Question

Peter Owen was born in Wales in 1771. At the age of ten he went to work. His employer had a large private library so Owen was able to educate himself. He read a lot in his spare time and at nineteen he was given the job of superintendent(监工) at a Manchester cotton mill. He was so successful there that he persuaded his employer to buy the New Lanark mill in Scotland.

When he arrived at New Lanark it was a dirty little town with a population of 2,000 people. Nobody paid any attention to the workers' houses or their children's education. The conditions in the factories were very bad. There was a lot of crime and the men spent most of their wages on alcoholic drinks.

Owen improved the houses. He encouraged people to be clean and save money. He opened a shop and sold the workers cheap, well-made goods to help them. He limited the sale of alcoholic drinks. Above all, he fixed his mind on the children's education. In 1816 he opened the first free primary school in Britain.

People came from all over the country to visit Owen's factory. They saw that the workers were healthier and more efficient than in other towns. Their children were better fed and better educated. Owen tried the same experiment in the United States. He bought some land there in 1825, but the community was too far away. He could not keep it under control and lost most of his money.

Owen never stopped fighting for his idea. Above all he believed that people are not born good or bad. He was a practical man and his ideas were practical. "If you give people good working conditions," he thought, "they will work well and, the most important thing of all, if you give them the chance to learn, they will be better people."

1.For Owen, his greatest achievement in New Lanark was _______.

A. improving worker's houses

B. helping people to save money

C. preventing men from getting drunk

D. providing the children with a good education

2. From the passage we may infer that Owen was born _______.

A. into a rich family      B. into a noble family

C. into a poor family      D. into a middle class family

3.Owen's experiment in the United States failed because _______.

A. he lost all his money

B. he did not buy enough land

C. people who visited it were not impressed

D. it was too far away for him to organize it properly

4. We may infer form the passage that no children in Britain could enjoy free education until

____.

A. 1771   B. 1816    C. 1825  D. 1860

Answer

1.D

2.C

3.D

4.B

【解析】

试题分析：本文叙述了1771年出生于威尔士的Robert Owen的一生的经历。他10岁开始工作，因为老板有一个大图书馆，使他有机会在业余时间读很多书。在他当上监工以后，他又成功地劝服老板买了位于苏格兰的新拉纳克工厂。在那里他通过改善住房条件，提供孩子教育，鼓励人们攒钱等方式，使人们过上了好日子。后来Owen在美国也做了同样的试验，但没有成功。Owen从未停止过实践他的理想，他坚信如果人们友好的条件，它们会很好地工作，最重要的是如果你给他们机会学习，他们会成为更出色的人才。

1.Above all, he fixed his mind on the children's education. In 1816 he opened the first free primary school in Britain，可知选项D正确，故选D。

2.推理判断题。根据At the age of ten he went to work. His employer had a large private library so Owen was able to educate himself，他十岁就去工作了，并且是靠老板家的图书馆自学的，可见他家很穷，故选C。

3.细节理解题。根据He bought some land there in 1825, but the community was too far away. He could not keep it under control and lost most of his money，可知是因为那个地方离他太远了，他无法控制，导致他损失了很多钱而没有成功，故选D。

4.细节理解题。根据In 1816 he opened the first free primary school in Britain，在1861年之前英国没有免费的小学，故选B。

考点：考查人物传记类短文阅读。