阅读理解
People may wonder why different words are used to
describe these four countries: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
You can clarify this question if you study British history.
First there was England. Wales was linked to it in the
thirteenth century. Now when people refer to England you find Wales included as
well. Next England and Wales were joined to Scotland in the seventeenth century
and the name was changed to "Great Britain". Happily this was
accomplished without conflict when King James of Scotland became King of
England and Wales as well. Finally the English government tried in the early
twentieth century to form the United Kingdom by getting Ireland connected in
the same peaceful way. However, the southern part of Ireland was unwilling and
broke away to form its own government. So only Northern Ireland joined with
England, Wales and Scotland to become the United Kingdom and this was shown to
the world in a new flag called the Union Jack.
To their credit the four countries do work together in
some areas (eg, the currency and international relations), but they still have
very different institutions. For example, Northern Ireland, England and
Scotland have different educational and legal systems as well as different
football teams for competitions like the World Cup!
England is the largest of the four countries, and for
convenience it is divided roughly into three zones. The zone nearest France is
called the South of England, the middle zone is called the Midlands and the one
nearest to Scotland is known as the North. You find most of the population
settled in the south, but most of the industrial cities in the Midlands and the
North of England. Although, nationwide, these cities are not as large as those
in China, they have world-famous football teams and some of them even have two!
It is a pity that the industrial cities built in the nineteenth century do not
attract visitors. For historical architecture you have to go to older but
smaller towns built by the Romans. There you will find out more about British
history and culture.
(1)
What's the part of Ireland that separated from England called?
A . Wales.
B . Scotland.
C . Republic of Southern Ireland.
D . Northern Ireland.
(2)
What's the main idea of paragraph 2?
A . The history of England.
B . How was the UK formed.
C . How is England divided.
D . The differences in the four countries.
(3)
What does the four countries have in common?
A . Educational system.
B . Legal system.
C . Football team.
D . The currency.
(4)
Which zone has the most population of England?
A . The South of England.
B . The Midlands.
C . The North of England.
D . The West of England.
答案: C
B
D
A