Tourism probably started in Roman times.Rich Romans visited friends and family who were working in another part of the Roman empire.But when the empire broke down,this kind of tourism stopped.
In the early 17th century,the idea of the“Grand Tour”was born.Rich young English people sailed across the English Channel（英吉利海峡）.They visited the most beautiful and important European cities of the time,including Paris in France,and Rome and Venice（威尼斯）in Italy.Their tours lasted for two to four years,and the tourists stayed a few weeks or months in each city.The“Grand Tour”was an important part of young people’s education—but only for the rich.
In the 18th century,tourism began to change.For example,people in the UK started to visit some towns,such as Bath to“take the waters”.They believed that the water there was good for their health.So large and expensive hotels were built in these towns.
In the 19th century,travel became much more popular and faster.When the first railways were built in the 1820s,it was easier for people to travel between towns,so they started to go for holidays by the sea.And some started to have holidays in the countryside as cities became larger,noisier and dirtier.
Traveling by sea also became faster and safer when the first steamships were built.People began to travel more to far away countries.
The 20th century saw cars bee more and more popular among ordinary people.Planes were made larger,so ticket prices dropped and more people used them.
Thus tourism grew.In 1949,Russian journalist Vladimir Raitz started a pany called Horizon Holidays.The pany organizes everything—plane tickets,hotel rooms,even food—and tourists pay for it all before they leave home.The package tour and modern tourist industry was born.
The first travel agency in China was set up as early as 1949.But tourism did not take off until 1978.In 2002,the industry was worth 500 billion yuan and became an important part of China’s social development.
【小题1】In the early times,the travelers .A．all came from RomanB．were very young and strongC．had lots of moneyD．traveled by boat【小题2】 played the most important role in the tourism development.A．EducationB．MoneyC．TransportationD．People’s ideas【小题3】Modern tourism was born .A．in 1949B．in Roman timesC．in the early 17th centuryD．in the 19th century【小题4】The underlined phrase“take off”means .A．a plane rising into the airB．develop very fastC．remove hats and clothesD．bring down the pricesC
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(答案→)C
解析：
【小题1】细节理解题。根据“The ‘Grand Tour’ was an important part of young people’s education—but only for the rich.”可知。
【小题2】文章提供了这样一个信息：铁路的发展，飞机的容量扩大都给旅游业起了促进作用。
【小题3】细节理解题。根据倒数第二段的叙述可知。
【小题4】该词的前一句介绍：中国的旅行社是在1949年建立，但是旅游业直到1978年才 。因此我们推断该词的意思应该是“兴旺，兴起”之类的意思。故选项B为最佳答案。