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The 19th-Century British Aristocracy
The British aristocracy had always been involved in industrialization, especially in the development of mining, canals, and railways. It now shrewdly associated itself with the new wave of commercial expansion: most banks and insurance companies had a lord to add tone to the managerial board. It also shored up its fortunes by astute marriages, notably with the new aristocracy of wealth in the United States; the best-known example was the marriage of the duke of Marlborough to Consuelo Vanderbilt. By these means, many of the great aristocratic estates were preserved despite agricultural decline. But they were playthings as well as engines of wealth, and came to be treated as such. The aristocracy came to be known to the urban population chiefly through their representation in the popular press and magazines as men and women of leisure: racing, hunting, shooting, and fishing in the country, gambling and attending the season in London. In a population for which leisure was becoming increasingly important, this did not make the aristocracy unpopular.
41．In the second sentence of this passage, "had a lord to add tone to the managerial board" means that ______.
A．the banks and insurance companies would hire a lord on the board to give advice to their management
B．having lords involved in the management gave the banks or companies a very good public image
C．lords worked for the banks and insurance companies to bring in more profits
D．it had become a fashion to have a lord on the managerial board of a bank or a company
42．The “astute marriages” in the passage refers to marriages between ______.
A．British aristocracy and rich American entrepreneurs
B．old British aristocratic families and newly knighted aristocracy of wealth
C．aristocratic families and new business families of money and enterprises
D．big landlord families in the British countryside and rich American tycoons of industry
43． Judging from the content of the passage, Consuelo Vanderbilt was ______.
A．Male, and from a rich business family in the United Sates
B．Female, and from a British wealthy family of industry
C．Male, and from a rich industrial family of Britain
D．Female, and from an entrepreneur family in America
44．Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A．The 19th-century British aristocrats were treated as decorations in public life and were used to make money by press.
B．The 19th-century British aristocrats were toys of the rich capitalists and were made to earn profits for them.
C．The 19th-century British aristocrats acted as playmates of people in pleasure-seeking such as hunting, fishing, and shooting.
D．The 19th-century British aristocrats were popular figures in advertisements because they lived a leisurely life.
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