阅读理解 In Britain, strictly speaking, there are three elements in Parliament ― the Crown, the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The House of Commons is by far the most powerful and important of the three elements in Parliament and the Prime Ministers is the leader of the majority party in the House of Commons. After a general election in Britain, the Crown appoints tile Prime Minister who must be the leader of the party that has won the majority seats in the House of Commons. It is the Prime Minister who organizes the Cabinet and presides over its meetings. He or she actually decides on who will be the other ministers and so on. The work of each minister is always kept under observation by an unofficial "Shadow Cabinet" organized by the Opposition. The Prime Minister is the head of the government. He or she has the duty to report the government''s work to the King or Queen, has the right to direct all the departments, solves the issues between them and approves the decisions of departments, which do not need to be discussed in the Cabinet. He has the last word in deciding government policy. The Prime Minister not only has the power of appointment but also has the right to reorganize the government, speak for the government in the House of Commons on important decisions and answer the questions of the members of the House of Commons. As he or she is the leader of the majority party in the House of Commons, he or she can control parliament and influence other parties. He or she is the most influential person in Great Britain and in recent years, strong Prime Ministers have shown a tendency to make policy decisions on their own, in the style of American Presidents. The Prime Minister works and lives in his or her famous residence, No. 10 Downing Street. h is named after George Downing, a British diplomat in the 17th century and has a history of over two hundred years as the British Prime Minister''s residence. The inside of "No. 10" has been reconstructed to suit its purposes. In it there are the Cabinet meeting hall, the Prime Minister'' s office and so on. It is here that the Cabinet meets; the Prime Minister receives foreign guests, meets delegations sometimes and does other work. There is an oil painting gallery in which the portraits of all the Prime Ministers, from Robert Walpole to James Callaghan, are placed.
单选题 The passage is mainly talking about __________.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】主旨题。通读全文可以发现文章是一直在讨论关于英国首相的问题：首相的权力、住处等。所以我们选D。A选项只是提到而已。B选项是首相的权力之一。 C选项是首相的住宅，只是讨论首相的一部分内容。
单选题 According to the passage, what is the function of "Shadow Cabinet" in Britain?
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】细节题。此题的答案在于第二段的第一句中，即 The work of each minister is always kept under observation by an unofficial “Shadow Cabinet” organized by the Opposition．这样我们可以选出A。其余的选项文中均没有提到。
单选题 Which one is not the right of the Prime Minister?
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】文章的第二、三段是在讨论首相的权力。即 He or she has the duty to report the government’s work to the King or Queen，but the right to direct all the departments， solves the issues between them and approves the decisions of departments．．．The Prime Minister not only has the power of appointment but also has the right to reorganize the government．．．这样我们可以看出A、B、D均是首相的权力。C选项文中没有提到。
单选题 In the author''s opinion, who is the most influential person in Great Britain?
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】文章第三段第四句为 He or she is the most influential person in Great Britain and．．．据此我们可以选出正确的答案B项，剩下的均是迷惑项。
单选题 Which one is wrong according to the passage?
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】细节题。文章最后一段在讨论唐宁街十号的作用，这就排除了前两个选项。最后一个选项通过第三段第三句中“As he or she is the leader of the majority party in the House of Commons...”可以排除。通过第一段第四句“It is the Prime Minister who organizes the Cabinet and presides over its meetings.”可以看出任命部长实际上是首相的权力，所以Ｃ是错误的，符合题意。