SECTION III Reading Comprehension(40 minutes)

　　Dilrections:

　　Read the following three texts. Answer the questions on each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on your ANSWER SHEET.

　　Text 1

　　Sometime in the middle of the 15th century, a well-to-do merchant from London buried more than 6,700 gold and silver coins on a sloping, hillside in Surrey. He was fleeing the War of the Ro-ses and planned to return during better times. But he never did. The coins lay undisturbed until one September evening in 1990, when local resident Roger Mintey chanced upon them with a metal de-tector, a device used to determine the presence of metals. Mintey's find much of.which now sits in the British Museum-earned him roughly $350,000, enough to quit his job with a small manu- facturer and spend more time pursuing lost treasure.

　　But digging up the past is controversial in Britain. In many European countries, metal detecto- fists, or people using metal detectors, face tough regulations. In the U. K., however, officials in- troduced a scheme in 1997 encouraging hobbyists to report their discoveries (except for those fall- ing under the definition of treasure, like Mintey's find, which they are required to report)--but al- lowing them to keep what they find, or receive a reward. Last year, a hidden store was uncovered

　　in a field outside Birmingham. It consists of more than 1,500 gold and silver objects from the sev- enth century and was valued at more than $4.5 million. While local museums hurry to raise enough money to keep the find off the open market, it sits in limbo, owned by the Crown but fa- cing claims by the landowner and the metal detectorist who found it.

　　The find marks the latest battleground in the increasingly heated conflict between the country's 10,000-20,000 metal detectorists and the museum workers determined to protect its precious old objects. Supporters say the scheme stems the loss of valuable information about precious old ob-jects, while opponents argue that metal detectorists don't report everything.

　　The debate centers on the larger question of who owns the past. "There's been a slow move over the centuries that precious old things belong to us all," says Professor Christopher Chippindale of Cambridge University. But in Britain at least, the temptation of buried treasure could change all that.

　　46. According to the first paragraph, the coins in Surrey were

　　A. worth roughly $350,000

　　B. possessed by a local resident

　　C. unearthed about 500 years ago

　　D. left by a merchant during a war

　　47. What do we know about Roger Mintey?

　　A. He produces metal detectors.

　　B. He owns a manufacturing firm.

　　C. He works for the British Museum.

　　D. He seeks buried treasure as a hobby.

　　48. In the U. K., metal detectorists

　　A. are rewarded for whatever they find

　　B. are forced to obey tough regulations

　　C. may keep what they have discovered

　　D. should report whatever they discover

　　49. As for the find outside Birmingham, it is still unclear

　　A. how much it is worth

　　B. how it was discovered

　　C. who is entitled to it

　　D. what it is made up of

　　50. According to Professor Christopher Chippindale, buried treasure

　　A. is owned by the public

　　B. is debated in a heated way

　　C. remains a big temptation

　　D. turns precious over time

　　Part A

　　Text 1

　　在15世纪中期，一位来自伦敦的富有商人将6700多枚金币和银币埋藏在萨里的一座倾斜的山坡里。他当时在躲避玫瑰战争，打算在战争结束时再返回，但是他却没能回来。这些金银币一直藏在地下，直到1990年九月的一个夜晚，当地的一位居民Roger Mintey偶然间用一种探测金属的仪器发现了它们。Mintey发现的金银币大约价值35万美金(大部分硬币现保存在大不列颠博物馆)，这笔钱足够他辞去小工厂的工作并继续搜寻剩下的宝藏。

　　但是这种挖掘在当时的英国是备受争议的。在许多欧洲国家，金属探测者或使用金属探测器的人都将面临严厉的法律制裁。然而，l997年

　　英国官方颁布了一项新制度，鼓励爱好者们上报他们的发现(除了那些属于宝藏范围内的物品，Mintey的发现就属于此范围，必须上报)，但允许他们拥有发现的物品或上报赢得奖励。去年，在伯明翰郊外发现了一处隐秘的仓库。该仓库中藏有1500多件7世纪的金制品和银制品，价值高达450多万美元。正当当地的博物馆急着筹集资金去购买这些制品以免其流入市场时，它的归属权还在争论，其皇族拥有者遭到了土地拥有者及发现者的指责。

　　这些被发现的物品激发了英国l至2万金属探测者和博物馆力图保护文物的工作人员之间的白热化的战争。支持者认为此制度阻止了珍贵文物的流失，而反对者认为金属探测者们不会上报所有东西。这场争论的重点在于到底谁应该拥有历史遗产。剑桥大学的Chris—topherChippindale教授说道，“过去几个世纪以来，人们渐渐开始认为这些珍贵的文物属于我们所有人”。但是至少在英国，这些埋葬的宝藏诱惑着很多人，从而改变了一切。

　　46.D【精析】细节题。关于萨里的硬币，从文章第一段第一、二句“…awell—to—do merchant from London buried more than 6，700...He was fleeing the War of the Roses…”可知，这些硬币是被一位商人在战争中留下的，D正确。由第一段最后一句“Mintey’s find--much ofwhich now sits in the British Museum--eamed him roughly$350.000…spend more time pursuing lost treasure.”可知Mintey发现的金银币大约值三十五万美元，但他并没有发现全部的，题干问的是埋在底下的全部金币的信息，所以A不正确;第一段没有提及归属权的问题，故8错误;由第一段开头可知，金币是在15世纪中期(大约l650年左右)埋藏的，l990年发现，中间大约340年左右，故C不正确。综上所述，故选D。

　　47.D【精析】推断题。由文章第一段可知，Mintey只是使用金属探测器发现了金币，并不是他发明了金属探测器，故A不正确。由第一段最后一句可知，Mintey是在一家工厂工作，并不是拥有一家工厂，故B、C不正确。从文章第一段最后两句可知，Roger Mintey是偶然间用金属探测器发现的并且他在一家小工厂工作，第二段第三句也提到政府鼓励爱好者上报他们的发现，并举了Mintey的例子，由此可推断Mintey只是将此作为爱好，故选D。

　　48.C【精析】细节题。根据第二段第三句“In the U.K.，however，offi—cials introduced a scheme in l997 encouraging hobbyists to repoa their discoveries(…)一but allowing them to keep what they find.Or receive a reward.”可知，在英国，政府出台政策鼓励人们上报发现的物品，但是允许他们拥有，故选c。

　　49.C【精析】推断题。根据文章第二段最后一句“While local muse umshurry to raise enough money to keep the find off the open market，it sits in limb0，owned by the Crown but facing claims by the landowner and the metal detectorist who find it.”可知，关于该宝藏的归属权还在争论中，故选C。

　　50.A【精析】细节题。从文章最后一段第二句“1here’S been a slow more over the centuries that precious old things belong to US all.”可知，这位教授认为这些宝藏或文物是属于大家共有的，故选A。

（编辑：何莹莹）