Question

【题目】Directions: Fill in each blank with a proper word chosen from the box. Each word can be used only once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

The “Penny Black”, the first postage stamp issued in Britain and, more importantly, the first postage stamp issued anywhere, 【1】 the image of Queen Victoria, but the first British postal service didn’t originate in Victoria England. In 1860, William Dockwra started a public service that 【2】 the quick delivery of a letter anywhere in London. His system was quickly 【3】 with Dockwra in charge. It was far from a perfect system, 【4】 with seemingly improper charges that made it unreasonably expensive to send a letter. Worse still, recipients were expected to pay. As you might imagine, this 【5】 some problems—either people weren’t home or flat—out refused to pay. The system just didn’t work, but it remained in place for far too long.

About 50 years later, to do better, Rolland Hill argued for putting an end to the postal charges and replacing them with a single national rate of one penny, which would be paid by the sender. When the post office ignored Hill’s ideas, he self-published his essay and it quickly gained 【6】 among the public. Hill was then ordered by Postmaster General Lord Lichfield to discuss postal reform and ,during their subsequent meetings, the two men conceived of a gluy 【7】 that could be applied to the envelops to indicate payment. Though it had gained support with the public who longed for a affordably way to connect with distant friends and family, officials were still not convinced. Thankfully, Hill was far from alone in his passion for reform. He eventually earned enough support from other like-minded individuals to convince Parliament to 【8】 his system.

In 1839, Hill held a competition to design all the postal facility. The winning stamp 【9】 describing the young queen’s profile came from one William Wyon, who based the design on a medal he created to celebrate his first visit to London.

The“Penny Black”stamp went on sale on May 1, 1840. It was an immediate 【10】 Suddenly, the country seemed a lot smaller. The penny black’s design was so well received that it remained in use for forty year.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】B

【2】F

【3】J

【4】C

【5】G

【6】K

【7】A

【8】E

【9】I

【10】H

【解析】

这是一篇记叙文。文章记述了世界上第一张邮票的诞生及其历史背景。

【1】考查动词。句意：更重要的是，在各个地方发行的第一张邮票，带有维多利亚女王的头像。分析句子结构可知，主语是the first postage stamp，宾语是the image of Queen Victoria，缺少谓语动词，bear有“带有（标记、特征）”的意思，符合句意。故选B项。

【2】考查动词。句意：1860年，William Dockwra开始一项公共服务，保证信件在伦敦任何地方都能迅速送达。分析句子结构可知，在定语从句中缺少谓语动词，结合先行词service要解释服务的内容，guarantee“保证，担保”更加符合文意。故选F项。

【3】考查动词。句意：他的系统迅速在全国普及，由他来全权掌管。从文段中对邮政系统发展历程的描述中不难猜测，这里要表达Dockwra的系统有了进一步的发展，也就是从伦敦发展到了全国范围。故填J项。

【4】考查非谓语动词。句意：这还远非一个完美的系统，受限于看起来不太合理的价格，使得送一封信的价格贵得没道理。分析句意可知，后句提及的价格因素造成了当前系统的不完善，burden意为“加负担于……，使负重担”，符合文意。故C项。

【5】考查动词。句意：正如你可能想象的，这会出现一些问题——有的人不在家或者比较直率都会拒绝付款。前文提到收信人还要付收信款，从而导致了下文的问题。present意为“使发生，出现”配合宾语some problems是最合适的。故选G项。

【6】考查固定短语。句意：邮政官方没有理睬Hill的想法，他就自己作出了尝试，并快速在人们中普及。分析句意可知，Hill的主意没有得到官方重视，他出版了自己的方案，也确实有很好的反响，gain ground意为“取得发展，普及”，符合文意。故选K项。

【7】考查名词。句意：两个人设想了一种有粘性的标签，可以贴在信封上代表邮资。结合上下文不难理解，这里就是对邮票雏形的描述，即信封上的一个标签。故选A项。

【8】考查动词。句意：他最终从那些有类似想法的人那里获得了足够的支持，使议会同意了施行他的系统。这里叙述邮票系统发展的波折过程，最终议会被说服，下一步就应该使用这套系统了。implement意为“实施，实现”，符合文意。故选E项。

【9】考查名词。句意：胜出的邮票作品上绘有年轻女王的肖像，出自一位William Wyon之手。Hill为邮票形象安排了一次设计比赛，最后有一个作品胜出了，entry意为“参赛作品”，符合文意。故选I项。

【10】考查名词。句意：它马上就流通起来。联系上下文，邮票一经发行，整个国家似乎都变小了，意味着很多人都用上了邮票寄信，hit有一个非正式含义“面市并产生影响”，符合文意。故选H项。