Passage 1 When the European Community's vast single market officially takes effect on Jan.1, there will be no balloons and brass bands, and holiday fliers between EC cities will still face passport checks at airports. Europeans will wake up on New Year's Day with the same 10 per cent unemployment and doubts about European unity. "There won't be the big bang some might have expected,” says Ricardo Perissich, EC director-general for the single market. Yet in its current dour mood, Europe risks almost overlooking the revolutionary step forward it has taken in creating the world's largest and wealthiest barrier-free market-and on a continent where, for centuries, economic battles have led to some of history's bloodiest wars. What conclusions could you draw from the pictures presented in the 1st paragraph?

Passage 1 When the European Community's vast single market officially takes effect on Jan.1, there will be no balloons and brass bands, and holiday fliers between EC cities will still face passport checks at airports. Europeans will wake up on New Year's Day with the same 10 per cent unemployment and doubts about European unity. "There won't be the big bang some might have expected,” says Ricardo Perissich, EC director-general for the single market. Yet in its current dour mood, Europe risks almost overlooking the revolutionary step forward it has taken in creating the world's largest and wealthiest barrier-free market-and on a continent where, for centuries, economic battles have led to some of history's bloodiest wars. In what sense is "revolutionary"used here?

Passage 1 When the European Community's vast single market officially takes effect on Jan.1, there will be no balloons and brass bands, and holiday fliers between EC cities will still face passport checks at airports. Europeans will wake up on New Year's Day with the same 10 per cent unemployment and doubts about European unity. "There won't be the big bang some might have expected,” says Ricardo Perissich, EC director-general for the single market. Yet in its current dour mood, Europe risks almost overlooking the revolutionary step forward it has taken in creating the world's largest and wealthiest barrier-free market-and on a continent where, for centuries, economic battles have led to some of history's bloodiest wars. What did the writer worry about for Western Europe here?

Passage 2 "The whole concept that we can turn this around right now is patently ridiculous,” says an American trader who has lived and worked here since 1952. "The vested interests are being shaken and slowly moved, but at a pace too slow for the eyes to follow.” That view is echoed by a U. S. diplomat closely involved in the efforts to open Japanese markets to American goods, Washington's stock solution to the ballooning trade imbalance. "Japan is a relationship society rather than transactional society,” he says. "You cannot alter that kind of a system with a television speech or a batch of general proposals, no matter how well intentioned they are.” Paraphrase"a pace too slow for the eyes to follow".

Passage 2 "The whole concept that we can turn this around right now is patently ridiculous,” says an American trader who has lived and worked here since 1952. "The vested interests are being shaken and slowly moved, but at a pace too slow for the eyes to follow.” That view is echoed by a U. S. diplomat closely involved in the efforts to open Japanese markets to American goods, Washington's stock solution to the ballooning trade imbalance. "Japan is a relationship society rather than transactional society,” he says. "You cannot alter that kind of a system with a television speech or a batch of general proposals, no matter how well intentioned they are.” Japan is a relationship society rather than a transactional society. "What's your understanding of this sentence?

Passage 2 International conditions for growth in developing countries deteriorated in 1991. The seven major industrial countries (the G-7) experienced a significant slowdown in GDP growth-from 2.8 per cent in 1990 to 1. 9 per cent during 1991 as recession gripped Canada, the United Kingdom,and the United States and growth rates slowed in continental Europe and Japan. In important respects, the slowdown was different from those that occurred during the 1970s and 1980s. Rather than reflecting the effect of disinflationary policies, weakness in demand was more closely related to the loss of momentum that had built up during the long period of expansion that began in 1983. In addition, a common factor underlying the slowdown in many industrial countries was the cyclical deceleration in investment spending What does the word "grip" imply in this sentence?