题目内容：

    Northern Virginia Community College had agreed to stop awarding scholarships based on race.

The college took that step, Virginia’s Attorney (司法局) said last week, after the U.S. Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights had concluded that the privately financed scholarship programs for minority students did not follow established federal (联邦的) guidelines for such programs.

The civil-rights office got involved when a white student at Northern Virginia complained in June 1996 that he had been illegally excluded from a scholarship program for minority students.

Christopher Thompson argued in his complaint that such programs had been found unconstitutional ― (不符合法规的) in 1994 by the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (联邦上诉法院第四管辖区), in a case involving a blacks-only scholarship at the University of Maryland at College Park.

In a letter to the department last month, the state Attorney Genera’s Office said the college would alter its five scholarship programs that have been limited to students of certain races. All of the programs were financed by private donors or groups.

“After careful consideration of the position taken by your office, in response to the complaint filed with the Office for Civil Rights by a student at the college, and the legal arguments presented to us by lawyers representing that student, the college has concluded that it will abandon its administration of race-based scholarships,” wrote Maureen Riley Masten, an Assistant Attorney General.

Northern Virginia officials said that two of the aid programs would be opened to students of all races, and that the sponsors of two others had asked that their money be returned. The sponsors of the fifth program said they would transfer the funds to a private, non-profit group that would continue to administer the scholarship to minority students only, the college said.

Officials of many colleges have watched the Northern Virginia case because they believed that it might throw new light on how the Education Department would view the legality of scholarship programs financed by private donors.

A spokesman for the department, Rodger Murphey, said he did not believe that a new precedent (判例) had been set in the case.

1.What was Christopher Thompson’s complaint?

A.He wasn’t qualified for his college’s race-based scholarships as a white student.

B.The lawyers refused to represent him in his appeal against his college’s decision.

C.Northern Virginia officials decided that his appeal to the state court was illegal.

D.The civil-rights office failed to respond to his complaint about his college.

2.What was the civil-rights office’s position in Christopher Thompsons case?

A.The college should justify its race-based scholarship programs.

B.The college should transfer its scholarship funds to non-profit groups.

C.The college should open its scholarship programs to students of all races.

D.The college should put aside its prejudice against white students.

3.How did Northern Virginia Community College respond to the civil-rights office’s decision?

A.It continued to administer its scholarship programs despite the complaint.

B.It got new sponsors to open scholarship programs to students of all races.

C.It stopped its scholarship programs temporarily to confirm their legality.

D.It abandoned its scholarship programs exclusively for minority students.

4.Which of the following can NOT be inferred from the passage?

A.Christopher Thompson based his complaint legally on the Maryland case.

B.The legality of privately financed scholarships was still uncertain.

C.Race-based scholarship programs would be presented in a new form.

D.The courts decision in the case would be followed in later similar cases.