Britain says it will send ten war ships to Gibraltar(直布罗陀) on Monday. The ships will make a stop there on their way to the Middle East. Many people think the stop is a bad time because relations between Britain and Spain have become bad recently. Spain got angry after Gibraltar’s government put concrete blocks (水泥石块) on the seabed. It said this was to let sea life grow and to stop Spanish boats fishing nearby. Spain then said it might start charging 50 euros (about $67) for people to travel across the border between Gibraltar and Spain. Tensions increased again when Spain started searching people entering Spain in case of terrorism. People had to wait for up to six hours at the border.

Spain gave Gibraltar to Britain in 1713. It became an important base for Britain’s Royal Navy (英国皇家海军). Gibraltar is a small area of land which covers just 6.8 square kilometers, south of Cadiz(加迪斯-西班牙城市). The 430-meter-tall Rock of Gibraltar stands in the center. The population is around 30,000 and most of them are very happy for being a part of British. Many parts of Gibraltar look like a piece of mainland Britain. Spain has argued for many years that Gibraltar should be returned to Spain. Britain's government said that could only happen if the people of Gibraltar vote for it. The British prime minister told his Spanish partner: “This problem should not break our relations. However there was a real risk of this happening.”

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1.The underlined word “there” in paragraph 1 refers to______.

A Gibraltar

B the Middle East

C Spain

D Britain

解析：选A。A 内容理解题。根据第1、2句可知军舰应该是前往中东，但是需在直布罗陀短暂停留，故选A。

2.Spain got angry because Gibraltar put________on the seabed.

A blocks

B sharks

C nets

D dead bodies

解析：选A。A 细节理解题。根据第1段第4句Spain got angry after Gibraltar’s government put concrete blocks (水泥石块) on the seabed.可知，故选A。

3.Which of the following is TRUE?

A Spain became an important base for Britain's Royal Navy.

B British warships will stay in Gibraltar to protect the people there.

C Gibraltar is a small area of land measuring just 8.6 square kilometers, south of Cadiz.

D The population of Gibraltar is around 30,000.

解析：选D。D 内容理解题。根据第2段第4句The population is around 30,000 and most of them are very happy for being a part of British.可知，故选D。

4.Gibraltar once belonged to____________300 years ago.

A Spain

B England

C Scotland

D Wells

解析：选A。A 细节理解题。根据第2段第1句Spain gave Gibraltar to Britain in 1713.可知，故选A。

5.The “risk” that the British leader talked about was ______.

A the people of Gibraltar won’t vote for it

B there will be no more fish near Gibraltar

C there will be no war

D their relations will be broken

解析：选D。D 内容理解题。根据文章最后1句可知risk指两国间的关系可能破裂，故选D。