单选题
The value of money is going down. What you could buy
in 1970 for ￡20, now, in 1979 costs￡56.40. That's inflation and nobody likes it,
least of all the Bank of England. One of the results of inflation is that people
need coins and notes of higher value. At the moment, the note of the highest
value which is generally in circulation is the ￡20 note. Now, the Bank of
England plans to introduce a new, ￡50 note. And the Bank is trying to decide
which famous English man or woman to put on the back of the new note.
Quite a problem. The Bank usually chooses safe, historical personalities.
We already have Sir Isaac Newton, the scientist, the first duke of Wellington,
the famous soldier who led the British army at Waterloo, Florence Nightingale,
founder of English nursing and — of course — Shakespeare. So far, the list of
possible choices for the ￡50 note is quite predictable. There's Sir Francis
Drake, to represent the achievements of English explorers in the sixteenth
century. Then we have Lord Nelson, another sailor and the man who won the battle
of Trafalgar in 1805 for England. Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the engineer, is also
on the list because of the magnificent bridges which he built. The Bank will not
forget music this time either — Sir Edward Elgar, one of our most famous
composers of the nineteenth century is a possible choice. If they choose a
woman, the feminist movement has two representatives: Boadicea, Queen of the
early English tribes of the first century, who fought against the Romans, or
Emily Pankhurst, who fought to get the vote for women early in this
century. What do you think of this selection? There's no one
who was alive in the last fifty years on it and no political leader. Why not?
Why doesn't the Bank choose popular heroes — like the Beatles, for example?
Write and tell "BBC Modern English" who is on your list for this banknote.
Imagine you have to choose some personality to go on a banknote in your own
country. Who is your choice?
单选题
"Inflation" in this story means "______".
A. the rise in prices resulting from an increase in the money, credit,
etc.
B. the rise and fall of the voice in speaking
C. the process of inflating or being inflated
D. an illness brought by infection
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】本题为词汇理解题，根据文章内容和上下文的意思，因此答案为C。
单选题
Which of the following is NOT true according to the text?
A. Nobody likes inflation especially the Bank of England.
B. Ordinary people dislike inflation.
C. The government dislikes inflation.
D. Nobody likes inflation except the Bank of England.
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】本题为直接信息，答案在第一段第二句，That's inflation and nobody likes it， least of all the Bank of England．从这句话可以看出the Bank of England特别不喜欢通货膨胀。因此，答案应为D。
单选题
Why is there no one who was alive in the last fifty years in the
selection and no political leader?
A. Because the Bank of England does not like contemporary figures and
political leaders.
B. Because living personalities and political leaders are not as influential
as anyone in this selection.
C. Because the Bank of England usually chooses safe and historical
personalities.
D. Because living personalities and political leaders are not allowed to be
put on the back of the new banknote.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】本题为直接信息，答案在第二段第二句，The Bank usually chooses safe，historical personalities，因此，答案为C。
单选题
Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
A. Sir Isaac Newton was a famous English scientist.
B. Florence Nightingale was the famous soldier who led the British army at
Waterloo.
C. Sir Francis Drake won achievements for English explorers in the 16th
century.
D. Lord Nelson was the man who won the battle of Trafalgar in 1805 for
England.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】本题为直接信息，答案在第二段第三句，We already have Sir Isaac Newton，the scientist，the first duke of Wellington，the famous soldier who led the British army at Waterloo，Florence Nightingale，founder of English nursing and — of course—Shakespeare．因此，答案为B。
单选题
"BBC Modern English" is ______.
A. a book
B. a TV program
C. a TV guide
D. a magazine for students of English as a foreign language