高中英语阅读理解精读荟萃(中级篇)1

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名称 高中英语阅读理解精读荟萃(中级篇)1
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更新时间 2009-05-16 20:03:00

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本资料来自于资源最齐全的21世纪教育网www.21cnjy.com
Passage One Violence Can Do Nothing to Diminish Race Prejudice
In some countries where racial prejudice is acute, violence has so come to be taken for granted as a means of solving differences, that it is not even questioned. There are countries where the white man imposes his rule by brute force; t高考资源网here are countries where the black man protests by setting fire to cities and by looting and pillaging. Important people on both sides, who would in other respects appear to be reasonable men, get up and calmly argue in favor of violence – as if it were a legitimate solution, like any other. What is really frightening, what really fills you with despair, is the realization that when it comes to the crunch, we have made no actual progress at all. We may wear collars and ties instead of war-paint, but our instincts remain basically unchanged. The whole of the recorded history of the human race, that tedious documentation of violence, has taught us absolutely nothing. We have still not learnt that violence never solves a problem but makes it more acute. The sheer horror, the bloodshed, the suffering mean nothing. No solution ever comes to light the morning after when we dismally contemplate the smoking ruins and wonder what hit us.
The truly reasonable men who know where the solutions lie are finding it harder and herder to get a hearing. They are despised, mistrusted and even persecuted by their own kind because they advocate such apparently outrageous things as law enforcement. If half the energy that goes into violent acts were put to good use, if our efforts were directed at cleaning up the slums and ghettos, at improving living-standards and providing education and employment for all, we would have gone a long way to arriving at a solution. Our strength is sapped by having to mop up the mess that violence leaves in its wake. In a well-directed effort, it would not be impossible to fulfill the ideals of a stable social programme. The benefits that can be derived from constructive solutions are everywhere apparent in the world around us. Genuine and lasting solutions are always possible, providing we work within the framework of the law. 21世纪教育网
Before we can even begin to contemplate peaceful co-existence between the races, we must appreciate each other’s problems. And to do this, we must learn about them: it is a simple exercise in communication, in exchanging information. ‘Talk, talk, talk,’ the advocates of violence say, ‘all you ever do is talk, and we are none the wiser.’ It’s rather like the story of the famous barrister who painstakingly explained his case to the judge. After listening to a lengthy argument the judge complained that after all this talk, he was none the wiser. ‘Possible, my lord,’ the barrister replied, ‘none the wiser, but surely far better informed.’ Knowledge is the necessary prerequisite to wisdom: the knowledge that violence creates the evils it pretends to solve.
1. What is the best title for this passage
A. Advocating Violence.
B. Violence Can Do Nothing to Diminish Race Prejudice.
C. Important People on Both Sides See Violence As a Legitimate Solution.
D. The Instincts of Human Race Are Thirsty for Violence.
2. Recorded history has taught us
A. violence never solves anything.
B. nothing.
C. the bloodshed means nothing.
D. everything.
3. It can be inferred that truly reasonable men
A. can’t get a hearing.
B. are looked down upon.
C. are persecuted.
D. Have difficulty in advocating law enforcement.
4. “He was none the wiser” means
A. he was not at all wise in listening.
B. He was not at all wiser than nothing before.
C. He gains nothing after listening.
D. He makes no sense of the argument.
5. According the author the best way to solve race prejudice is
A. law enforcement.
B. knowledge.
C. nonviolence.
D. Mopping up the violent mess.
Vocabulary
1. acute严重的,剧烈的,敏锐的
2. lootv.抢劫,掠夺;n.赃物
3. pillagev.抢劫,掠夺
4. crunchv.吱嘎吱嘎咬或嚼某物;n.碎裂声
5. when it comes to the crunch = if/when the decisive moment comes. 当关键时刻来到时。
6. war-paint出战前涂于身上的颜料。(美印第安战士用)
7. come to light = become known显露,为人所知
8. sap剥削,使伤元气,破坏
9. I was sapped by months of hospital treatment. 我住院治疗几个月,大伤元气。
10. mop up擦去,对付,处理
11. wake船迹,航迹
12. in the wake of sth. = come after 随某事之后到来。
难句译注
1. What is really frightening, what really fills you with despair is the realization that when it comes to the crunch, we have made no actual progress at all.
【结构简析】when it comes to the crunch = when / if the decisive moment comes.当关键时刻来到时。
【参考译文】真正令人可怖的,令人绝望的是,在关键时刻,人们意识到我们一点儿也没有进步/前进。
2. Our strength is sapped by having to mop up the mess that violence leaves in its wake.
【结构简析】in the wake of 在…之后。
【参考译文】由于我们不得不清理掉暴力之后所留下的烂摊子,我们的力量因此削弱了。
3. After listening to a lengthy argument the judge complained that after all this talk, he was none the wiser. 21世纪教育网
【结构简析】none + the + 比较级。固定用法,义:not at all 一点儿也不。EX: After the treatment, he is none the better.治疗后,他并没有因此见好,(一点儿也不见好)。
【参考译文】听了律师的长篇解释,法官抱怨说他一无所获,并不因此变得聪明些。
4. Knowledge is the necessary prerequisite to wisdom.
【参考译文】知识是智慧的必要的先决条件。结合上下文这里意思是:了解情况是解决问题的先决条件。句子后面的解释:知识是指了解它欲以解决暴力制造的恶行。
写作方法与文章大意
作者主要以对比的手法写出了暴力是有些国家用以解决种族差异的公认方法,这是人本性没有进步的表现,真正理智的人提出了法制才是解决问题的唯一途径,而这些人遭人轻视、迫害。作者指出如果我们把使用暴力的一半精力放在消除贫民窟,改善生活水平,提供教育和就业,清除暴力造成的后果,也就是通过对它以法治理是能真正解决种族问题的。尽管这些暴力者采取充耳不闻的态度。
答案详解
1. B 暴力难以消除种族偏见。文章一开始就提出有些国家种族偏见严重,而暴力却是公认的一种解决方法。白人采用暴力镇压,黑人以防火、掠抢为反抗。而双方的大人物平静地论及暴力,似乎这是一种合法的解决方案。作者就此指出人类的进步只在于表面――衣饰等,人类的本能没有改变。整个有记录历史的文件没有教会人类任何东西。这是真正令人可怕的事件。第二段论及真正有理智的懂得解决方案所在的人鼓吹法制,人们不停。他们反而收到轻视、迫害。作者就此提出假设,答出真正的解决方案嗜法制,以法治理。第三段进一步说明“交流、对话”是了解双方问题的前提,即使暴力者不同意,但知道暴力制造它假装要解决的罪恶,是智慧聪明的必要前提。A 鼓吹暴力。C.双方重要人物都把暴力作为合法的解决方案。D. 人类的本性是嗜暴性。B没有什么。第一段中就明确提出整个人类有记录历史又长又臭的暴力文件记录,一点都没有教给我们任何东西。
2. A 暴力解决不了任何事情。C.杀戮(流血)没有任何意义。D.一切。
3. D 在鼓吹法制方面有困难。答案在第二段,真正有理智的人鼓吹法制,遭到同类们的轻视、不信任和迫害。他们发现要人倾听他们的意见越来越困难。A.人们不听。B.遭人轻视。C.遭人迫害。这三项都包含在D项内。
4. C 听后无所得。None the wiser一点也不比以前聪明(这是按字面翻译)。实际就是C项。在倾听别人上他一点也不聪明。B.他和以前一个样。D.他听不懂论点。A法制。第二段最后一句,如果我们在法律的构架中进行工作,真正的持久的解决总是能实现的。第二段第二句,他们遭到迫害是因为他们鼓吹法制这种显然令人不能容忍的事。
5. B 知识。C.非暴力。D.处理暴力带来的混乱。
Passage Two The Tourist Trade Contributes Absolutely Nothing to Increasing Understanding between Nations
The tourist trade is booming. With all this coming and going, you’d expect greater understanding to develop between the nations of the world. Not a bit of it! Superb systems of communication by air, sea and land make it possible for us to visit each other’s countries at a moderate cost. What was once the ‘grand tour’, reserved for only the very rich, is now within everybody’s grasp The package tour and chartered flights are not to be sneered at. Modern travelers enjoy a level of comfort which the lords and ladies on grand tours in the old days couldn’t have dreamed of. But what’s the sense of this mass exchange of populations if the nations of the world remain basically ignorant of each other
Many tourist organizations are directly responsible for this state of affairs. They deliberately set out to protect their clients from too much contact with the local population. The modern tourist leads a cosseted, sheltered life. He lives at international hotels, where he eats his international food and sips his international drink while he gazes at the natives from a distance. Conducted tours to places of interest are carefully censored. The tourist is allowed to see only what the organizers want him to see and no more. A strict schedule makes it impossible for the tourist to wander off on his own; and anyway, language is always a barrier, so he is only too happy to be protected in this way. At its very worst, this leads to a new and hideous kind of colonization. The summer quarters of the inhabitants of the cite universitaire: are temporarily reestablished on the island of Corfu. Blackpool is recreated at Torremolinos where the traveler goes not to eat paella, but fish and chips.
The sad thing about this situation is that it leads to the persistence of national stereotypes. We don’t see the people of other nations as they really are, but as we have been brought up to believe they are. You can test this for yourself. Take five nationalities, say, French, German, English, American and Italian. Now in your mind, match them with these five adjectives: musical, amorous, cold, pedantic, native. Far from providing us with any insight into the national characteristics of the peoples just mentioned, these adjectives actually act as barriers. So when you set out on your travels, the only characteristics you notice are those which confirm your preconceptions. You come away with the highly unoriginal and inaccurate impression that, say, ‘Anglo-Saxons are hypocrites’ of that ‘Latin peoples shout a lot’. You only have to make a few foreign friends to understand how absurd and harmful national stereotypes are. But how can you make foreign friends when the tourist trade does its best to prevent you
Carried to an extreme, stereotypes can be positively dangerous. Wild generalizations stir up racial hatred and blind us to the basic fact—how trite it sounds! – That all people are human. We are all similar to each other and at the same time all unique.
1. The best title for this passage is
A. tourism contributes nothing to increasing understanding between nations.
B. Tourism is tiresome.
C. Conducted tour is dull.
D. tourism really does something to one’s country.
2. What is the author’s attitude toward tourism
A. apprehensive.
B. negative.
C. critical.
D. appreciative.
3. Which word in the following is the best to summarize Latin people shout a lot
A. silent.
B. noisy.
C. lively.
D. active.
4. The purpose of the author’s criticism is to point out
A. conducted tour is disappointing.
B. the way of touring should be changed.
C. when traveling, you notice characteristics which confirm preconception.
D. national stereotypes should be changed.
5. What is ‘grand tour’ now
A. moderate cost.
B. local sight-seeing is investigated by the tourist organization.
C. people enjoy the first-rate comforts.
D. everybody can enjoy the ‘grand tour’.
21世纪教育网
Vocabulary
1. superb卓越的,杰出的,第一流的
2. moderate中庸的,中等的,适度的
3. grand tour大旅行,指旧时英国富家子弟教育中,到欧洲大陆观光的旅行,为学业必经阶段。
4. package tour由旅行社代办而费用与路线、日程固定的假日旅游。也可用package holiday。
5. chartered flight包机航班
6. set out to do sth. = begin a job with a particular aim开始做某事,决心/打算做……
7. cosset宠爱,溺爱,纵容
8. conducted tour = guided tour有人指导/引到下的参观,有导游的旅游
9. censor检查
10. wander off离开原处/正道,离群,漫步,漫游
11. quarters住处,营
12. paella西班牙什锦饭
13. chip炸马铃薯条(土豆条)
14. amorous多情的,色情的
15. pedantic学究式的,卖弄学问的
16. generalization归纳,概括
17. stir up惹起,煽动,挑起
18. trite陈腐的,老一套的
难句译注
1. What was once the ‘grand tour’, reserved for only the very rich, is now within everybody’s grasp.
【结构简析】within sb.’s grasp.某人理解/了解,为某人所能抓到的。
【参考译文】一度只有最富有者专享的“大旅行”现在人人都可获得。
2. The package tour and chartered flights are not to be sneered at.
【参考译文】旅行社包办的旅游,包机航班决不会遭人耻笑。
3. They deliberately set out to protect their clients from too much contact with the local population.
【参考译文】旅行社有意使他们的谷底和当地居民少接触。
4. The modern tourist heads a cosseted sheltered life.
【参考译文】现代旅行者过的使爱护有加与世隔绝的生活。
5. Conducted tours to places of interest are carefully censored.
【参考译文】有人指导下参观一些静电收到组织者――旅行社仔细的检查核准。
6. A strict schedule makes it impossible for the tourist to wander off on his own; and anyway, language is always barrier, so he is only too happy to be protected in this way.
【结构简析】only too + 形容词/分词 = very非常。
【参考译文】严格致密的计划值得旅行者不可能自己一个人到处闲逛;再说,至少语言总是个障碍,所以他对这样保护非常高兴。
7. At its very worst, this leads to a new and hideous kind of colonization.
【结构简析】at one’s worst 在情况最坏的时候。
【参考译文】最糟的时候,这种保护会导致形成一种新型而又可怕的殖民现象。
8. Carried to an extreme, stereotypes can be positively dangerous.
【结构简析】carried to an extreme (to an excess )如果做得过分。
【参考译文】如果走向极端,模式化的想法会非常危险。
9. Wild generalizations stir up racial hatred and blind us to the basic fact.
【参考译文】野蛮(乱七八糟)的概括/归纳会激起种族仇恨,使我们对这基本事实视而不见。
写作方法与文章大意
文章主要采用因果写法。虽然旅游业发展,人们可享受以前只有最富有者享受的大旅游,但由于旅行社种种限制/呵护及其它,使旅游者难以和当地居民接触。陈旧的固定的想――对民族的模式化想法,只有通过接触才能接触模式。而旅行社的种种都使人相互难以理解。
答案详解
1. A 旅游对增进民族了解毫无建树。第二段开始点出,许多旅游组织直接负责旅游事宜,他们有意识不让旅游者接触当地居民,让他们过着一种关怀备至又与世隔绝的生活。住的是国际饭店,吃的是国际食品,喝的是国际饮料,在原处观看当地居民。严格有序的计划使旅游者难以自己一人闲逛,语言的障碍,又使他们乐意接受保护。第三段涉及坚持民族模式化――老一套的想法,所以一开始旅游,你见到的民族特性就只是证实了你自己设想的基本事实――所有人民都是人类。只有交朋友才能知道民族模式是多么荒谬、有害,可是旅行社竭力制止,你又怎么能交上外国朋友呢?这一切说明A项对。
2. B.旅游很累。C.导游观光很单调乏味。D.旅游确实对国家有贡献。
3. C 批评。
4. B 吵吵闹闹的。
5. B 旅游的方式应改变。整篇文章(除第一段外)都环绕旅游方式不理想来进行批评。第二段集中在导游观光使旅游者难以和当地人民接触。第三段,见到的只是证实了旅游者本人事先形成的思想/先入之见,旅游根本达不到了解对方的目的。第四段讲了民族固定模式(先入之见的模式)的可怕后果。要使人懂得所有的人们都是人类,彼此相似,又各具特点,就得改变旅游的方式。
6. A.导游观光令人失望。C.旅游时,你见到的 特性证实了你的先入之见。D.民族模式应当改变。这三条都是批评的具体内容。
7. D 人人都能享受大旅游。大旅行是专指英国富家子弟上学中的一门课程-到欧洲大陆观光。不是人人都能享受。这里用grand tour表示人人都能享受类似grand tour的一切,甚至超过,如第一段指出:现代旅游者享受的舒适设施,达到了大旅行中老爷、小姐们做梦都没有想到的水平。海陆空高级交流联络通讯系统,使人们有可能钱花得不多就能访问、观光别的国家。所以说,曾是有钱人专享的大旅行,普通人也能领略。“grand tour”有引号,表明作为比喻。
8. A.费用不高。文内是费用合适、中等、恰当。B.当地观光受组织审查。C.人们喜欢一流舒适设施。
Passage Three Pop Stars Earn Much
Pop stars today enjoy a style of living which was once the prerogative only of Royalty. Wherever they go, people turn out in their thousands to greet them. The crowds go wild trying to catch a brief glimpse of their smiling, colorfully dressed idols. The stars are transported in their chauffeur driven Rolls-Royces, private helicopters or executive aeroplanes. They are surrounded by a permanent entourage of managers, press agents and bodyguards. Photographs of them appear regularly in the press and all their comings and goings are reported, for, like Royalty, pop stars are news. If they enjoy many of the privileges of Royalty, they certainly share many of the inconveniences as well. It is dangerous for them to make unscheduled appearances in public. They must be constantly shielded from the adoring crowds which idolize them. They are no longer private individuals, but public property. The financial rewards they receive for this sacrifice cannot be calculated, for their rates of pay are astronomical.
And why not Society has always rewarded its top entertainers lavishly. The great days of Hollywood have become legendary: famous stars enjoyed fame, wealth and adulation on an unprecedented scale. By today’s standards, the excesses of Hollywood do not seem quite so spectacular. A single gramophone record nowadays may earn much more in royalties than the films of the past ever did. The competition for the title ‘Top of the Pops’ is fierce, but the rewards are truly colossal.
It is only right that the stars should be paid in this way. Don’t the top men in industry earn enormous salaries for the services they perform to their companies and their countries Pop stars earn vast sums in foreign currency – often more than large industrial concerns – and the taxman can only be grateful fro their massive annual contributions to the exchequer. So who would begrudge them their rewards
It’s all very well for people in humdrum jobs to moan about the successes and rewards of others. People who make envious remarks should remember that the most famous stars represent only the tip of the iceberg. For every famous star, there are hundreds of others struggling to earn a living. A man working in a steady job and looking forward to a pension at the end of it has no right to expect very high rewards. He has chosen security and peace of mind, so there will always be a limit to what he can earn. But a man who attempts to become a star is taking enormous risks. He knows at the outset that only a handful of competitors ever get to the very top. He knows that years of concentrated effort may be rewarded with complete failure. But he knows, too, that the rewards for success are very high indeed: they are the recompense for the huge risks involved and if he achieves them, he has certainly earned them. That’s the essence of private enterprise.
1. The sentence Pop stars’ style of living was once the prerogative only of Royalty means
A. their life was as luxurious as that of royalty.
B. They enjoy what once only belonged to the royalty.
C. They are rather rich. 21世纪教育网
D. Their way of living was the same as that of the royalty.
2. What is the author’s attitude toward top stars’ high income
A. Approval.
B. Disapproval.
C. Ironical.
D. Critical.
3. It can be inferred from the passage
A. there exists fierce competition in climbing to the top.
B. People are blind in idolizing stars.
C. Successful Pop stars give great entertainment.
D. The tax they have paid are great.
4. What can we learn from the passage
A. Successful man should get high-income repayment.
B. Pop stars made great contribution to a country.
C. Pop stars can enjoy the life of royalty.
D. Successful men represent the tip of the iceberg.
5. Which paragraph covers the main idea
A. The first.
B. The second. 21世纪教育网
C. The third.
D. The fourth.
Vocabulary
1. prerogative权力,(尤指)特权
2. chauffeur受雇开车人,(尤指富人、要人的)司机
3. entourage随行人员,伴随者,近侍;建筑物周围
4. astronomical庞大的,天文的
5. adulation奉承
6. gramophone灌音
7. colossal巨大的
8. exchequer国库,财源
9. Exchequer Bond 国库债券
10. begrudge感到不快/不满,忌妒
11. humdrum平淡的,单调的
12. moan呻吟声
13. moan about 发牢骚
难句译注
1. the prerogative of Royalty或the royal prerogative
【参考译文】皇家的特权(再英国指国王名义上享有不经议会认可而采取行动的权力)。
2. People turn out in their thousands to greet them.
【结构简析】turn out露面、集合、出席。EX: A vast crowd turned out to watch the match.大批观众到场观看比赛。
【参考译文】成千上万的人们出来欢迎他们。
3. The great days of Hollywood have become legendry.
【参考译文】好莱坞鼎盛时期成了神话。
4. By today’s standards, the excesses of Hollywood do not seem quite so spectacular.
【参考译文】按今天的标准来看,好莱坞的奢华(过分的行为)似乎并不那么引人注目。
5. A single gramophone record nowadays may earn much more in royalties than the films of the past ever did.
【参考译文】今天单张录音唱片挣的版税要比过去一步电影还要多得多。
写作方法与文章大意
作者以对比、因果写作手法,写出歌星享受者贵族般生活方式,出门受千万人群欢迎,出入高级车、机,身后保镖、经纪人、新闻记者,来去都有报道,这一切是社会对高级演员的慷慨赠予。公司的高级人员享受高薪,歌星也应享受。再则顶尖歌星冒有很大风险。
答案详解
1. B 他们享受一度只属于贵族享用的一切。第一段集中谈了这些:他们走到哪里,成千上万人们出来欢迎,却中发疯地要看一眼穿着花哨的偶像的笑容。这些歌星坐着司机开动的Rolls-Royces汽车、私人直升飞机,高级长官飞机到处走,永远围着一批经纪人、报界记者和保镖随从人员。他们的照片定期登在报刊上,因为歌星象贵族一样是新闻人物。A.他们的生活和贵族一样奢侈。C.他们很富。D.他们的生活方式和贵族生活方式一个样。
2. A 赞成。在第一段最后一句:“他们为他们的牺牲所获取的报酬难以计算,支付率惊人。”第二段一开始就点明“为什么不惊人?社会对高级表演者总是慷慨解囊。好莱坞的鼎盛时期名扬天下,著名歌星先手空前绝后的名、利、奉承。”第三段更明确指出:应该这样支付星族,这完全正确。企业中的顶尖人物因为他们为公司和国家所作的一切不也挣得高额工资?税务员应感谢他们每年为国库做出了巨大的贡献。所以谁会忌妒他们的报酬呢?最后一段进一步说明:欲成为星族的人冒着很大的风险,谁都知道只有一小撮人能成为顶尖人物,也可能多年的努力以彻底失败而告终,而成功的报酬确实很高,这是对他们冒险的补偿。这些内容都说明作者赞成巨额报酬。
3. A 不同意。C.讽刺的。D.批评的。A 在攀登顶峰中存在着激烈的竞争。这在第三段最后一句明确指出:获取顶尖的流行歌星的称号竞争激烈,但其报酬确实惊人。最后一段的风险说。还有最后一段第二句:说忌妒话的人应记住:最有名的星族代表的只是冰山之巅――人极少。每个成名的歌星身后就有成千上百个其他歌者为生存而奋斗。这都说明“竞争激烈”。B.人们盲目崇拜偶像歌星。C.成功的流行歌星演出给人极大的享受。D.他们支付的税收巨大。
4. D 成功者只是冰山的顶尖――少极了。A.成功的人应当获得高收入。B.流行歌星对国家做出巨大贡献。C.流行歌星能享受贵族生活。
5. D 第四段。主旨句是倒数第一、二句,成功的报酬确实很高,这是对其高度风险的还报补偿,如果他成功了,他肯定挣得多。那就是私人事业的根本/本质。A.第一段。这段之对比了贵族和歌星的生活方式。B.第二段。这段讲了挣得多,但竞争激烈。C.第三段。歌星和企业顶尖人物对比。
Passage Four Examinations Exert a Pernicious Influence on Education
We might marvel at the progress made in every field of study, but the methods of testing a person’s knowledge and ability remain as primitive as ever they were. It really is extraordinary that after all these years, educationists have still failed to device anything more efficient and reliable than examinations. For all the pious claim that examinations text what you know, it is common knowledge that they more often do the exact opposite. They may be a good means of testing memory, or the knack of working rapidly under extreme pressure, but they can tell you nothing about a person’s true ability and aptitude.
As anxiety-makers, examinations are second to none. That is because so much depends on them. They are the mark of success of failure in our society. Your whole future may be decided in one fateful day. It doesn’t matter that you weren’t feeling very well, or that your mother died. Little things like that don’t count: the exam goes on. No one can give of his best when he is in mortal terror, or after a sleepless night, yet this is precisely what the examination system expects him to do. The moment a child begins school, he enters a world of vicious competition where success and failure are clearly defined and measured. Can we wonder at the increasing number of ‘drop-outs’: young people who are written off as utter failures before they have even embarked on a career Can we be surprised at the suicide rate among students
A good education should, among other things, train you to think for yourself. The examination system does anything but that. What has to be learnt is rigidly laid down by a syllabus, so the student is encouraged to memorize. Examinations do not motivate a student to read widely, but to restrict his reading; they do not enable him to seek more and more knowledge, but induce cramming. They lower the standards of teaching, for they deprive the teacher of all freedoms. Teachers themselves are often judged by examination results and instead of teaching their subjects, they are reduced to training their students in exam techniques which they despise. The most successful candidates are not always the best educated; they are the best trained in the technique of working under duress.
The results on which so much depends are often nothing more than a subjective assessment by some anonymous examiner. Examiners are only human. They get tired and hungry; they make mistakes. Yet they have to mark stacks of hastily scrawled scripts in a limited amount of time. They work under the same sort of pressure as the candidates. And their word carries weight. After a judge’s decision you have the right of appeal, but not after an examiner’s. There must surely be many simpler and more effective ways of assessing a person’s true abilities. Is it cynical to suggest that examinations are merely a profitable business for the institutions that run them This is what it boils down to in the last analysis. The best comment on the system is this illiterate message recently scrawled on a wall: ‘I were a teenage drop-out and now I are a teenage millionaire.’
1. The main idea of this passage is
A. examinations exert a pernicious influence on education.
B. examinations are ineffective.
C. examinations are profitable for institutions. 21世纪教育网
D. examinations are a burden on students.
2. The author’s attitude toward examinations is
A.detest.
B. approval.
C. critical.
D. indifferent.
3. The fate of students is decided by
A. education.
B. institutions.
C. examinations.
D. students themselves.
4. According to the author, the most important of a good education is
A. to encourage students to read widely.
B. to train students to think on their own.
C. to teach students how to tackle exams.
D. to master his fate.
5. Why does the author mention court
A. Give an example.
B. For comparison.
C. It shows that teachers’ evolutions depend on the results of examinations.
D. It shows the results of court is more effectise.
Vocabulary
1. pernicious有害的,恶性的,破坏性的
2. knack窍门,诀窍
3. embark乘船,登记
4. write off勾销,注销。确认某食物已损失或无效
5. syllabus 教学大纲
6. cram塞入,把某物塞进,突击式学习(尤指应考),以注入方式教人
7. duress威胁,逼迫
8. stack堆,垛
9. scrawl写/画(的内容不工整,不仔细)潦草的笔迹,七扭八歪的字
10. script讲稿,剧本,脚本,笔试答卷
11. cynical愤世嫉俗的,自私得为人不齿的
12. boil down熬浓,浓缩,归纳
21世纪教育网
难句译注
1. For all the pious claim that examinations test what you know, it is common knowledge that they more often do the exact opposite.
【参考译文】尽管所有那些虔诚的说法说考试能测定你所知道的东西,但其结果常常是适得其反,这是众所周之的常识。
2. As anxiety-makers, examinations are second to none.
【结构简析】second to none固定搭配,义:不亚于任何人或事物。
【参考译文】(测)考试作为忧虑的制造者,真是出类拔萃。
3. induce cramming
【分析】诱人采用突击式学习方式。Cram尽力塞入,应试突击学习。EX: cram for a chemistry test.为应付化学考试而临时抱佛脚。Cram pupils以填鸭式教学生。
4. Yet you have to mark stacks of hastily scrawled scripts in a limited amount of time.
【参考译文】他们不得不在限定的时间内,给一大堆匆忙涂写而成的笔试答卷批分。
5. And their word carries weight.
【参考译文】可他们的话/文字(这里指分数)有份量(有影响)。
6. This is what it boils down to in the last analysis.
【参考译文】这就是最终分析所归纳的一切。
写作方法与文章大意
这是一篇类似分类写作的文章。罗列了考试种种恶果。作者首先指出考试难以测定人的真正能力和水平,反而是适得其反。二是考试是忧虑的制造者,因为它决定了人的成败命运。三是考试促使学校进行应试技巧教育,否定了教会人独立思考、扩大视野。四是教师或者说测试人又累又饿,犯错误,还得在限定时间披阅成堆的试卷,他们的压力和考试者一样很大,而他们的话――分数有份量,审判官的裁决,你有权上诉,而他们的裁决――一笔定终身。
最后引用“辍学者成为百万富翁”来点明测试这种形式对教育的坏影响。
答案详解
1. A 考试对教育具有有害的影响。文章第一段就点明:考试是测试记忆的好方法,是测试在巨大压力下快速工作的技巧的好方法,却测不出一个人的真正能力和水平。第三段集中指出:考试不是促进学生广泛阅读,反而限制其阅读;考试不能使学生追求更多的知识,而是诱导学生进行应付考试的突击式学习。他们降低了教学水平,因为他们剥夺了老师的一切自由。常常以考试结果而不是所教课程来评定老师,是他们不得不以他们所轻视的考试技巧来培训学生。第二段和第四段也涉及其后果。B.考试无效。这是考试后果的一个方面。C.考试对教育机构有利。这也是一个方面。D.考试对学生是一种负担。
2. C 批评的。第一段中作者明确指出,考试方法依旧,不能测出人的能力和水平。第二段点名,这种无用的考试决定人生的成败。第三段说考试最成功的考试者经常不是最佳的受教育者,他们是在胁迫下最佳获得考试技巧者,而好的教育应能培养人的独立思考。第四段涉及阅卷者又累又饿,常犯错误,不得不在限定时间披阅一大堆匆忙中七扭八歪写出的卷子。最后一句“我过去是一个是来岁的辍学者,现在我是一个年轻的百万富翁”画龙点睛地指出,考试指挥下的教育的失败。这一切都说明作者对考试的批评态度。A.嫌恶,厌恶。此答案从意义上说是对的。但语法不通,因为这是个东西,而is后要求是名词或形容词。B.赞成。D.漠不关心的。
3. C 考试。答案在第二段,考试是最终忧虑制造者,那是因为许多事情取决于考试:它们是我们社会中成功或失败的标志。你的未来可能全取决于这决定性的一天。A.教育。B.教育机构。D.学生自己。
4. B 培养学生进行独立思考。第三段第一句话点明:好的教育应该是培养学生自己独立思考。A.鼓励学生广泛阅读。教学生如何应考。C.教学生如何应考。D.掌握自己命运。
5. B 作对比,答案在最后一段倒数第二句“审判官裁决后,你有权力上诉,而披阅考卷人给分后,学生可没有上诉权”后面又谈及“一想到考试只对进行考试的机构有礼,未免太自私了。这酒是最终分析归纳的东西。”所以作者呼吁,可定还有许多更简便,更有效的评估人真正能力的方法。A.给出一个例子。C.表示老师是由考试结果评定好坏。这是第三段讲的不分内容,教师他们自己常由考试结果而不是所教课程优劣来评定。所以他们不得不对学生进行应试技巧教育,降低教学水平。D.表明审判官裁决更有效。
Passage Five Killing in the Name of God Ugandan Deaths Spotlight Rise of Cults
How could faith beget such evil After hundreds of members of a Ugandan cult, the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God, died in what first appeared to be a suicidal fire in the village of Kanungu two weeks age, police found 153 bodies buried in a compound used by the cult in Buhunga, 25 miles away. When investigators searched the house of a cult leader in yet another village, they discovered 155 bodies, many buried under the concrete floor of the house. Then scores more were dug up at a cult member’s home. Some had been poisoned; others, often-young children, strangled. By week’s end, Ugandan police had counted 924 victims – including at least 530 who burned to death inside the sealed church – exceeding the 1978 Jonestown mass suicide and killings by followers of American cult leader Jim Jones that claimed 913 lives.
Authorities believe two of the cult’s leaders, Joseph Kibwetere, a 68-year-old former Roman Catholic catechism teacher who started the cult in 1987, and his “prophetess, ” Credonia Mwerinde, by some accounts a former prostitute who claimed to speak for the Virgin Mary, may still be alive and on the run. The pair had predicted the world would end on Dec. 31, 1999. When that didn’t happen, followers who demanded the return of their possessions, which they had to surrender on joining the cult, may have been systematically killed.
The Ugandan carnage focuses attention on the proliferation of religious cults in East Africa’s impoverished rural areas and city slums. According to the institute for the study of American religion, which researches cults and sects, there are now more than 5,000 indigenous churches in Africa, some with apocalyptic or revolutionary leanings. One such group is the Jerusalem Church of Christ in Nairobi’s Kawangwara slums, led by Mary Snaida-Akatsa, or “mommy” as she is known to her thousands of followers. She prophesies about the end of the world and accuses some members of being witches. One day the brought a “special visitor” to church, an Indian Sikh man she claimed was Jesus, and told her followers to “repent or pay the consequences.”
Most experts say Africa’s hardships push people to seek hope in religious cults. “These groups thrive because of poverty,” says Charles Onyango Obbo, editor of the Monitor, an independent newspaper in Uganda, and a close observer of cults. “People have no support, and they’re susceptible to anyone who is able to tap into their insecurity.” Additionally, they say, AIDS, which has ravaged East Africa, may also breed a fatalism that helps apocalyptic notions take root.
Some Africans turn to cults after rejecting mainstream Christian churches as “Western” or “non-African.” Agnes Masitsa, 30, who used to attend a Catholic church before she joined the Jerusalem Church of Christ, says of Catholicism: “It’s dull.” 21世纪教育网
Catholic icons. Yet, the Ugandan doomsday cult, like many of the sects, drew on features of Roman Catholicism, a strong force in the region. Catholic icons were prominent in its buildings, and some of its leaders were defrocked priests, such as Dominic Kataribabo, 32, who reportedly studied theology in the Los Angeles area in the mid-1980s. He had told neighbors he was digging a pit in his house to install a refrigerator; police have now recovered 81 bodies from under the floor and 74 from a field nearby. Police are unsure whether Kataribabo died in the church fire.
Still, there is the question: How could so many killings have been carried out without drawing attention Villagers were aware of Kibwetere’s sect, whose followers communicated mainly through sign language and apparently were apprehensive about violating any of the cult’s commandments. There were suspicions. Ugandan president Yoweri Mseveni told the BBC that intelligence reports about the dangerous nature of the group had been suppressed by some government officials. On Thursday, police arrested an assistant district commissioner, the Rev. Amooti Mutazindwa, for allegedly holding back a report suggesting the cult posed a security threat.
Now, there are calls for African governments to monitor cults more closely. Says Gilbert Ogutu, a professor of religious studies at the University of Nairobi: “When cult leaders lose support, they become dangerous.”
1. Why did so may Ugandans die in faith
A. Many of them were killed for asking for the return of their possessions.
B. They found the cult’s leaders had cheated them.
C. They lost faith in cults.
D. They are willing to die.
2. The main reason of people’s joining the cults is
A. poverty.
B. insecurity.
C. AIDS.
D. fatalism.
3. What does Mary Snaide Akatsa prophesy
A. She prophesies the world will be flooded.
B. She prophesies the world will be in fire.
C. She prophesies about the end of the world.
D. She prophesies he followers should die in faith.
4. Why do some Africans reject Christian Churches
A. They feel Christianity is dull.
B. They reject Christian Churches as Western or non-African.
C. They are susceptible.
D. They are dangerous persons.
5. How could so many killing have been carried out without drawing attention
A. The cult acted secretly.
B. The government officials did not see through its dangerous nature.
C. There were no preventive measures.
D. People were frightened.
Vocabulary
1. beget产生,引起,招致
2. cult祭礼,狂烈的崇拜(者),迷信,邪教
3. compound院子,场地
4. strangle扼死,闷死
5. carnage残杀,大屠杀,成堆的尸体
6. catechism教理问答
7. prophet预言者,先知
8. on the run在逃
9. proliferation扩散,繁殖
10. indigenous本土的,土生土张的
11. apocalypse(基督教)启事(录)《圣经新约》
12. be susceptible易受人影响
13. ravage蹂躏,劫掠
14. fatalism宿命论
15. apocalyptic预警的21世纪教育网
16. icon(东正教)圣像
17. doomsday世界末日
18. Jerusalem耶路撒冷,喻:天堂
19. Kenya肯尼亚
20. Nairobi内罗毕,肯尼亚首都
21. mommy嬷嬷=mother
22. repent忏悔
23. Sikh锡克教(信徒)
24. defrock免去…圣职的。这里指:免去圣职的牧师
25. sect宗教小组
26. pose提问
难句译注
1. …the Movement for the restoration of the Ten Commandments of God…
【结构简析】Ten commandments 十戒,是圣经中上帝再西奈山上给予摩西(犹太人的古代领袖)十大行为的神圣准则:
(1) have no other god.
(2) Do not make or warship idols.
(3) Do not take the word of the lord in vain.
(4) Keep the Sabbath holy.
(5) Honor one’s father and mother.
(6) Do not kill.
(7) Do not commit adultery.
(8) Do not steal.
(9) Do not give false evidence.
(10) Do not covet another’s property or wife.
这十戒为犹太教、基督教的教条。
【参考译文】这是乌干达回复上帝十戒运动头目以上帝的名义在2000年屠杀了924名信徒。
2. the 1978 Jonestown mass suicide and killings by followers of American cult leader Jim Jones that claimed 913 lives.
这是指美国的一个邪教组织――人民圣殿教。1978年11月19日教徒在教主Jim Jones的蒙骗或胁迫下在圭亚那集体自杀或扼杀(或强制和下Kool-Aid)或遭袭击而死。人数高达913。此后Jones一词意为残忍的人。杀人的地点就成为Jonestown。
3. they are susceptible to any one who is able to tap into their insecurity.
【参考译文】他们易受任何人的影响,这些人能利用他们不安的情绪。
4. drew on features of Roman Catholicism.
【参考译文】利用罗马天主教义等特点。
写作方法与文章大意
文章以因果写作方法,先提出各种邪教残害的人数,然后一一点出邪教兴起的原因:人民贫穷、艾滋病之猖獗,为宿命论提供了温床。加上邪教头目种种欺骗手段:如世界末日来临利用一些正教教义或以基督、圣母玛利亚的身份出现控制、麻木信徒,一旦欺骗手段暴露信徒就惨遭杀害。
答案详解
1. A 许多人由于要归还他们的财产而遭到杀害。答案见第二段倒数第二句,这一对邪教领袖曾预言世界将于1999年12月31日借宿――世界末日来临。结果并没有发生,追随者就要求归还他们在入教时献上的一切,而遭到有计划有步骤地杀害。B. 他们发现邪教头目欺骗他们。这只是起因之一,如果发现后不吭声也许不会遭劫。C.他们对邪教失去了信任。D. 他们愿意去死。21世纪教育网
2. A 贫穷。主要原因就是穷。答案见第四段。许多专家认为非洲之艰苦生活促使人民在邪教中寻找希望。这些邪教群体之兴起就是因为贫穷。人民没有支柱、保障,很容易受影响。任何人都可利用他们不安的情绪。其次艾滋病在东非之猖獗,培育出宿命论观点,从而帮助预示可怕事情即将来临的思想扎根于心灵。B.不安全。C.艾滋病。D.宿命论。
3. C 她预言世界末日。A.她预言世界将遭水淹。B.她预言世界将烧光。D.她预言她的追随者将死于信仰。
4. B 他们把基督教会视为西方的或非非洲的而拒之门外。见第五段:有些非洲人在把基督教会视作西方的或非非洲的而拒之门外后皈依邪教。A.认为基督教非常沉闷单调。C.他们易受影响。D.他们是一伙危险人物。
5. A 邪教行动神秘。例:第一段中描述的好几百乌干达邪教组织成员死于初看好像是自杀性的火焰之中(自焚),在一个场院诱发现了153具尸体,在搜查邪教头目的房子中又发现了156具尸体,许多埋于房子的混凝土地板下面,还有好几十具从邪教成员家中挖出,其中有些人被毒死。其他,特别是孩子都是扼杀(窒息而死)。共计924人,至少有530人烧死在封闭的教堂里。倒数第三段,乌干达世界末日邪教一个头目――免去圣职的牧师,据说80年代中他研究神学,他告诉邻居他在家挖一个地窖放冰箱。现在警察发现地板下81具尸体,附近一场地74具尸体。上述两例都是神秘杀害,至于要归还财产之人更遭神秘杀害了。B.政府官员没有看出邪教的危险性(原因之一)。C.没有防范措施。D.人民害怕
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