四、Reading(阅读)

A、完形填空

There are more than forty universities in Britain—nearly twice as many as in 1960. During the 1960s eight completely new ones more founded, and ten other new ones were created_1__ converting old colleges of technology into universities. In the same period the _2__of students more than doubled, from 70, 000 to __3__ than 200,000. By 1973 about 10% of men aged from eighteen __4___twenty?one were in universities and about 5% of women.

??All the universities are private institutions. Each has its __5__governing councils, _6__some local businessmen and local politicians as__7__as a few academics(大学教师). The state began to give grants to them fifty years __8_, and by 1970 each university derived nearly all its _9_from state grants. Students have to _10_ fees and living costs, but every student may receive from the local authority of the place __11_ he lives a personal grant which is enough to pay his full costs, including lodging and _12__unless his parents are __13__. Most __14__take jobs in the summer _15__about six weeks, but they do not normally do outside _16__during the academic year. The Department of Education takes ___17___for the payments which cover the whole expenditure of the __18__, but it does not exercise direct control. It can have an important influence ?_19_? new developments through its power to distribute funds, but it takes the advice of the University Grants Committee, a body which is mainly _20__ of academics.

1. A.with B. by C. at D. into

2. A. amount B. quantity C. lot D. number

3. A. more B. much C. less D.fewer

4. A. with B. to C. from D.beyond

5. A. self B. kind C. own D.personal

6. A. making B. consisting ? C.including D.taking

7. A. good B. long C.little ??D. well

8. A. ago B. before C. after ?? D. ever

9. A. suggestions B. grades??? C. profits D. funds

10. A. make B. pay C. change ?? D. delay

11. A. what B. which C.where ?? D. how

12. A. living B. drinking C. food D. shelter

13. A. poor B. generous C. kindhearted D. rich

14. A. professor B. students ???C. politicians D. businessmen

15. A. at B. since C. with D. for

16. A. travel B. work ??? C.experiment D. study

17. A. responsibility B. advice C. duty ?? D pleasure

18. A. government B. school ? C. universities ? D. committees

19. A. at B. to C. on D. form

20. A. consisted B. composed ? C. made D. taken

B、阅读理解

A

Did anyone find the names of “Great Britain”, “the United Kingdom”, “England” and “the British commonwealth” which have the same meaning? Strictly speaking, these names all refer to something different. None of them are exactly the same as any of the others.

The British isles refer to the main islands and several thousand small ones as well, which you can see on the map. Great Britain, or Britain, refers to the larger of the two main islands. But the word “Britain” is often used as a short form for the United Kingdom or you call it the UK .

Now as for England, it refers simply to the largest of the three countries on the island of Great Britain. The United Kingdom is the name of the state and the official name of the country, which many people popularly refer to England.

Finally, the Britain commonwealth is the usual name for what is left of the British Empire. This change shows the weakening of British Empire and the rising of the national liberation movements throughout the world today.

1. According to the passage, we know that ____ .

A. Great Britain has the same meaning as Britain

B. the United Kingdom has the same meaning as Britain or England

C. all the names in the first paragraph have the same meaning

D. all the names refer to England

2. It is clear that the British isles refer to ____ .

A. Britain, England and the UK.

B. the two main islands and thousands of small ones

C. three countries and several islands

D. Great Britain or the United Kingdom

3. Which of the following shows the right relationship (关系) between the British isles (BI), Britain (B) and England (E)?

A. B>BI>E B. BI>E>B C. E>B>BI D. BI>B>E

4. If you want to write to someone in Edinburgh that lies in Scotland, you should write the address as ____.

A. Edinburgh, England 　　 B. Edinburgh, Great Britain

C. Scotland, Edinburgh, England 　　 D. Great Britain, Scotland, Edinburgh

B

London Underground

The world’s first subway was built in London in 1863. At the time，the government was looking for a way to reduce traffic problems in the city of London. The poor areas of the city were so crowded with people that it was almost impossible for horse carriages to get through. The city officials were interested in trying to make it possible for workers to live outside of London and travel easily to work each day. If people had a cheap and convenient way that they could depend on to go to and from work， they would relocate their homes outside of the city. This would help ease(减轻) the pressure of too many people living in the poor parts of London. From these problems，the idea of the London Underground，the first subway system，was born.

The plans for building the Underground met with several problems and delays，but the fast track was finally opened in January 1863. A steam train pulled the cars along the fast underground track which was 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) long. About 30，000 people got on the subway the first day. Riders were treated to comfortable seats (standing up while the train was moving was not allowed)， and pleasant decorations inside each of the cars. However， the smoke from the engine soon filled the air in the tunnels with ash and soot(煤灰)， as well as chemical gases. Fans had to be put in the tunnels later to keep the air clean enough for people to breathe. Even with its problems，riding in the Underground did catch on. It carried 9 million riders in its first year.

5.What led the British government to build the London Underground?

A. Traffic jams and pollution.

B. Population and pollution.

C. Overcrowding and traffic jams.

D. The poverty and subway problems.

6.How did the London Underground solve the smoke problem?

A. It made the tunnels larger.

B. It put fans in the tunnels.

C. It cleaned the chemical gases in the tunnels.

D. It reduced the number of passengers riding in the train.

7.The underlined phrase “catch on” most probably means “______”.

A. be troublesome

B. become popular and fashionable

C. keep up with

D. seize

8. Which of the following is TRUE?

A. To relocate the workers’ homes outside London，the government built the subway.

B. There were so many problems and delays that in 18th century the first subway opened.

C. The subway greatly eased the pressure of traffic.

D. There were not enough seats for the passengers the first day the subway opened.