Dyfan continued. Equally comfortable in his Welshness as in his membership in the English-speaking, global youth culture and the new federal Europe, Dyfan, like the rest of his generation, is growing up with a sense of possibility unimaginable ten years ago. “We used to think. We can’t do anything, we’re only Welsh. Now I think that’s changing.”

以上两段，主要属于“引用的话”，对说及的某个观点  要么支持、要么反对，搞清观点的正反向即可：## 原以为只能是（听附）英国的威尔士，现在这种观点正在改变。

 (引用的话必考，其实很重要）

1. According to Dyfan Jones what has changed is

A. people's mentality 
B. pop culture 
C. town's appearance 
D. possibilities for the people

“Until very recent times most Welsh people had this feeling of being second-class citizens,” said Dyfan Jones,

“We used to think. We can't do anything, we're only Welsh. Now I think that’s changing.”

这题按题干信息，找出Dyfan Jones,所说的话就可以, 如his feeling of being。。。

显然选A

2. Which of the following is NOT cited as an example of the resurgence of Welsh national identity

A. Welsh has witnessed a revival as a national language 
B. Poverty-relief funds have come from the European Union 
C. A Welsh national airline is currently in operation
D. The national symbol has become a familiar sight

这个题你只有耐心地返回原文去找，找到一条算一条，“不怕找不到，就怕心浮气躁”

告诉你，这种题属于“死题”，也就是送分题，因为不需要动脑筋。

The Welsh language has always been the ultimate marker of Welsh identity,

And Wales now boasts a national airline. Awyr Cymru. Cymru, which means “land of compatriots,” is the Welsh name for Wales.

 The red dragon, the nation's symbol since the time of King Arthur, is everywhere- on T-shirts, rugby jerseys and even cell phone covers. (本条利用symbol定位)

B选项在第3段后半部分，它怎么会成了威尔士人的身份认同呢？故B错

你题目都不看清？看那题干问的是什么？