Ireland is a sovereign state in western Europe, occupying about five-sixths of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, whose metropolitan area is home to around a quarter of the country’s 4.6 million inhabitants. The state shares its only land border with Northern Ireland. It is a unitary, parliamentary republic with an elected president serving as head of state. The head of government is nominated by the lower house of parliament.
Following the Irish War of Independence and the subsequent Anglo-Irish Treaty, Ireland gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1922. Initially a dominion, Ireland received official British recognition of full legislative independence in the Statute of Westminster of 1931. A new constitution was adopted in 1937, by which the name of the state became “Ireland.” In 1949, Ireland was declared a republic under the Republic of Ireland act 1948.
Ireland ranks among the wealthiest countries in the world in terms of GDP per capita. In 1973, Ireland enacted a series of liberal economic policies that resulted in rapid economic growth, coupled with a dramatic rise in inequality. The country achieved considerable prosperity from 1995 to 2007. This was halted by an unprecedented financial crisis that began in 2008, in conjunction with the concurrent global economic crash.
In 2011 and 2013 Ireland was ranked as the seventh-most developed country in the world by the United Nations Human Development Index.[14] It also performs well in several metrics of national performance, including freedom of the press, economic freedom and civil liberties. It pursues a policy of neutrality through non-alignment.
The population of Ireland stood at 4,588,252 in 2011, an increase of 8.2% since 2006. As of 2011, Ireland had the highest birth rate in the European Union (16 births per 1,000 of population. In 2012, 35.1% of births were to unmarried women. Annual population growth rates exceeded 2% during the 2002-2006 period, which was attributed to high rates of natural increase and immigration. This rate declined somewhat during the subsequent 2006-2011 period, with an average growth rate of 1.6%.
Ireland ranks fifth in the world in terms of gender equality. In 2011, Ireland was ranked the most charitable country in Europe, and second most charitable in the world. Contraception was controlled in Ireland until 1979; however, the receding influence of the Catholic Church has led to an increasingly secularized society. In 1983, the Eighth Amendment recognized “the right to life of the unborn”, subject to qualifications concerning the “equal right to life” of the mother. The passage of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments, guaranteeing the right to have an abortion performed abroad, and the right to learn about “services” that are illegal in Ireland but legal abroad. The prohibition on divorce in the 1937 Constitution was repealed in 1995 under the Fifteenth Amendment. Divorce rates in Ireland are very low compared to European Union averages while the marriage rate in Ireland is slightly above the European Union average.
Capital punishment is constitutionally banned in Ireland, while discrimination based on age, gender, sexual orientation, marital or familial status, religion, race or membership of the travelling community is illegal.
Ireland became the first country in the world to introduce an environmental levy for plastic shopping bags in 2002 and a public smoking ban in 2004. Recycling in Ireland is carried out extensively and Ireland has the second highest rate of packaging recycling in the European Union.
Section 2: Chinese-English Translation (50 points)
Translate the following passage into English.
冲突对抗，是构建中美新型大国关系的必要前提。有研究显示，历史上大约有过15次新兴大国的崛起，其中有11次与既有大国之间发生了对抗和战争。但现在的世界已今非昔比，中美之间乃至全球各国之间已是日趋紧密的利益共同体，对抗将是双输，战争没有出路。不冲突、不对抗的宣示，就是要顺应全球化潮流，改变对中美关系的负面预期，解决两国之间的战略互不信，构建对中美关系前景的正面信心。
相互尊重，是构建中美新型大国关系的基本原则。世界是多样的，中美作为两个社会制度不同、历史文化背景各异，同时又利益相互交织的大国，相互尊重就显得尤为重要。我们只有相互尊重对方人民选择的制度与道路，相互尊重彼此的核 利益与关切，才能求同存异，进而聚同化异，实现两国的和谐相处。
合作共赢，是中美构建新型大国关系的必由之路。中美双方在双边关系各领域都有着广泛合作需求和巨大合作潜力。此外，作为两个大国，环顾当今世界，从反恐到网络安全，从核不扩散到气候变化，从中东和平到非洲发展，也都离不开中美两国的共同参与、合作和贡献。
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