Two of Oxford’s oldest colleges have been forced to crack down on thieving (偷窃的) students as branded plates and cups have been disappearing from college halls.

One college is Balliol College. Balliol College said it would stop using college crested(有饰章的) cups and placemats(餐具垫) at its student dinners as too many are vanishing. The college hosts formal three-course dinners every Tuesday during term time and said 20 cups were still missing from a recent evening event. Students were caught using pockets and bags to carry the cups and placemats from the dinners.

An email sent to Balliol students said the thefts were causing additional stress for college staff. Balliol College offers its dining hall, which can seat 226 guests, for private rental — with prices starting at £64.75 a head for a “truly remarkable dining experience”. “I am very sorry to say that we will no longer be using Balliol crested cups or placemats for student dinners,” the email read. “The staff in Hall last night had to ask many students to empty cups that they had stolen from the table from pockets and bags — even with this being the case 20 were still stolen. ”

Another college is Magdalen College. The college warned students who didn’t return college items that it would be treated as theft. Magdalen College said that the “fad” for taking the souvenirs had worsened and offered students the chance to return the items before March 10. The college, famous for being where C.S. Lewis wrote Narnia, holds four formal dinners a week. It told students that any further thievery would be taken very seriously. Following this period any items of College property found in a student’s possession will be regarded as theft and be treated as such.

1.What does the underlined word “vanishing” in the second paragraph mean?

A Revolving.

B Disappearing.

C Declaring.

D Arresting.

解析：选B。B词义猜测题。根据第一段的“have been disappearing from college halls”以及第二段的“20 cups were still missing from a recent evening event.”可知，太多餐具正在“消失”。故选B。

2.What is the purpose of the email to Balliol students?

A To entertain.

B To advertise.

C To introduce.

D To inform.

解析：选D。D推理判断题。根据第三段的“I am very sorry to say that we will no longer be using Balliol crested cups or placemats for student dinners,”可知，在一封发给学生的电子邮件中，贝利奥尔学院表示，将停止在学生晚宴中使用带有学院标识的杯子和餐垫。因此这封邮件的作用是“告知；通知”。故选D。

3.What can we know about the two colleges?

A Balliol holds four formal dinners a week.

B Magdalen College lost 20 cups.

C The theft caused trouble for the staff in Hall.

D Magdalen College didn’t take any measures.

解析：选C。C细节理解题。根据第三段的“thefts were causing additional stress for college staff”可知，盗窃餐具给大学教职工带来了额外的压力。故选C。

4.What type of writing is this text?

A An announcement.

B A university poster.

C A news report.

D An advertisement

解析：选C。C推理判断题。根据全文内容可知，本文主要向我们报道了牛津大学两所学院餐厅的陶瓷餐具被学生偷走，学院出招打击“偷盘子”行为。属于新闻报道。故选C。