To others and themselves the British have a reputation for being conservative not in the narrow political sense, but in the sense of adherence to accepted ideas and unwilling to question them.The reputation comes partly from their 1 .For 900 2 they have suffered 3 invasion nor revolution nor disastrous defeat in 5 .Their monarchy survives 6 serious question.Under its normal 7 political arrangements have been 8 stable that, except for the 9 interruptions in the seventeenth 10 , they have been adopted throughout 11 centuries to meet changing needs without violent 12 .Britain, in 1978, was 13 in managing without 14 written constitution; some fragmentary definitions of 1688 still 15 .There had been 16 quarrels, social and economic as well 17 political, but the quarrels had been 18 , usually 19 compromise.The underlying 20 had not been broken.
1.A.language B.future C.history D.literature
2.A.centuries B.years C.minutes D.seconds
3.A.neither B.as C.or D.either
4.A.too B.but C.or D.and
5.A.home B.study C.peace D.war
6.A.and B.without C.with D.neither
7.A.name B.people C.leadership D.enemy
8.A.so B.very C.too D.such
9.A.two B.one C.no D.couple
10.A.month B.day C.year D.century
11.A.a B.any C.the D.few
12.A.changes B.change C.altered D.changed
13.A.common B.popular C.unique D.angry
14.A.two B.a C.some D.their
15.A.survive B.surviving C.survives D.survived
16.A.bitter B.happy C.pleasant D.unhappy
17.A.for B.as C.to D.at
18.A.settling B.settles C.settle D.settled
19.A.for B.at C.to D.by
20.A.continue B.continuity C.continuous D.continued
答案与解析：
1.C
由于下文紧接着叙述到过去900年的有关情况。故应选history，才能与下文衔接。
2.B
根据句子意思判断。
3.A
应选neither才能与其后出现的nor构成并列连词neither nor 。
4.D
根据句子意思判断。
5.D
需选一名词与前面的介词in构成介词短语，且这个短语在语意上要与前面的disastrous defeat相吻合。故选D可以满足这个条件。
6.B
without serious question意为 没有严重的问题 。
7.C
在 领导下 的表达方式是under the leadership.
8.A
so that 构成固定短语，意为 这么 以致于
9.A
上面提到1649和1688两次革命，所以A项正确。
10.D
根据句子意思判断。
11.C
the centuries特指那些稳定的世纪。
12.A
应从A或B中选一名词作介词without的宾语。将A和B加以比较：A.changes作可数名词用，意为 变化 ，符合题意。B.change一词系不可数名词，意为 零钱，找头 。
13.C
根据上下文意思,应选unique 独一无二的;唯一的 。
14.B
没有一项成文宪法，a为一项的意思。
15.D
应选survived才与上下文时态一致。
16.A
bitter意为 尖锐的，厉害的 。
17.B
as well as为一并列连词。
18.D
settled符合语法要求。
19.D
by compromise意为 通过折衷、妥协的办法 。如：We should settle our differences by compromise.我们应采取折衷的办法来解决我们之间的分歧。
20.B
四个选项中，只有名词continuity正确。