Question

What’s the difference between the British Isles, Britain, the United Kingdom and England?
The British Isles is made up of two large islands: One is called Ireland and the other Britain. Britain, or Great Britain, is the larger of these two islands and it is divided into three parts: Scotland, Wales and England.
The United Kingdom (UK) is short for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It is made up of Scotland, Wales, and England (i.e. the whole of Britain), and also about one-sixth of Ireland, the Northern part. The rest of Ireland is self-governing(自治的).
England is the largest, most populous (人口眾多的), and generally speaking, the richest section. English people often use the words “England” and “English” when they mean “Britain” and “British”. This sometimes makes the Scots and the Welsh angry. The Scots are very proud of their separate nationality. The Welsh too do not consider themselves as England, and have a culture and even a language of their own. Ireland became part of the United Kingdom in 1801, but is soon grew discontented (不滿的), and for forty years the “Irish Question” was the greatest headache of British Parliament(國會). At last, Ireland divided itself into two: Northern Ireland remained loyal(忠誠于) to the Crown(英國王室), and in 1922 the rest of the country broke away to form Irish Free State, now the Republic of Ireland.
小題1:Which is the largest in area?

A．The British Iles	B．Great Britain
C．England	D．The United Kingdom

小題2: Which is the largest island of the British Isles?.

A．Ireland	B．Britain
C．England	D．Northern Ireland

小題3:The United Kingdom is mainly made up of          .

A．3 parts: Scotland, Wales, and England

B．4 parts: Scotland, Wales, England and Ireland

C．2 parts: the whole of Britain and Ireland

D．2 parts: the whole of Britain and Northern Ireland

小題4: Strictly speaking(嚴格地說), which is wrong?

A．“English” refers(指) to people of England.

B．“The Scots” refers to people of Scotland.

C．“England” refers to all the people to the UK.

D．Only one-sixth of Ireland belongs to the UK.

小題5:Who will be happy if we use “England” when we mean Britain?

A．The British	B．People of England
C．People of the Republic of Ireland	D．The welsh

Answer 1

小題1:A
小題2:B
小題3:D
小題4:C
小題5:B

試題分析：本文敘述了英國的組成。英國的全稱是大不列顛及北愛爾蘭聯合王國。它是由蘇格蘭、威爾士、英格蘭(即整個英國),大約六分之一的愛爾蘭,北部。其余的愛爾蘭自治。不列顛群島由兩個大島:一個叫做愛爾蘭島，另一個叫不列顛島。不列顛或大不列顛,是這兩個群島中較大的島,它分為三個部分:英格蘭、蘇格蘭和威爾士。
小題1:推理判斷題。根據第二段的The British Isles is made up of two large islands: One is called Ireland and the other Britain. Britain, or Great Britain, is the larger of these two islands and it is divided into three parts: Scotland, Wales and England. 可知The British Isles > Britain > Ireland>故選A。
小題2:細節理解題。根據第二段Britain, or Great Britain, is the larger of these two islands不列顛或大不列顛,是這兩個群島中較大的島。故選B。
小題3:細節理解題。根據第三段的The United Kingdom (UK) is short for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.聯合王國(英國)是英國大不列顛和北愛爾蘭組成。故選D。
小題4:推理判斷題。根據最后一段的English people often use the words “England” and “English” when they mean “Britain” and “British”.英國人經常使用單詞“英格蘭”和“英語”,意味著“英國”和“英國”。故選C。
小題5:推理判斷題。This sometimes makes the Scots and the Welsh angry.這有時使蘇格蘭人和威爾士人生氣。故排除CD.The British指的是所有英國人，也包括蘇格蘭人和威爾士人，因此A項排除。故選B。