18．Before the print was brought to England in 1476，everything was written by hand．The few people who knew how to write were trained in schools set up by the church．Those who made a living by writing for other people were called scribes（抄写员）．
The work of scribes was not easy．Much of it had to be done fast in order to meet the needs of the King．the church and traders．Most of the writing was in Latin（拉丁），but some of it was in the English of the day．And no one was quite sure how some English words should be spelled．
One problem was that several letters were written with short vertical strok（竖笔）that all looked like each other．Among them were the letters，i，u，v，m and n，Thus．five straight lines in a row might stand for uni nui uvi or mii．
As a result．reading was sometimes difficult，especially when the writing was done in a hurry．
The scribes solved（解决）the problem in part，by changing the letter u to o when it came before m．n or v．This is how sum and cum came to be written as some and come．
At some point，too，the scribes seemed to have decided that no English word should be ended by u or v．Thus，in time an e was added to such words as live，have，due and true．It was added，but not pronounced．
25．Which of the following is true according to the passage？B
A．Everything has been written by hand in English since 1476．
B．The church set up schools to train scribes before 1476．
C．More than 500years ago no people made a living by writing for other people．
D．Scribes in England worked only for kings and traders．
26．Sometimes people couldn't read easilyC
A．because there were too many u's and v's in sonic English words．
B．because most of the writing was in Latin．
C．When tile writing was done hurriedly．
D．when the writing was in English．
27．The scribes changed u before m to o becauseD
A．the change helped them write faster
B．om was the right order
C．um and om had the same pronunciation
D．the change made reading easier
28．It is believed that some scribes thoughtB
A．it important to add an e to every English word
B．an English word should be ended neither by n nor by v
C．it natural to change the spelling of sonic Latin words
D．the letter e at the end of any word shouldn't be pronounced．
分析 文章介绍了抄写员的由来和抄写员的工作，还介绍了因为抄写员的工作而带来的文字上的演变．
解答 答案：25．B 细节理解题．由第一段中的"The few people who knew how to write were trained in schools set up by the church．Those who made a living by writing for other people were called scribes（抄写员）"可知，在1476年之前，教堂创建一些学校培训抄写员．故选B．
26．C 细节理解题．由倒数第三段"As a result，reading was sometimes difficult，especially when the writing was done in a hurry"可知，匆匆忙忙写的东西读起来很困难．故选C．
27．D 细节理解题．由倒数第二和第三段"As a result，reading was sometimes difficult，especially when the writing was done in a hurry．The scribes solved（解决）the problem in part，by changing the letter u to o when it came before m．n or v．"可知，这么做解决了阅读困难的问题，使阅读变得容易．故选D．
28．B 细节理解题．由最后一段中的"At some point，too，the scribes seemed to have decided that no English word should be ended by u or v"可知，英语单词不以u或v结尾．故选B．
点评 阅读理解是考查语篇理解能力．常考的题型有：推理判断题；主旨大意题；细节理解题；猜测词意题．近几年又出现了两种新的考查方式：写作态度判断题和文章结构题．解题时，在读懂文章的基础上，还有特别注意掌握题型的特征，尤其是细节题和推断题不可混淆：细节题是文章信息的再现；推断题是文章信息的提取．本题是广告类文章，考查主要是以细节题为主，细节题要注意常用的出题陷阱有：夸大，缩小，张冠李戴，偷梁换柱，无中生有等，做题时要看清看准．
