Well before the 15th century, an Anglo-Saxon custom required that a prospective bridegroom break some highly valued personal belonging. Half of the broken token was held by the father of the bride and the other half by the groom. A wealthy man was expected to split a piece of gold or silver.
The earliest engagement rings were also used as wedding rings, serving to seal an act of sale which transformed ownership of a daughter from father to husband. Such rings were usually of solid gold to prove the groom’s worth.
For Roman Catholics, the engagement ring became a required statement of Nuptial intent（结婚意向）, as decreed by Pope Nicholas I in 860 A.D. The engagement ring was to be of valued metal, preferably gold, which for the husband-to-be represented a financial sacrifice.
Signifying enduring love, and chosen for its durability, the diamond was chosen for the engagement ring. The diamond’s fire is also associated with “love’s clear flame,” given by Medieval Italians because of their belief that the diamond was created from the flames of love.
The Venetians were the first to discover that the diamond is one of the hardest, most enduring substances in nature, and fine cutting and polishing releases the brilliance. Rarity and cost limited their rapid proliferation（急增） throughout Europe but their intrinsic（内在的） appeal guaranteed them a future. By the 17th century, the diamond ring had become the most sought after statement of European engagement.　　
1. Who kept the two halves of the engagement rings before marriage?
A. The bride’s father and the bridegroom’s mother.
B. The bride’s mother and the bridegroom.
C. The bride and the bridegroom.
D. The bridegroom and the bride’s father,
2. What’s TRUE about the early Anglo-Saxon custom before the 15th century ?
A. A will-be bridegroom should beat all his valuable belongings.
B. Every will-be bride should split a piece of gold.
C. The engagement rings were also used to prove the groom’s worth.
D. A rich bride should break one of her most valuable personal belongs.
3. Pope Nicholas made the engagement ring a required statement of nuptial intent ______.
A. in the 15th century           B. over 1,000 years ago
C .in the 1860s                D. by the 17th century
4. What kind of engagement ring has been the most popular one in Europe ?
A. Rings made of gold         B. Rings made of silver
C. Rings made of diamond       D. Rings made of an unknown substance in nature.

Well before the 15th century, an Anglo-Saxon custom required that a prospective bridegroom break some highly valued personal belonging. Half of the broken token was held by the father of the bride and the other half by the groom. A wealthy man was expected to split a piece of gold or silver.

The earliest engagement rings were also used as wedding rings, serving to seal an act of sale which transformed ownership of a daughter from father to husband. Such rings were usually of solid gold to prove the groom’s worth.

For Roman Catholics, the engagement ring became a required statement of Nuptial intent（结婚意向）, as decreed by Pope Nicholas I in 860 A.D. The engagement ring was to be of valued metal, preferably gold, which for the husband-to-be represented a financial sacrifice.

Signifying enduring love, and chosen for its durability, the diamond was chosen for the engagement ring. The diamond’s fire is also associated with “love’s clear flame,” given by Medieval Italians because of their belief that the diamond was created from the flames of love.

The Venetians were the first to discover that the diamond is one of the hardest, most enduring substances in nature, and fine cutting and polishing releases the brilliance. Rarity and cost limited their rapid proliferation（急增） throughout Europe but their intrinsic（内在的） appeal guaranteed them a future. By the 17th century, the diamond ring had become the most sought after statement of European engagement.　　

1. Who kept the two halves of the engagement rings before marriage?

   A. The bride’s father and the bridegroom’s mother.

   B. The bride’s mother and the bridegroom.

   C. The bride and the bridegroom.

   D. The bridegroom and the bride’s father,

2. What’s TRUE about the early Anglo-Saxon custom before the 15th century ?

   A. A will-be bridegroom should beat all his valuable belongings.

   B. Every will-be bride should split a piece of gold.

   C. The engagement rings were also used to prove the groom’s worth.

D. A rich bride should break one of her most valuable personal belongs.

3. Pope Nicholas made the engagement ring a required statement of nuptial intent ______.

A. in the 15th century           B. over 1,000 years ago

   C .in the 1860s                D. by the 17th century

4. What kind of engagement ring has been the most popular one in Europe ?

   A. Rings made of gold          B. Rings made of silver

C. Rings made of diamond       D. Rings made of an unknown substance in nature.

Well before the 15th century, an Anglo-Saxon custom required that a prospective bridegroom break some highly valued personal belonging. Half of the broken token was held by the father of the bride and the other half by the groom. A wealthy man was expected to split a piece of gold or silver.

The earliest engagement rings were also used as wedding rings, serving to seal an act of sale which transformed ownership of a daughter from father to husband. Such rings were usually of solid gold to prove the groom’s worth.

For Roman Catholics, the engagement ring became a required statement of Nuptial intent（结婚意向）, as decreed by Pope Nicholas I in 860 A.D. The engagement ring was to be of valued metal, preferably gold, which for the husband-to-be represented a financial sacrifice.

Signifying enduring love, and chosen for its durability, the diamond was chosen for the engagement ring. The diamond’s fire is also associated with “love’s clear flame,” given by Medieval Italians because of their belief that the diamond was created from the flames of love.

The Venetians were the first to discover that the diamond is one of the hardest, most enduring substances in nature, and fine cutting and polishing releases the brilliance. Rarity and cost limited their rapid proliferation（急增） throughout Europe but their intrinsic（内在的） appeal guaranteed them a future. By the 17th century, the diamond ring had become the most sought after statement of European engagement.　　

1. Who kept the two halves of the engagement rings before marriage?

   A. The bride’s father and the bridegroom’s mother.

   B. The bride’s mother and the bridegroom.

   C. The bride and the bridegroom.

   D. The bridegroom and the bride’s father,

2. What’s TRUE about the early Anglo-Saxon custom before the 15th century ?

   A. A will-be bridegroom should beat all his valuable belongings.

   B. Every will-be bride should split a piece of gold.

   C. The engagement rings were also used to prove the groom’s worth.

D. A rich bride should break one of her most valuable personal belongs.

3. Pope Nicholas made the engagement ring a required statement of nuptial intent ______.

A. in the 15th century           B. over 1,000 years ago

   C .in the 1860s                D. by the 17th century

4. What kind of engagement ring has been the most popular one in Europe ?

   A. Rings made of gold          B. Rings made of silver

C. Rings made of diamond       D. Rings made of an unknown substance in nature.

Charms and Symbols

Well before the 15^th century, an Anglo-Saxon custom required that a prospective bridegroom break some highly valued personal belonging. Half of the broken token was held by the father of the bride and the other half by the groom. A wealthy man was expected to split a piece of gold or silver.

The earliest engagement rings were also used as wedding rings, serving to seal an act of sale which transformed ownership of a daughter from father to husband. Such rings were usually of solid gold to prove the groom’s worth.

For Roman Catholics, the engagement ring became a required statement of Nuptial intent（结婚意向）, as decreed by Pope Nicholas I in 860 A.D. The engagement ring was to be of valued metal, preferably gold, which for the husband-to-be represented a financial sacrifice.

Signifying enduring love, and chosen for its durability, the diamond was chosen for the engagement ring. The diamond’s fire is also associated with “love’s clear flame,” given by Medieval(中世纪的) Italians because of their belief that the diamond was created from the flames of love.

The Venetians were the first to discover that the diamond is one of the hardest, most enduring substance in nature, and the fine cutting and polishing releases the brilliance. Rarity and cost limited their rapid proliferation（急增） throughout Europe but their intrinsic（内在的） appeal guaranteed them a future. By the 17^th century, the diamond ring Had become the most sought after statement of European engagement.　

1.Who kept the two halves of the engagement rings before marriage?

  A. The bride’s father and the bridegroom’s mother.

  B. The bride’s mother and the bridegroom.

  C. The bride and the bridegroom.

  D. The bridegroom and the bride’s father,

2.What’s TRUE about the early Anglo-Saxon custom before the 15^th century ?

  A. A will-be bridegroom should beat all this valuable belongs.

  B. Every will-be bride should split a piece of gold.

  C. The engagement rings were also used to prove the groom’s worth.

D. A rich bride should break one of her most valuable personal belongs.

3.Pope Nicholas made the engagement ring a required statement of nuptial intent ______.

A. in the 15^th century          B. around 3000 years ago

  C .in the 1860s                D. by the 17^th century

4.What kind of engagement ring has been the most popular one in Europe ?

  A. Rings made of gold          B. Rings made of silver

  C. Rings made of diamond       D. Rings made of a unknown substance in nature.

阅读理解训练

　　Mrs. Matthews lived in a small town where there was one jeweller's shop. It also took in watch repairs, although it had to send them off to London for the work to be done, as there was not enough business to keep an expert watch repairer occupied.

　　When Mrs. Matthews's old father died, she inherited his gold watch, which had belonged to his father and grandfather before him. It was big and heavy and worth a lot of money, but it was broken, so Mrs. Matthews took it to be repaired.

　　The man in the jeweller's shop was very interested to see such an unusual watch, and when he had examined its insides, he said he could certainly have it repaired for her. “It'll last a long time once that's been done.”he said. He wrote out a ticket and gave it to Mrs. Matthews saying. “Please bring this when you come to pick up the watch. But it might take a bit of time, because it isn't a modem watch.”

　　But Mrs. Matthews had a lot of things to think about after her father died. She had to arrange to deal with the various affairs after her father's death.

　　The result was that she completely forgot about the watch that she had taken in for repair, and about the ticket for it, which she had put away in a drawer to keep it safe.

　　Then, while she was looking through some old drawers one day, she found the ticket for the watch repair.

　　She thought back, suddenly she remembered.“My father's gold watch! Didn't I pick it up? When did I take it in?”She looked at the ticket.

　　“How old's this ticket?” she said to herself. It was five years old.

　　Mrs. Matthews had heard that shops could sell things that people had left with them if they didn't pick them up and pay for them before a certain time. “But the watch might still be there,”she thought.“I'll go and see if I can get it back. It might have been sold, but I hope not.”

　　She took the ticket to the jeweller's and the shopkeeper looked at it and then went to look for the watch without saying a word.

　　“That's good,”Mrs. Matthews thought.“He didn't seem to mind about the date.”

　　The man came back after a few minutes and said,“It won't be ready until Friday.”

(1) Who was the watch repairer according to the text?

[　　]

A．Mrs. Matthews

B．One jeweller's shop

C．The hired expert watch repairer

D．Some watch repairer in London

(2) In the sentence“She inherited his gold watch”, the underlined word “inherited”is closest in meaning to “________”

[　　]

(3)In the shop owner's opinion, if the watch has been repaired, what will happen to it?

[　　]

A．It can keep its time for long

B．It is an old watch that can't go fast

C．It can last five years

D．The passage doesn't tell us

(4) Five years later, ________.

[　　]

A．the gold watch was sold

B．Mrs Matthews decided to find the ticket in the drawer

C．the jeweller couldn't see the date on the ticket clearly

D．the gold watch was not yet repaired

(5) Which title would best fit in with the present passage?

[　　]

A．Mrs. Matthews' Death Affairs

B．Such“Fast Work”

C．The Story of Mrs. Matthews

D．The History of the Gold Watch