单选题 Passage One
Questions 26 to 28 are based on the passage you have just heard.
单选题 A. To help poor boys and girls.
B. To give free education to smart boys whose family cannot afford the tuition of a private school.
C. To help clever boys become cleverer.
D. To encourage students to live at school.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 26-28
The oldest public schools were founded to give free education to clever boys whose parents could not afford to educate them privately { 26). They were under "public" management or control. But today these schools, and similar ones which were built within the past 120 years, are mostly boarding schools (27). The pupils live as well as study there. Some public schools also take day-pupils. Normally pupils are admitted by examination. Since state schools do not prepare children for this, parents who wish to send their children to a public school often send them first to a preparatory school. Preparatory schools are small, private primary schools which prepare children for the public school examination (28).
Public schools have produced many of Britain's most famous and distinguished men and women and many parents are still ready to make great sacrifices to send their children there. More pupils come from Britain's upper classes or wealthy families.
26. According to the passage, why were the oldest pubic schools founded?

题目问最初设立公立学校的原因。短文开头可以听到“The oldest public schools were founded to give free education to clever boys whose parents could not afford to educate them privately”，公立学校的设立最初是为了给学习优秀但父母支付不起私立学校学费的孩子提供免费教育。
单选题 A. Most of them are boarding schools.
B. None of them take day-pupils.
C. Pupils can be admitted without any exam.
D. Most of them have their own preparatory schools.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析]
How are those public schools today?

题目问如今的公立学校情况。短文中可以听到“But today these schools, and similar ones which were built within the past 120 years, are mostly boarding schools”，可见这些公立学校大部分都是住宿制学校(boarding schools)。
单选题 A. To teach them how to live and study in a public school.
B. To prepare them to be famous and distinguished people.
C. To train them how to pass exams successfully.
D. To prepare children for the public school examination.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析]
What can 3 preparatory school do to help?

题目问预备学校有什么帮助作用。短文中可以听到“Preparatory schools are small, private primary schools which prepare children for the public school examination”，可见这些预备学校往往都是规模较小的私立学校，可以帮助孩子准备公立学校的入学考试。