？Read the article below about the British longer working hours.？For each question 23-28 on

？ Read the article below about the British longer working hours.

？ For each question 23-28 on the opposite page, choose the correct answer.

？ Mark one letter (A, B or C) on your Answer Sheet.

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The British work longer hours than anyone else in the European Union (EU), which may account for Britain's faster rate of economic growth in the past decade. But the European Commission wants to put a stop to it. In a recent report it notes disapprovingly that, "The UK is the only member state where weekly working time has increased over the last decade." The commission believes that British companies may be systematically violating the EU's "Working Time Directive ". This demands that Europeans should work a maximum of 48 hours a week on average. Under the directive, workers can sign an "opt-out", agreeing to work more than 48 hours. Some 33% of British workers have signed such opt-outs, although only 16% are believed actually to be working more than 48 hours.

Anna Diamantopoulou, the European commissioner for employment and social affairs, has a doubt about that. Firms in other European countries have not made much use of opt-outs. But, she thinks, some British bosses may be forcing workers to sign opt-outs as a condition of taking a job. (Some Americans may actually want to work more than 48 hours, but surely no European would be so silly, seems to her reasoning.) Citing reasons ranging from "health and safety" to the need to maintain "minimum social standards" in the EU and to strike a better balance between work and family life, the commission is launching a "consultation of interested parties" on possible changes to the directive. The commissioner hopes that Britain will be able to come up with solutions on a voluntary basis. This sounds innocent enough. But, in reality, if it does not, the commission will probably devise a new directive.

The commission is likely to push for tighter definitions of the conditions under which opt-outs can be used. This will inevitably reduce labour-market flexibility and may introduce yet more burdensome corporate form-filling and regulation. The British government claims to welcome the commission's review. Privately, however, it hopes that the appointment of a new commission next autumn will ensure that Mrs Diamantopoulou does not have enough time to revise the directive. She will certainly need to work long hours to get it done. Fortunately, being classified as a manager, at least she has an automatic opt-out from the Working Time Directive.

What is the attitude of the European Commission toward Britain's longer working hour？

A．It firmly supports it.

B．It pays no attention to it.

C．It wants to get rid of it.