Question

Any mistake, which is made in the printing of a stamp, raises its value to stamp collectors A mistake on a two-penny stamp has made it worth a million and a half times its face value.

    Do you think it possible? However, it is true.

    The mistake was made more than 100 years ago in Mauritius, a small island in the Indian Ocean, which was a British colony（殖民地）at that time. In 1847, an order (定单)for stamps was sent to London. Thus Mauritius became the fourth country in the world which had the stamps made in other countries.

    Before the order was filled ,that is, the stamps arrived from England, a big dance party was planned by the commander-in-chief (总司令) of all the armed forces on the island. The party would be held in his house and letters of invitation would be sent to all the important people in Mauritius. So stamps were badly needed to post the letters. Therefore, an islander, who was a good printer, was told to copy the pattern of the stamps. He carelessly put the words “Post Office” instead of “Post Paid”, two words seen on the stamps at that time, on several hundred that he printed.

Today, there are only 26 of these misprinted stamps left: fourteen One-penny Reds and twelve Two-penny Blues. Because of so few Two-penny Blues and because of their age, collectors have paid as much as $16,800 for each of them.

1. Which of the following can be a title for the passage?

A. How can a Stamp Be Worth $16,800?            B. Printer Made a Mistake.

C. Stamp-collection Calls for Much Money.         D. A Dance Party Planned.

2. When a mistake is made in the printing of a stamp, the stamps will_____ .

A. be no use                                    B. be of more value   

C. be thrown away                             D. be worth only its face value

3. Mauritius is_____ .

A. still the colony of Britain                     

B. an Indian island  

C. the name of a country in the Indian Ocean

D. the name of the commander-in-chief

4.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

 A. The commander-in-chief invited many important people of Mauritius.

B. The face value of a stamp raises its value.

   C. The two valuable stamps were printed in Mauritius.

   D. The two kinds of stamps were at that time not so badly needed 

5. In the passage the word “misprint” may mean_____ .

A. print with a miss                               B. print without permission

C. use greater letters to print                        D. make a mistake in printing

Answer 1

ABCAD