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.

　　Why doesn’t the unemployment rate ever reach zero? Economists, who generally believe that supply tends to meet demand, have long thought about this question. Even in good times, i.e. not now, there are people who can’t find work. And even in bad times, i.e. now, there are job openings. With over 14 million people out of work and looking for a job, you would think every available job would be filled. But that’s not the case. Not now and not ever.
　　On Monday, the Nobel Prize committee awarded the prize for economics to the three scholars who have done the most to explain this phenomenon. Two of the winners are Americans, Peter Diamond of MIT and Dale Mortensen of Northwestern. The third winner is Christopher Pissarides, who teaches at the London School of Economics and was born on Cyprus.
　　Like most of economics, what they have found about why the jobless and ready-employers don’t find each other seems obvious. You have to find out there is job opening you are interested in. Employers need to get resumes （简历）. It takes a while for both employers and employees to make the decision that this is what they want. And these guys came up with a frame-work to study the problem of why people stay unemployed longer than they should and what can be done about it.
　　So what would today’s Nobel Prize winners do to solve the current problem of the unemployed? And does the awarding of the prize contribute to the politicians’ lowering joblessness?
　　Speaking from his north London home, Pissarides told The Associated Press the announcement came as “a complete surprise” though his work had already helped shape thinking on both sides of the Atlantic.
　　For example, the New Deal for Young People, a British government policy aimed at getting 18-24-year-olds back on the job market after long periods of unemployment, “is very much based on our work,” he said.
　　“One of the key things we found is that it is important to make sure that people do not stay unemployed too long so they don’t lose their feel for the labor force,” Pissarides told reporters in London. “The ways of dealing with this need not be expensive training – it could be as simple as providing work experience.”
【小题1】According to the writer, which is true about finding jobs?

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.

　　Why doesn’t the unemployment rate ever reach zero? Economists, who generally believe that supply tends to meet demand, have long thought about this question. Even in good times, i.e. not now, there are people who can’t find work. And even in bad times, i.e. now, there are job openings. With over 14 million people out of work and looking for a job, you would think every available job would be filled. But that’s not the case. Not now and not ever.

　　On Monday, the Nobel Prize committee awarded the prize for economics to the three scholars who have done the most to explain this phenomenon. Two of the winners are Americans, Peter Diamond of MIT and Dale Mortensen of Northwestern. The third winner is Christopher Pissarides, who teaches at the London School of Economics and was born on Cyprus.

　　Like most of economics, what they have found about why the jobless and ready-employers don’t find each other seems obvious. You have to find out there is job opening you are interested in. Employers need to get resumes （简历）. It takes a while for both employers and employees to make the decision that this is what they want. And these guys came up with a frame-work to study the problem of why people stay unemployed longer than they should and what can be done about it.

　　So what would today’s Nobel Prize winners do to solve the current problem of the unemployed? And does the awarding of the prize contribute to the politicians’ lowering joblessness?

　　Speaking from his north London home, Pissarides told The Associated Press the announcement came as “a complete surprise” though his work had already helped shape thinking on both sides of the Atlantic.

　　For example, the New Deal for Young People, a British government policy aimed at getting 18-24-year-olds back on the job market after long periods of unemployment, “is very much based on our work,” he said.

　　“One of the key things we found is that it is important to make sure that people do not stay unemployed too long so they don’t lose their feel for the labor force,” Pissarides told reporters in London. “The ways of dealing with this need not be expensive training – it could be as simple as providing work experience.”

According to the writer, which is true about finding jobs?

　　A. It is always difficult to find a job.

　　B. Everyone can find a job in good times.

　　C. Contrary to popular belief, it is easier to find a job in bad times.

　　D. It is possible to find a job even in times as bad as now.

What is it that leads to their winning the prize?

　　A. They have found the reason for unemployment.

　　B. They have put forward a set of ideas to deal with unemployment.

　　C. They have found out why people don’t want to be employed.

　　D. They have long studied the problem of unemployment.

Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

　　A. Pissarides thinks his work surprising.

　　B. The work of Pissarides has influenced many economists.

　　C. Some of the winners’ ideas have been put into practice.

　　D. It is probable that unemployed young people in Britain benefit from Pissarides’ work.

According to Pissarides, _________ is effrctive in dealing with unemployment.

　　A. spending large sums of money on training

　　B. teaching some knowledge of economics

　　C. providing work experience

　　D. keeping people unemployed for some time

第一节：完形填空（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从16－30各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

Jenkins was a jeweller, who had made a large diamond ring worth ￡57,000 for the Silkstone Jewellery Shop. When it was ready, he made a copy of it which looked ___16__ like the first one but was worth only￡2,000. This he took to the shop, which accepted it without a question.

　　Jenkins gave the much more 17__ ring to his wife for her fortieth birthday. Then, the husband and wife __18__ to Paris for a weekend. As to the __19__ ring, the shop sold it for￡60,000.

　　Six months later the buyer __20__it back to Silkstone's office. "It's a faulty diamond,"he said. "It isn't worth the high __21__ I paid." Then he told them the __22__. His wife's car had caught fire in an __23__. She had escaped  ,__24__ the ring had fallen off and been damaged  in the great __25__ of the fire.

　　The shop had to agree. They knew that no fire on earth can ever damage a perfect diamond. Someone had taken the __26__ diamond and put a faulty one in its place. The question was: who __27__ it?

　　A picture of the ring appeared in the __28__. A reader thought he recognized the ring. The next day, another picture appeared in the papers which showed a famous dancer walking out to a plane for Paris. Behind the dancer there was a woman __29__ a large diamond ring."Do You know the __30__ with the lovely diamond ring?" the papers asked their readers. Several months later, Jenkins was sentenced to seven years in prison.

16. A. surely         B. only　　　C. nearly　　 D. exactly

17. A. real　　　　 B. worthy　　 C. modern      D. valuable

18.A. drove　　　  B. flew        C. sailed　　　　D. bicycled

19. A. last          B. first 　　　  C. second　　　D. next

20. A. sold　　　  B. posted　　　  C. brought　　  D. returned

21.A. money　　　 B. price　　     C. cost　 　    D. value

22. A. facts　　　  B. questions　    C. results       D. matters

23. A. accident      B. affair　　    C. incident　　  D. experience

24. A. so　　　 　 B. but　　        C. or　 　     D. and

25. A. pile　　　　 B. heat　　　 　　C. pressure     D. power

26. A. real　　　 　B. pure　　　 　 C. right　　    D. exact　

27.A. made　　　 B. stole　　       C. copied　 　  D. did

28.A. magazines   B. notices　    C. newspapers　　 D. programmes

29. A. carrying　　B. holding      C. dressing   　 D. wearing　　　 

30. A. dancer　　　 B. woman　　　C. jeweler       D. reader