Prince Roman was a Polish nobleman, a captain in the army of Czar Nicholas of Russia. When his young wife died, the prince left the army and returned in sorrow to his native Poland.
In time, love for his country and its people took the place of his lost love. He joined a Polish rising against the Russians. The rising was crushed, and Prince Roman was taken prisoner. His relatives and friends begged the military court to have mercy on him.
The president of the court received these appeals kindly. He was a good Russian, but he was also a good-natured man. Russian hatred of Poles was not as fierce at that time as it became later; and the Russian felt sympathetic as soon as he saw the prince's thin, tired, sun-burnt face.
The court of three officers sat in a bare room, behind a long black table. Some clerks sat at the two ends, but no one else was there when the guards brought in the prince.
Those four walls shut out from Prince Roman all sights and sounds of freedom, all hopes of the future, all comforting thoughts. How much love for Poland remained in him then? How much love of life? He stood before his judges alone, having refused their permission to sit. He answered their first formal questions — his name and so on — clearly and politely although he felt too weary to talk.
Then the president of the court seemed to suggest how the young man could best help himself. He asked questions in a way that almost put the right answers in the prisoner's mouth.
“Didn't your wife's death drive you to despair? Wasn't your mind unbalanced by that sad event ?”
Prince Roman was silent.
"You were not fully responsible for you conduct, were you?"
Prince Roman was silent.
"You made a sudden blind decision to join the rising. You didn't realize that your actions were dangerous and dishonourable. Isn't that the truth of this unfortunate matter?"
The judges looked at the prisoner hopefully. In silence the prince reached for a pen and some paper. He wrote, "I joined the rising because I believe it was just." He pushed the paper towards the president, who took it and read it in silence.
Prince Roman was sentenced to hard work for life in the Siberian salt mines. It was a sentence of delayed death.
When Czar Nicholas read the report and sentence, he added in his own handwriting, "Make sure that this prisoner walks in chains every step of the way to Siberia."
【小题1】What does the passage tell us of Poland at the time?

One of the greatest contributions to the first Oxford English Dictionary was also one of its most unusual. In 1879, Oxford University in England asked Prof. James Murray to serve as editor for what was to be the most ambitious dictionary in the history of the English language. It would include every English word possible and would give not only the definition but also the history of the word and quotations (引文)showing how it was used.
This was a huge task. So Murrary had to find volunteers from Britain, the United States, and the British colonies to search every newspaper, magazine, and book ever written in English. Hundreds of volunteers responded, including William Chester Minor. Dr. Minor was an American Surgeon who had served in the Civil War and was now living in England. He gave his address as “Broadmoor, Crowthorne, Berkshire,” 50 miles from Oxford.
Minor joined the army of volunteers sending words and quotations to Murray. Over the next years, he became one of the staff’s most valued contributors.
But he was also a mystery. In spite of many invitations, he would always decline to visit Oxford. So in 1897， Murray finally decided to travel to Crowthorne himself. When he arrived, he found Minor locked in a book-lined cell at the Broadmoor Asylum for the Criminally insane.
Murray and Minor became friends, sharing their love of words. Minor continued contributing to the dictionary, sending in more than 10,000 submissions in 20 years. Murray continued to visit Minor regularly, sometimes taking walks with him around the asylum grounds.
In 1910, Minor left Broadmoor for an asylum in his native America. Murray was at the port to wave goodbye to his remarkable friend.
Minor died in 1920, seven years before the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary was completed. The 12 volumes defined 414,825 words, and thousands of them were contributions from a very scholarly and devoted asylum patient.
【小题1】According to the text, the first Oxford English Dictionary _________.

One of the greatest contributors to the first Oxford English Dictionary was also one of its most unusual. In 1879, Oxford University in England asked Prof. James Murray to serve as editor for what was to be the most ambitious dictionary in the history of the English language. It would include every English word possible and would give not only the definition but also the history of the word and quotations(引文) showing how it was used.

This was a huge task, so Murray had to find volunteers from Britain, the United States, and the British colonies to search every newspaper, magazine, and book ever written in English. Hundreds of volunteers responded, including William Chester Minor. Dr. Minor was an American surgeon who had served in the Civil War and was now living in England. He gave his address as “Broadmoor, Crowthorne, Berkshire,” 50 miles from Oxford.

Minor joined the army of volunteers sending words and quotations to Murray. Over the next 17 years, he became one of the staff’s most valued contributors.

But he was also a mystery. In spite of many invitations, he would always decline to visit Oxford. So in 1897, Murray finally decided to travel to Crowthorne himself. When he arrived, he found Minor locked in a book-lined cell at the Broadmoor Asylum(精神病院) for the Criminally Insane.

Murray and Minor became friends, sharing their love of words. Minor continued contributing to the dictionary, sending in more than 10,000 submissions in 20 years. Murray continued to visit Minor regularly, sometimes taking walks with him around the asylum grounds.

In 1910, Minor left Broadmoor for an asylum in his native America. Murray was at the port to wave goodbye to his remarkable friend.

Minor died in 1920, seven years before the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary was completed. The 12 volunteers defined 414,825 words, and thousands of them were contributions from a very scholarly and devoted asylum patient.

1.According to the text, the first Oxford English Dictionary ____.

   A. came out before Minor died

   B. was edited by an American volunteer

   C. included the English words invented by Murray

   D. was intended to be the most ambitious English dictionary

2.How did Dr. Minor contribute to the dictionary?

   A. He helped Murray to find hundreds of volunteers.

   B. He sent newspapers, magazines and books to Murray.

   C. He provided a great number of words and quotations.

   D. He went to England to work with Murray.

3.Which of the following best describes Dr. Minor?

   A. Brave and determined.            B. Cautious and friendly.

   C. Considerate and optimistic.        D. Unusual and scholarly.

4.What does the text mainly talk about?

   A. The history of the English language.

   B. The friendship between Murray and Minor.

   C. Minor and the first Oxford English Dictionary.

   D. Broadmoor Asylum and its patients.

Prince Roman was a Polish nobleman, a captain in the army of Czar Nicholas of Russia. When his young wife died, the prince left the army and returned in sorrow to his native Poland.

In time, love for his country and its people took the place of his lost love. He joined a Polish rising against the Russians. The rising was crushed, and Prince Roman was taken prisoner. His relatives and friends begged the military court to have mercy on him.

The president of the court received these appeals kindly. He was a good Russian, but he was also a good-natured man. Russian hatred of Poles was not as fierce at that time as it became later; and the Russian felt sympathetic as soon as he saw the prince's thin, tired, sun-burnt face.

The court of three officers sat in a bare room, behind a long black table. Some clerks sat at the two ends, but no one else was there when the guards brought in the prince.

Those four walls shut out from Prince Roman all sights and sounds of freedom, all hopes of the future, all comforting thoughts. How much love for Poland remained in him then? How much love of life? He stood before his judges alone, having refused their permission to sit. He answered their first formal questions — his name and so on — clearly and politely although he felt too weary to talk.

Then the president of the court seemed to suggest how the young man could best help himself. He asked questions in a way that almost put the right answers in the prisoner's mouth.

“Didn't your wife's death drive you to despair? Wasn't your mind unbalanced by that sad event ?”

Prince Roman was silent.

"You were not fully responsible for you conduct, were you?"

Prince Roman was silent.

"You made a sudden blind decision to join the rising. You didn't realize that your actions were dangerous and dishonourable. Isn't that the truth of this unfortunate matter?"

The judges looked at the prisoner hopefully. In silence the prince reached for a pen and some paper. He wrote, "I joined the rising because I believe it was just." He pushed the paper towards the president, who took it and read it in silence.

Prince Roman was sentenced to hard work for life in the Siberian salt mines. It was a sentence of delayed death.

When Czar Nicholas read the report and sentence, he added in his own handwriting, "Make sure that this prisoner walks in chains every step of the way to Siberia."

1.What does the passage tell us of Poland at the time?

A．Polish officers in the Russian army had to return to Poland.

B．Russia was at war with Poland, so the Poles were enemies.

C．The Russians were very cruel rulers of Poland.

D．It was ruled by Russia, and Poles served in the Russian army.

2.How much love for Poland remained in the prince when he stood trial?

A．Not much, probably, after the failure of the rising.

B． More than he had ever felt before.

C．As much as he had ever felt.

D．The passage doesn't suggest an answer to the question.

3.The questions which the president asked show that ______.

A．he was trying to find excuse for the prince's conduct

B．the court wanted the prince to admit his own guilt

C．he wanted to learn the truth about the Polish rising

D．Prince Roman was a weak person

4.In the trial, Prince Roman ______.

A．was afraid to be responsible for his actions

B．blamed others for his actions

C．accepted responsibility for his actions

D．admitted his guilt

5.According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?

A．The judges were less sympathetic than Czar Nicholas.

B．Czar Nicholas was as kind as the judges.

C．Czar Nicholas was not as sympathetic as the judges.

D．The judges were as cruel as Czar Nicholas.

One of the greatest contributions to the first Oxford English Dictionary was also one of its most unusual. In 1879, Oxford University in England asked Prof. James Murray to serve as editor for what was to be the most ambitious dictionary in the history of the English language. It would include every English word possible and would give not only the definition but also the history of the word and quotations (引文) showing how it was used.

This was a huge task. So Murray had to find volunteers from Britain, the United States, and the British colonies to search every newspaper, magazine, and book ever written in English. Hundreds of volunteers responded, including William Chester Minor. Dr. Minor was an American Surgeon who had served in the Civil War and was now living in England. He gave his address as "Broadmoor, Crowthorne, Berkshire," 50 miles from Oxford.

Minor joined the army of volunteers sending words and quotations to Murray. Over the next years, he became one of the staff's most valued contributors.

But he was also a mystery. In spite of many invitations, he would always decline(拒绝) to visit Oxford. So in 1897, Murray finally decided to travel to Crowthorne himself. When he arrived, he found Minor locked in a book-lined cell（地窖） at the Broadmoor Asylum (精神病院) for the Criminally insane.

Murray and Minor became friends, sharing their love of words. Minor continued contributing to the dictionary, sending in more than 10,000 submissions in 20 years. Murray continued to visit Minor regularly, sometimes taking walks with him around the asylum grounds.

In 1910, Minor left Broadmoor for an asylum in his native America. Murray was at the port to wave goodbye to his remarkable friend.

Minor died in 1920, seven years before the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary was completed. The 12 volumes defined（下定义） 414,825 words, and thousands of them were contributions from a very scholarly and devoted asylum patient.

1.According to the text, the first Oxford English Dictionary           .

2.How did Dr. Minor contribute to the dictionary?

3. Prof. Murray and Dr. Minor became friends mainly because           .

4.What does the text mainly talk about?