(C)
Started in 1636, Harvard University is the oldest of all the many colleges and universities in the United States. Yale, Princeton, Columbia and Dartmouth were opened soon after Harvard.
In the early years, these schools were much similar. Only young men went to colleges. All the students studied the same subjects, and everyone learned Latin, Greek and Hebrew. Little was known about science then, and one kind of school could teach everything that was known about the world. When the students left school, most of them became ministers or teachers. In 1782, Harvard started a medical school for young men who wanted to become doctors. Later, lawyers could receive their training in Harvard's law school. In 1825, besides Latin and Greek, Harvard began teaching modern languages, such as French and German. Soon it began teaching American history.
As knowledge increased, Harvard and other colleges began to teach many new subjects. Students were allowed to choose the subjects that interested them.
Today, there are many different kinds of colleges and universities. Most of them are made up of smaller schools that deal with (涉及) special fields of learning. There's so much to learn that one kind of school can't offer it all.
根据短文内容，选择最佳答案。
()1. The oldest university in the US is .
A. Columbia
B. Harvard
C. Princeton
D. Yale
()2. From the second paragraph, we can see that in the early years, .
A. those colleges and universities were the same
B. people, young or old, might study in the colleges
C. students studied only some languages and science
D. when the students finished their school, they became lawyers or teachers
()3. Modern languages that Harvard taught in 1825 were .
A. Latin and Greek
B. French and German
C. American history and German
D. Latin, Greek, French and German
()4. As knowledge increased, colleges began to teach .
A. many new subjects
B. law and something about medicine
C. everything that was known
D. the subjects that interested students
()5. On the whole, the passage is about .
A. how to start a university
B. how colleges have changed
C. the world - famous colleges in America
D. what kind of lesson each college teaches

1.B 2.A 3.B 4.A 5.B

【分析】
做这类英语阅读理解题，需先通读短文把握主旨大意，再针对每个小题的问题，回到原文定位对应段落或句子，将选项与原文内容逐一比对，排除错误选项，选出符合原文的最佳答案。
【解析】
1. 定位原文第一段第一句“Started in 1636, Harvard University is the oldest of all the many colleges and universities in the United States.”，可知美国最古老的大学是哈佛大学，对应选项B。
2. 定位原文第二段第一句“In the early years, these schools were much similar.”，可知早期这些大学很相似，对应选项A；B选项原文明确“Only young men went to colleges”，错误；C选项原文提到早期科学知之甚少，学生主要学拉丁语、希腊语等，错误；D选项原文说多数毕业生成为牧师或教师，不是律师，错误。
3. 定位原文第二段“In 1825, besides Latin and Greek, Harvard began teaching modern languages, such as French and German.”，可知1825年哈佛教的现代语言是法语和德语，对应选项B。
4. 定位原文第三段“As knowledge increased, Harvard and other colleges began to teach many new subjects.”，可知随着知识增长，大学开始教授很多新科目，对应选项A。
5. 通读全文，短文围绕美国大学从早期到现代的发展变化展开，对应选项B；A选项未提及创办大学的方法，C选项仅涉及著名大学不是主旨，D选项不是各大学的教学内容，错误。
【答案】1.B 2.A 3.B 4.A 5.B
【知识点】英语阅读理解、细节理解题、主旨大意题
【点评】本题是关于美国大学发展的阅读理解，题目侧重考查学生提取原文细节信息和把握文章主旨的能力，整体难度较低，认真阅读原文即可正确解答。
【难度系数】0.8