December 14, 2009 - First and Second part
14 December 2009 Write your name here: ____________________________________________
Write the answer which best completes each sentence in the little box.
1. When the European Constitution ……….. rejected in the French and Dutch referenda in 2005, 18 Member States had already ratified the Treaty.
A. is B. has been C. will be D. was
2. Bulgaria and Romania, which entered the EU …………… January 2007, already ratified the Constitution before accession.
A. over B. at C. in D. on
3. The Lisbon Treaty, rejected by Ireland in 2008, was finally approved .......... 2 October 2009.
A. over B. at C. in D. on
4. The Union had to face many obstacles before the Lisbon Treaty could come into...................... .
A. force B. effect C. effective D. vigour
5. Hillary Clinton .......................... the United States First Lady from 1993 to 2001.
A. was B. has been C. is D. will be
6. In Italy the Senate had already approved the Lisbon Treaty when the Chamber of Deputies …………….. approved its ratification.
A. at the unanimity B. unanimously C. on unanimity D. unanimous
7. Size is important. The smaller ………………….when it comes to Constitutions.
A. better B. best C. the best D. the better
8. The Irish are the only people in the EU who …………………… a referendum on Lisbon.
A. offer B. were offered C. offering D. are offering
9. Even in 2001 the Irish turned ………. the Nice treaty, but the Danes started this game when they voted against the Maastricht treaty in 1992.
A. down B. up C. in D. out
10. I think government ………..….. give people the chance of managing their own money.
A. ought B. ought to C. should to D. had better to
11. Now the court has to decide ……………..….. these people are guilty of these offences or not.
A. weather B. whether C. when D. either
12. The day France voted “No”, I remember ………………..… in Italy with friends.
A. to be B. be C. being D. will be
13. When he was governor of Texas, Bush ………….. that education is to a state what national defense is to the federal government.
A. use to say B. used to say C. use to saying D. used to saying
14. So ............, rich countries are largely responsible for the problem of climate change but poor ones will suffer most.
A. yet B. far C. now D. near
15. If Iran wants to be an accepted nation in the world they must …… their nuclear weapons ambitions.
A. give up B. figure out C. pass away D. hold on
16. We must do all we can to ………………….. the intentions of the enemy.
A. give up B. find out C. pass on D. hold on to
17. We need to ……………….. why these people are making phone calls into the United States.
A. give in B. figure out C. pass away D. hang
18. He was worried about his government, and so ……………………………
A. I was B. me too C. was I D. I were
19. When you win elections, you ……………………..to do what you say you do.
A. are supposed B. must C. have to D. shall
20. EU leaders pushed the Irish to vote on the reform treaty twice, ignored all rejections of an earlier EU constitution and railroaded the Czech president into agreeing to the treaty ................. strong opposition.
A. in spite B. despite C. although D. nevertheless
21. Competition is a good thing. ……………………, it can create problems at times.
A. Despite B. In spite of C. Even D. Nevertheless
22. In Copenhagen these days EU leaders have agreed that the problem of climate change is worth................
A. tackle B. tackling C. tackled D. to tackling
23. ………………… on 2 October 2009 in the three-million Irish electorate was 58%.
A. Turn-over B. Turn-in C. Turn-off D. Turn-out
24. Slovakia is the last Member State to have joined the EMU: the euro became legal ………………..
on January 1, 2009.
A. tender B. currency C. money D. exchange
25. The Lisbon Treaty creates two new posts: a new High Representative for Foreign Affairs and an EU president of the European Council, in place of the present six-………… rotating one.
A. months B. month C. monthed D. monthing
26. The first voter was a woman who was not ………… to participate in democracy during the Taliban.
A. allow B. allowed C. permit D. permitting
27. Ted Kennedy was sworn .................... as a senator in 1962 and, by comparison with his brothers,
seemed colourless.
A. out B. off C. in D. over
28. Barack Hussein Obama ....................... oath of office on January 20, 2009.
A. takes B. has taken C. took D. taked
29. Gordon Brown took ……………………………… as British Prime Minister in June 2007.
A. up B. on C. up D. over
A. out B. over C. for D. along
Part 2 – December 14, 2009
The use of the dictionary is not permitted. Time allowed: 90 minutes
A Translate the following passage into Italian (15 points)
The Lisbon Treaty, which entered into force on December 1st, creates two new posts: a new High Representative for Foreign Affairs and an EU president of the European Council, in place of the present six-month rotating one. This gives the union a more public face, given that at present Europe is a weak actor on a stage dominated by America and China, with India and Brazil in the wings.
This new job of a semi-permanent president of the council seemed to interest Britain’s former Prime Minister, Tony Blair (who actually had never publicly said he was in the running for the job, despite vocal support from Gordon Brown); among the favourites there was also Britain’s foreign secretary, David Miliband, who for a while appeared tempted, but eventually decided to stay in British politics and focus on domestic ambitions, rumoured to include the leadership of the Labour Party. Italy’s Massimo D’Alema seemed also one of the favourites for the foreign-policy post, together with José Manuel Barroso, Jacques Chirac, Bertie Ahern, among others.
B Translate the following passage into English (5 points)
La
Conferenza sul clima di Copenhagen è iniziata con un breve video dal titolo "
Per favore salvate il mondo": nel video alcuni bambini del futuro mostrano uno scenario apocalittico, in cui la terra, deserta, era distrutta da bufere e tempeste. Una provocazione, ma anche una certezza, se non verranno presi provvedimenti adeguati dai capi di stato presenti.
La capitale danese ha ospitato nel Bella Center più di 15 mila partecipanti, rappresentanti 192 stati del mondo, con due obiettivi comuni: trovare un accordo per ridurre le emissioni di gas serra e trovare il denaro necessario per gli aiuti e le tecnologie pulite pei paesi poveri.
Nelle prossime settimane, Copenaghen sarà Hope-naghen" giocando col termine "speranza".
C Read the following passage and then answer the questions below (10 points)
The new job of a semi-permanent president of the council introduced by the Lisbon Treaty seemed to interest Britain’s former Prime Minister, Tony Blair.
The UK was divided by the idea of a President Blair: the Labours argued that the job needed a heavyweight figure who could “stop the traffic” in Beijing or Washington, DC; the Conservatives were already cross that the Lisbon treaty would enter into force without the British public being able to vote on it in a referendum. It would have been difficult for Britons to stomach the prospect of Mr Blair “suddenly pupating into an intergalactic spokesman for Europe”, in the phrase of London’s Tory mayor, Boris Johnson.
Besides objecting to Blair over Iraq, smaller EU nations expressed the desire of a president from a country that uses the EU's common euro currency and Britain has opted out of it. Plus, federalists muttered that this job could not go to anybody from Britain, which refuses to join the borderless Schengen area and always fights to keep its special rebate from the EU budget. Indeed, it cannot be denied that Britain is normally seen as an awkward customer in EU affairs.
1. Explain the meaning of “The UK was divided by the idea of a President Blair.” (2.5 points)
2. Explain the meaning of “Britain is normally seen as an awkward customer in EU affairs.” (2.5 points)
3. Write your opinion on the Lisbon Treaty. (5 points)
14 December 2009 Write your name here: ____________________________________________
C Read the following passage and then answer the questions below
(for foreign students)
The Lisbon Treaty creates two new posts: a new High Representative for Foreign Affairs and an EU president of the European Council, in place of the present six-month rotating one. This gives the union a more public face, given that at present Europe is a weak actor on a stage dominated by America and China, with India and Brazil in the wings.
This new job of a semi-permanent president of the council seemed to interest Britain’s former Prime Minister, Tony Blair (who actually had never publicly said he was in the running for the job, despite vocal support from Gordon Brown); among the favourites there was also Britain’s foreign secretary, David Miliband, who for a while appeared tempted, but eventually decided to stay in British politics and focus on domestic ambitions, rumoured to include the leadership of the Labour Party. Italy’s Massimo D’Alema seemed also one of the favourites for the foreign-policy post, together with José Manuel Barroso, Jacques Chirac, Bertie Ahern, among others.
The UK was divided by the idea of a President Blair: the Labours argued that the job needed a heavyweight figure who could “stop the traffic” in Beijing or Washington, DC; the Conservatives were already cross that the Lisbon treaty would enter into force without the British public being able to vote on it in a referendum. It would have been difficult for Britons to stomach the prospect of Mr Blair “suddenly pupating into an intergalactic spokesman for Europe”, in the phrase of London’s Tory mayor, Boris Johnson.
Besides objecting to Blair over Iraq, smaller EU nations expressed the desire of a president from a country that uses the EU's common euro currency and Britain has opted out of it. Plus, federalists muttered that this job could not go to anybody from Britain, which refuses to join the borderless Schengen area and always fights to keep its special rebate from the EU budget. Indeed, it cannot be denied that Britain is normally seen as an awkward customer in EU affairs.
1. Explain the meaning of “The UK was divided by the idea of a President Blair.”
2. Explain the meaning of “Britain is normally seen as an awkward customer in EU affairs.”
3. Write your opinion on the Lisbon Treaty.
4. Write your opinion on the position of the UK in Europe.