Oil and Islam continue to define Saudi Arabia's room for manoeuvre. With global demand unlikely to wane in the foreseeable future and reserves elsewhere diminishing, oil will continue to keep the kingdom rich for decades to come. At the same time, the Saudis' attachment to their faith is not diminishing; it may even be growing stronger. But the faith itself is changing in subtle ways.
　　Having gone through waves of progress and retrenchment during its 73 years as a unified kingdom, Saudi Arabia is now well into another period of rapid change. This time, however, the well-oiled complacency of the previous big boom, in the 1970s, is largely gone. Four years ago, a survey in this newspaper argued that it might require internal shocks to jolt the Saudis into taking reform seriously. Those shocks have now arrived.
　　Since May 2003, when suicide bombers attacked a housing compound in Riyadh, terrorist violence has touched every corner of the kingdom, claiming some 200 lives. Saudi nationals, the most famous being Osama bin Laden, continue to be implicated in terrorist attacks abroad, most notably in Iraq. Yet far from rallying Saudis to the jihadist cause, terrorism has made them identify more closely with the state. More importantly, the violence has brought intense introspection and debate.
　　Long accustomed to blaming outside influences for all ills, Saudis now accept that the fixing needs to start at home. Aside from extremism, the problems of unemployment, poverty and the abuse of human rights have moved to the top of the national agenda. Even the most absolute of previous taboos, political reform, is being widely debated. In dozens of interviews with Saudis of all stripes, one phrase kept coming up: the question is no longer whether to reform/restructure/change, but how fast to do it.
　　The government's answer, to date, has been slowly, and not very surely. But this survey will argue that far from being a dinosaur nation, lumbering to extinction, Saudi Arabia is capable of rapid evolution. ~ On some important issues, such as the rules governing business, it is already far down the right track. On others, such as the ways it educates its youth and excludes women, the kingdom is only just beginning to shift course.
　　Most Saudis reckon it is premature to speak of democracy in their country; but there are myriad ways to emancipate citizens, from upholding the rule of law to making budgets more transparent and loosening the grip of security agencies over universities and the press. Instead of their old tactics of prevarication, slow consensus-building and co-optation, the A1 Sauds should try a new one: putting trust in their people.　　[438 words]
　　1. The 1st paragraph primarily tells us that Saudi Arabia______
　　A. will experience some change
　　B. still has room for manoeuvre
　　C. will attach closely to its faith
　　D. will remain rich for years to come
　　2. Some people argued that______is most needed for Saudi Arabias reform.
　　A. internal impact
　　B. another big boom
　　C. another wave of progress
　　D. the well-oiled complacency
　　3. The primary consequence of terrorist violence is______
　　A. the loss of many innocent lives
　　B. intense introspection and debate
　　C. closer identification with Saudi Arabia
　　D. the impact on every corner of Saudi Arabia
　　4. Saudis have gradually accepted the idea of______
　　A. abolishing extremism
　　B. fighting against terrorism
　　C. putting social reform into practice
　　D. blaming outside influences for all evils
　　5. Saudis hardly EXCEPT______
　　A. reform in education
　　B. upholding the rule of law
　　C. some emancipation of citizens
　　D. the rapid progress of democracy
　难句透析
　　①With global demand unlikely to wane in the foreseeable future and”reserves elsewhere diminishing，oil will con— tinue to keep the kingdom rich for decades to come．
　　【结构】介词“with”后面跟有两个并列的宾语成分。
　　【释义】全球对石油。的需求在可以预见的未来不太可能下降，而且其他地方的石油储存正在逐渐减少，在今后几十年，石油将依然使沙特王国极其富有。
　　②Saudi nationals，[the most famous being Osama bin Laden]，continue to be implicated in terrorist attacks abroad， most notably in Iraq．    
　　【结构】方括号部分是带逻辑主语“the most famous”的现在分词短语“being…”用做状语，起补充说明的作用。
　　【释义】在国外，特别是伊拉克，发生的恐怖主义袭击仍然牵涉到沙特阿拉伯侨民。其中最出名的是奥萨玛·本·拉登。
　　③Aside from extremism，the problems[of unemployment，poverty and the abuse of human rights]have moved to the top of the national agenda．Even the most absolute of previous taboos，political reform，is being widely debated．