Queen Victoria was monarch of Great Britain from 1837 until her death in 1901. This period is often called the Victorian Age.
Queen Victoria was a stern and serious woman. One reason she was so serious was that she had suffered a great loss. When she was twenty years old, she married a German prince named Albert. Victoria and Albert were deeply in love, and their marriage was extremely happy. In 1861, after they had been married for twenty one years, Albert died, leaving Queen Victoria heart broken. For the rest of her life, the lonely Victoria mourned his loss. It was customary in those days for a widow to dress in black for a short time after the death of her husband. But Queen Victoria dressed in black for forty years. And for forty years, as another sign of her grief, she wrote her letters on white paper edged in black.
Even before Prince Albert died, Queen Victoria was known as a very serious woman. She had a strong sense of duty and worked very hard at all her tasks. In her diary she wrote, “I love to be employed; I hate to be idle.” She never forgot that she was Britain’s queen and always acted with great dignity(尊严). Victoria had high ideals and moral standards (道德标准) that sometimes made her seem stuffy(古板的).
She was also very sure of herself. She always thought that she was right, and expected everyone to agree with her.
【小题1】Which of the following statements about Queen Victoria is NOT true according to the passage?| A．She had great confidence in herself. |
| B．She ruled Great Britain for sixty-four years. |
| C．She enjoyed her marriage to a German prince. |
| D．She became a serious woman after her beloved husband died. |
| A．she was a stern woman |
| B．black was her favourite colour |
| C．that was one way to show her feeling of sadness |
| D．it was a custom among monarchs of Great Britain |
| A．confident | B．lonesome |
| C．workaholic | D．indecisive (优柔寡断的) |
