阅读理解

　　It is hard to get any agreement on the accurate meaning of the term “social class”. In everyday life, people tend to have a different approach to those they consider their equals from that which they assume with people they consider higher or lower than themselves in the social scale. The criteria we use to “place” a new acquaintance(熟人), however, are a complex mixture of factors. Dress, way of speaking, area of residence in a given city or province, education and manners all play a part.

　　In Greece, after the sixth century B． C．, there was a growing conflict between the peasants and the landed aristocrats(贵族), and a gradual decrease in the power of the aristocracy when a kind of “middle class” of traders and skilled workers grew up. The population of Athens, for example, was divided into three main classes which were politically and legally distinct. About one third of the total were slaves, who did not count politically at all, a fact often forgotten by those who praise Athens as the nursery of democracy. The next main group consisted of resident foreigners, the “metics”, who were freemen, though they two were allowed no share in political life. The third group was the powerful body of “citizens”, who were themselves divided into subclasses.

　　In the later Middle Ages, however, the development of monetary economy and the growth of cities and trade led to the rise of another class, the “burghers” or city merchants and mayors. These were the predecessors of the modern middle classes. Gradually high office and occupation assumed importance in determining social position, as it became more and more possible for a person born to one station in life to move to another. This change affected the towns more than the country areas, where remnants of feudalism lasted much longer.

　　With the break up of the feudal economy, the increasing division of labour, and the growing power of the town burghers(公民), the commercial and professional middle class became more and more important in Europe, and the older privileged class, the landed aristocracy, began to lose some of its power.

1．The main idea of the first paragraph is that ________.

[　　]

A．to define the term social class does not involve much difficulty

B．there is much alternation in people's social classes

C．to evaluate a person's social class is a very complex procedure

D．we can tell which social class a person belongs to by the way he behaves

2．In Paragraph 1, “criteria” most probably means ________.

[　　]

3．Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE, according to the passage?

[　　]

A．Slaves in Greece in the sixth century B. C. were not politically significant.

B．The “burghers” of the later Middle Ages constituted an entirely new social class.

C．To some extent, social mobility can be attributed to the growth of trade.

D．The new class made up of traders and executive officials of the later Middle Ages made the development of a money economy possible.

4．The best title of the passage might be ________.

[　　]

A．The criteria for classifying social groups

B．Social classes

C．Changes in social system

D．The evolution of human society

阅读理解

　　The dark, narrow streets of London were dangerous places for a lad to wander during the ruling of Charles Ⅱ (1660-1685). Bands of hoodlums(强盗), in the pay of some ships' captains, were found everywhere. Their job was to seize as many boys as they could find and carry them off to waiting ships in the harbor. Many a pale city lad would wake up from a drugged sleep, or a blow on the head, to find himself on the high seas, bound for the New World. There he might become a farmhand, an apprentice, or perhaps a household servant.

　　Thousands of unsuspecting youths were kidnapped who were never to return to the land of their birth. The traffic in young boys became, in time, a great public scandal, and this is the way it had come about.

　　America desperately needed colonists. At first, many people had come willingly, lured by tales of quick wealth and unlimited opportunity. But once they arrived, they found it to be a far rougher place than they had imagined. It was true that, there was opportunity, but hard work was needed to make it pay off. Many of the new colonists, hoping for easy fortuned, were not used to the difficulties of hard manual labour.

　　Nor could they manage the large farms by themselves. They needed help of every sort: for planting, for harvesting, for building their houses, etc. Some few skilled workers had come and set up shops--blacksmiths, carpenters, wheelwrights(修造轮子的工匠) and such--but they, too, were in need of help. Without apprentices and laborers, they could not possibly do all the work that the colonists required.

　　British shipowners offered free transportation to all those who would come, in return for an agreement to work for seven years without wages. Thousands of immigrants accepted the offer. After seven years of service they were farmers in their own right--and needed help. So there was an increasing need for workers. When the captains could not get colonists any other way, they hired hoodlums to seize any young boys they could lay hands on.

　　Over 100000 youngsters were taken to America in this way. Kidnapping became such an open scandal that in 1682 the London Council passed a law forbidding any person under fourteen to be bound into service without the knowledge and consent of his parents.

1．What shocked the London citizens in the late 17th century?

[　　]

A．The British shipowners needed hands in their business.

B．Bands of hoodlums wandered in the dark streets of London.

C．Many young boys turned to drugs and violence.

D．Many young boys were captured and shipped to America.

2．According to the passage, many British people were willing to settle in America because _____.

[　　]

A．they were poor and desperate

B．they thought they could find jobs easily and soon make a fortune

C．they were desperately tired of the bad conditions in London

D．they learned that skilled workers were badly needed there

3．According to the passage, the colonists were in need of hands for the following reasons except that _____.

[　　]

A．many rail tracks had to be built

B．there was a lot of work on the farms

C．many houses had to be built

D．there was a lot of work in various kinds of shops

4．Why did thousands of immigrants sign the agreement to work for seven years without pay?

[　　]

A．Because they had no money to pay for their voyage to the New World.

B．Because they could become farmers in their own right after their seven-year work.

C．Because they had no land of their own when they just arrived in America.

D．Because they were kidnapped and forced to sign it.

5．We can infer from the passage that the British government passed a law in 1682 because _____.

[　　]

A．the shipowners had seized a great fortune of the country apart from the young boys

B．it intended to stop the employment of the young workers under the age of fourteen

C．the public strongly condemned the kidnapping of young boys

D．it did not want to lose a lot of its young residents

阅读理解

　　The dark, narrow streets of London were dangerous places for a lad to wander during the ruling of Charles Ⅱ (1660-1685). Bands of hoodlums(强盗), in the pay of some ships' captains, were found everywhere. Their job was to seize as many boys as they could find and carry them off to waiting ships in the harbor. Many a pale city lad would wake up from a drugged sleep, or a blow on the head, to find himself on the high seas, bound for the New World. There he might become a farmhand, an apprentice, or perhaps a household servant.

　　Thousands of unsuspecting youths were kidnapped who were never to return to the land of their birth. The traffic in young boys became, in time, a great public scandal, and this is the way it had come about.

　　America desperately needed colonists. At first, many people had come willingly, lured by tales of quick wealth and unlimited opportunity. But once they arrived, they found it to be a far rougher place than they had imagined. It was true that, there was opportunity, but hard work was needed to make it pay off. Many of the new colonists, hoping for easy fortuned, were not used to the difficulties of hard manual labour.

　　Nor could they manage the large farms by themselves. They needed help of every sort: for planting, for harvesting, for building their houses, etc. Some few skilled workers had come and set up shops--blacksmiths, carpenters, wheelwrights(修造轮子的工匠) and such--but they, too, were in need of help. Without apprentices and laborers, they could not possibly do all the work that the colonists required.

　　British shipowners offered free transportation to all those who would come, in return for an agreement to work for seven years without wages. Thousands of immigrants accepted the offer. After seven years of service they were farmers in their own right--and needed help. So there was an increasing need for workers. When the captains could not get colonists any other way, they hired hoodlums to seize any young boys they could lay hands on.

　　Over 100000 youngsters were taken to America in this way. Kidnapping became such an open scandal that in 1682 the London Council passed a law forbidding any person under fourteen to be bound into service without the knowledge and consent of his parents.

1．What shocked the London citizens in the late 17th century?

[　　]

A．The British shipowners needed hands in their business.

B．Bands of hoodlums wandered in the dark streets of London.

C．Many young boys turned to drugs and violence.

D．Many young boys were captured and shipped to America.

2．According to the passage, many British people were willing to settle in America because _____.

[　　]

A．they were poor and desperate

B．they thought they could find jobs easily and soon make a fortune

C．they were desperately tired of the bad conditions in London

D．they learned that skilled workers were badly needed there

3．According to the passage, the colonists were in need of hands for the following reasons except that _____.

[　　]

A．many rail tracks had to be built

B．there was a lot of work on the farms

C．many houses had to be built

D．there was a lot of work in various kinds of shops

4．Why did thousands of immigrants sign the agreement to work for seven years without pay?

[　　]

A．Because they had no money to pay for their voyage to the New World.

B．Because they could become farmers in their own right after their seven-year work.

C．Because they had no land of their own when they just arrived in America.

D．Because they were kidnapped and forced to sign it.

5．We can infer from the passage that the British government passed a law in 1682 because _____.

[　　]

A．the shipowners had seized a great fortune of the country apart from the young boys

B．it intended to stop the employment of the young workers under the age of fourteen

C．the public strongly condemned the kidnapping of young boys

D．it did not want to lose a lot of its young residents