新素材素材话题:罗马数字和阿拉伯数字
[2026 广东深圳调研]Do you know the numbers 0—9 well? They are Arabic numerals. People use them to mark numbers now. But it's not the only number system that people use.
About 2,500 years ago, people in Rome used their hands to count. In Roman numerals, one finger means 1, two fingers means 2, three fingers means 3, four fingers means 4. If you want to say five, you can use one hand. Make each of your hands be five, then you'll have ten. In Rome, the numbers are "Ⅰ, Ⅱ, Ⅲ, Ⅳ, Ⅴ, Ⅵ, Ⅶ, Ⅷ, Ⅸ, Ⅹ". Also, "L" means fifty, "C" means one hundred, "D" means five hundred and "M" means one thousand. But there is no zero in Roman numerals. Today, few people use them because they are difficult to write and count. But we can still see them on some watches and clocks.
Today, most people use the Arabic numerals. They are easy to remember and write. They help people to count things every day. In fact, Indians first created and used the Arabic numerals. Later, people in Arabic countries learnt about them. Then the Arabic people took them into Europe. So people in Europe called them Arabic numerals. Today, people around the world use Arabic numerals and they help a lot.
()1. Which of the following means five in Roman numerals?
A. L.
B. M.
C. V.
D. X.
()2. What does the underlined word "them" in Paragraph 2 mean?
A. Zero.
B. Arabic numerals.
C. Roman numerals.
D. Watches and clocks.
()3. What do we know about Arabic numerals?
A. People in Rome didn't use them.
B. "0" means "zero" in Arabic numerals.
C. Only Arabic people use them at present.
D. Arabic people taught the Indians about them.
()4. Why are there few people using Roman numerals today?
A. Because the numbers look stupid.
B. Because they are hard to remember.
C. Because there are no Romans any more.
D. Because they are not easy to write and count.
()5. 新考法顺序排列 In what order did the following things happen?
a. Indians created Arabic numerals.
b. Arabic people learnt about Arabic numerals.
c. People all over the world use Arabic numerals.
d. Arabic people took Arabic numerals into Europe.
A. a—b—d—c
B. a—b—c—d
C. d—b—a—c
D. d—c—b—a

1. C 细节理解题。根据“In Rome, the numbers are ‘Ⅰ, Ⅱ, Ⅲ, Ⅳ, Ⅴ, Ⅵ, Ⅶ, Ⅷ, Ⅸ, Ⅹ’”可知,罗马数字中Ⅴ表示 5。故选 C 项。
2. C 词义猜测题。根据第二段最后三句可知,them 指代前文提到的 Roman numerals,故选 C 项。
3. B 细节理解题。结合常识可知选 B 项。
4. D 细节理解题。根据第二段倒数第二句可知选 D 项。
5. A 细节理解题。根据第三段最后五句可知,正确顺序为 a—b—d—c。故选 A 项。

【分析】
本题是关于罗马数字与阿拉伯数字的英语阅读理解题，共5道小题，均为细节理解或词义猜测类题目。解题思路为：针对每道题，先定位题目关键词，再回到原文找到对应信息，最后对比选项与原文内容，选出正确答案。
【解析】
1. 细节理解题：根据第二段“In Rome, the numbers are ‘Ⅰ, Ⅱ, Ⅲ, Ⅳ, Ⅴ, Ⅵ, Ⅶ, Ⅷ, Ⅸ, Ⅹ’”可知，罗马数字中Ⅴ表示5，对应选项C。
2. 词义猜测题：第二段提到“Today, few people use them because they are difficult to write and count”，结合前文讨论的是罗马数字，可知“them”指代罗马数字（Roman numerals），对应选项C。
3. 细节理解题：根据第三段内容，阿拉伯数字由印度人创造，后被阿拉伯人学习并传入欧洲，如今全世界使用；结合常识，选项B（阿拉伯数字中“0”表示零）正确，A、C、D均与原文不符。
4. 细节理解题：根据第二段“Today, few people use them because they are difficult to write and count”可知，人们很少用罗马数字是因为难写难计数，对应选项D。
5. 细节理解题：根据第三段“Indians first created and used the Arabic numerals. Later, people in Arabic countries learnt about them. Then the Arabic people took them into Europe. Today, people around the world use Arabic numerals”，可知事件顺序为a（印度创造）→b（阿拉伯人学习）→d（传入欧洲）→c（全世界使用），对应选项A。
【答案】
1. C 2. C 3. B 4. D 5. A
【知识点】
英语阅读理解、细节理解题、词义猜测题
【点评】
本题为科普类阅读理解，围绕罗马数字与阿拉伯数字展开，题目以基础细节考查为主，需学生准确查找原文信息，难度适中，适合巩固英语阅读的基础能力。
【难度系数】
0.7