Disease, poverty, hate, love－Charles Dickens’ stories opened his readers eyes to
题型：不详难度：来源：
Disease, poverty, hate, love－Charles Dickens’ stories opened his readers eyes to the most important themes of his age. Two hundred years on, his stories still speak volumes across the world, proving that Dickens’ legacy（遗产） was far greater that just “great-literature”.
February 7 marks the 200th anniversary of the writer’s birthday. To mark this date, BBC writer Alex Hudson listed six things Dickens gave the modern world. Let’s take a look at two of them.
A White Christmas
Dickens is described as “the man who invented Christmas” － not the religious festival, but the cultural aspects that we associate with the festive season today.
In the early 19th century, Christmas was barely worth mentioning, according to critic and writer Leigh Hunt. The committee which ran the Conservative Party even held ordinary business meetings on Christmas Day－unthinkable in the West nowadays, when everyone but the most necessary workers takes at least three days off.
Many people believe that Dickens’ popular descriptions of the festive period became a blueprint for generations to come. In his classic novel, A Christmas Carol, he not only put forward the idea of snow at Christmas, but also painted a picture of glowing warmth－“home enjoyments, affections and hopes”.
In his biography of Dickens, Peter Ackroyd wrote: “Dickens can be said to have almost single-handedly created the modern idea of Christmas.”
“Dickens” poverty
Dickens was one of the first to take an honest look at the underclass and the poor of Victorian London.
He helped popularize the term “red tape” to describe situations where people in power use needless amounts of bureaucracy(官僚作风) in a way that particularly hurts the weaker and poorer members of society.
“Dickensian” has now become a powerful word for describing an unacceptable level of poverty. In 2009, when the president of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers in the UK wanted to talk about poverty in some areas of Britain, she did not use words like “terrible” or “horrific”, but rather described it as “life mirroring the times of Dickens”.
小题1:The article is mainly about .| A．a brief introduction to Charles Dickens’ | | B．Charles Dickens’ impact on the world | | C．the characters in Charles Dickens’ stories | | D．Charles Dickens’ achievements in literature |
小题2:Why is Dickens’ called “the man who invented Christmas”?| A．Because he created both religious and culture festival. | | B．Because his novels have something to do with Christmas. | | C．Because one of his novels helped to shape Christmas celebrations. | | D．Because he was the first man to have proposed celebrating Christmas. |
小题3:We can learn from the passage that .| A．Charles Dickens’ novels reflect the true life at his age | | B．Dickensian is widely used to describe the Christmas | | C．Every person can take three days off for Christmas | | D．The theme of Charles Dickens’ stories is about poverty |
小题4:According to the passage the phrase “red tape” refers to .| A．regulations that are required to finish a task | | B．a situation where poor members of society are hurt | | C．conflict between people in power and weaker people | | D．agreements made by the underclass of society |
|
答案
小题1:B
小题2:C
小题3:A
小题4:C |
解析
小题1:主旨大意题。本文主要讲的是狄更斯对整个世界的影响，故选B。
小题2:细节题。由第五段“he not only put forward the idea of snow at Christmas, but also painted a picture of glowing (炽热的) warmth – “home enjoyments, affections and hopes”.”以及第六段“Dickens can be said to have almost single-handedly created the modern idea of Christmas.”可知答案为C。
小题3:细节题。由Dickens was one of the first to take an honest look at the underclass and the poor of Victorian London.可知选A。
小题4:推断词义题。由倒数第二段“He helped popularize the term “red tape” to describe situations where people in power use needless amounts of bureaucracy (官僚作风) in a way that particularly hurts the weaker and poorer members of society.”可知red tape的意思是官方办事时的繁文缛节，所以C项为最佳选项。 |
举一反三
Obama Still Smokes in Secret
US President Barack Obama has just made life more difficult for cigarette makers. He has just signed a law that will set tough new rules for the tobacco industry. The new law gives the US Food and Drug Administration the power to strictly limit the making and marketing of tobacco products.
At a White House signing ceremony Monday, Obama said that he was among the nearly 90% of smokers who took up the habit before their 18 th birthday.
Obama, who has publicly struggled to give up smoking, said he still hadn’t completely kicked the habit. Every now and then he still smokes in secret.
“As a former smoker I struggle with it all the time. Do I still smoke sometimes? Yes. Am I a daily smoker, a constant smoker? No.” Obama said at a news conference.
“I don" t do it in front of my lads．I don ?t do it in front of my family．I would say that I am 95% cured, but there are times when I mess up, " he said．
"Once you go down this path, it" s something you continually struggle with, which is exactly why the law is so important．The new law is not about me, it" s about the next generation of kids coming up．What we don " t want is kids going down that path," he said．
Nearly 20% of Americans smoke and tobacco use kills about 440,000 people a year in the United States due to cancer, heart disease, and other serious diseases．
小题1:The new law makes life difficult for .| A．Obama | | B．tobacco industry | | C．White House | | D．US Food and Drug Administration |
小题2:What do we know about Obama?| A．He no longer smokes． | | B．He still smokes as usual． | | C．He began to smoke at eighteen． | | D．He is trying hard to give up smoking． |
小题3:According to the passage, Obama is most concerned about ．| A．children | B．officials | C．his family | D．Businessmen |
|
He was a hero that saved two children from the jaws of a cougar(美洲狮). Standing barely 1.7 meters, the 22-year-old with black-frame glasses might pass more for a Chinese Harry Potter. Yet Shen Huigang is now getting recognition for his bravery in fighting off a cougar on Vancouver Island, Canada, during a family outing. Shen, also known as Ian, was then an exchange student. With him was a friend, Myles Hagar, and Hagar’s two grandchildren. Silently and suddenly a cougar appeared out of nowhere. By the time they spotted the cat, it already had the head of 18-month-old Julien in its mouth.
“At first, my brain was nothing but blank,” Shen recalled. “But I believed I could get the child back.” He gestured as if he were ready for a fight, and tried to scare the beast off with his bag. Hearing the noise Shen made, the animal dropped the baby and Hagar rushed to grab his grandson. But the animal didn’t run, instead turned toward 3-year-old Iris standing beside Shen. “Had Ian not been there, shouting at the cougar, remaining calm and standing firm, it would certainly have attacked Iris.” Hagar recalled.
They chased the animal back into the woods. “We moved slowly to our vehicle as we waved our fists and bags, pretending to wrestle it,” Shen said. “The vehicle wasn’t far away but it felt like it took us a century to travel the short journey.” As Hagar drove for help, Shen held the heavily-bleeding boy in the passenger seat and calmly kept him awake by hugging and kissing him in case he would go into a coma(昏迷). The boy was flown to a hospital nearby. Doctors later said his little skull had been punctured(刺穿) through to his brain in two places. Luckily, Julien made a full recovery.
“Any hesitation, even a second delay, would have resulted in certain death for Julien, but Ian was there…” Hagar said. Following the incident, the story appeared on Canadian TV networks in every city, and in many small town newspapers---plus many US Internet news sites. The Royal Canadian Humane Association planned to give Shen a Canada Bravery Award, but it couldn’t reach him because he had returned to China.
小题1:Why did the cougar drop the baby?| A．Because it was scared by the noise made by Ian’s shouting. | | B．Because Hagar rushed to grab the baby from its jaws. | | C．Because it wanted to attack Iris and took her away. | | D．Because Hagar and Ian were chasing it back into the woods. |
小题2:Which of the following statements about Shen Huigang is TRUE?| A．He was called Chinese Harry Potter because he was very brave. | | B．His deed was spread both in Canada and the US. | | C．He was better at fighting and wrestling compared with Hagar. | | D．He was too shocked to move to the vehicle in the incident. |
小题3:What did Ian do in the car to keep the baby awake?| A．He held, hugged and kissed the baby in the passenger seat. | | B．He drove the car as quickly as possible to find a hospital. | | C．He encouraged the baby telling him to be awake. | | D．He held the heavily- bleeding wound of the baby. |
小题4:Which of the following can be the best title for this passage?| A．Saving Lives From the Jaws of Death | | B．Experiencing a Family Outing | | C．Taking Care of Two Children | | D．Interviewing a Clever Young Student |
|
A businessman was on a business trip to Tokyo（东京）. One day he went to buy some gifts for his employees (雇员) back in his country. He entered a supermarket. A lady smiled and welcomed him. He was very touched, and felt good .Because he was not able to 1 the warmth of her smile, he was watching her as he was 2 . She was giving the same 3 to all the people who walked into the supermarket.
The businessman started thinking if she hated doing the same thing. So he asked, “My dear lady, are you 4 of doing this job?” The lady smiled and said, “No, sir, I have 5 here for the last 10 years and I love my job.” The businessman was surprised and asked, “Why have you stayed here for ten years, and why do you like your job 6 much?” The lady said, “Because I am doing something good for my 7 .” The businessman found this interesting. He asked, “Why?” The lady said, “As most of our customers are 8 , they spend foreign currency（货币） here. So our country has a lot of money and becomes richer. People who are happy with our service will __9___ more often and spend more money in our country.”
Surprised by her 10 , the businessman thanked her. After returning to his own country he worked hard to introduce the same attitude (态度) to his workers, and today his company is one of the best companies in the world.
| 小题1: | | A．require | B．enjoy | C．hide | D．forget |
|
| 小题2: | | A．traveling | B．working | C．singing | D．shopping |
|
| 小题3: | | A．feeling | B．smile | C．warmth | D．watching |
|
| 小题4: | | A．fond | B．tired | C．proud | D．afraid |
|
| 小题5: | | A．stood | B．learned | C．worked | D．lived |
|
| 小题7: | | A．home | B．country | C．supermarket | D．boss |
|
| 小题8: | | A．millionaires | B．managers | C．strangers | D．foreigners |
|
| 小题9: | | A．sing | B．visit | C．talk | D．save |
|
| 小题10: | | A．action | B．service | C．attitude | D．help |
|
|
A farmer had a cow.
A farmer had a cow. He took very good care of this cow and one day when it was ill, he was very worried. He telephoned the vet.
“What’s the problem?” The vet asked him when he arrived.
“My cow’s ill,” the farmer said. “I don’t know what"s the matter with her. She’s lying down and won’t eat. She’s making a strange noise.”
The vet looked over the cow. "She’s certainly ill," he said, "and she needs to take some very strong medicine."
He took a bottle out of his box, put two pills into his hand and said, "Give her these. The pills should make her better."
“How should I give them to her?” the farmer asked.
The vet gave him a tube (管子)and said, "Put this tube in her mouth, then put the pills in the tube and blow（吹）. That’ll make it."
The next day the vet came to the farm again. The farmer was sitting outside his house and looked more worried.
“How’s your cow?” the vet asked.
“No change,” the farmer said, “and I’m feeling very strange myself.”
“Oh?” the vet said, "Why?"
“I did what you said,” the farmer answered. “I put the tube in the cow’s mouth and then put two pills down it.”
“And?” the vet asked.
“The cow blew first,” the farmer said.
小题1:The farmer asked the vet for help when his cow _______| A．couldn"t lie down | B．didn"t eat the pills | C．couldn"t make any noise | D．was ill |
小题2:What medicine did the vet give the farmer?| A．A bottle of pills. | B．A long tube. | C．Two pills. | D．A small box. |
小题3:The vet taught the farmer how _________.| A．to blow the tube | B．to make the cow take the pills | | C．to take the medicine | D．to put the tube in his mouth |
小题4:Which of the following is true?| A．The farmer ate the pills himself. | | B．The cow got better after taking the medicine. | | C．The vet came to help the farmer change the cow the next day. | | D．The farmer was working outside his house the next day. |
|
Minh Pham was born in Vietnam. He left there when he was 21 years old. Minh has been in America for almost two years. There is still much he does not understand about America.
Once, Minh was in a supermarket. He saw an old man and an old woman. They wanted a box of cereal（麦片）.The box was on a high shelf. The man and the woman couldn’t reach it. Minh saw a stepladder. He got on the ladder and got the box. He handed it to the elderly couple. They thanked him.
“Where are your children?” asked Minh. “Why don’t they help you buy food?” “Our children have their own lives,” said the man and the woman. “We like to be independent.” Minh doesn’t think this is right. In his country, children help their parents. Minh gave the elderly couple his phone number. He told them to call him if they needed help. One night they asked Minh to dinner, but they never asked him for help.
One day, Minh was walking with a Vietnamese friend. The two men were going to a movie. Minh wanted to go to a restaurant first. Minh took his friend’s hand. He pulled him towards the restaurant. People on the street stared at Minh. In Vietnam, friends often hold hands. Minh found that the people in America are not used to men holding hands.
Minh Pham is going through a process（过程） known as resocialization. Socialization（社会化） is the process in which a person learns to live in a society. Everyone goes through this process. Minh went through it when he lived in Vietnam. But the Vietnamese way of life is rather different from the American way of life. When Minh came to America, he had to learn a new way of life. He had to learn how to live in a new society. Minh has learned a lot about American life in two years. He still has a lot to learn. The process of resocialization can take many years.
小题1:The main idea of the passage is that socialization is the way in which a person ______.| A．learns to live in a society | | B．travels from one country to another | | C．learns to act independently | | D．learns about their country |
小题2:The passage states that Minh didn’t understand why the elderly man and woman were not ______.| A．helped by their children | B．shopping for their children | | C．holding hands | D．using a stepladder |
小题3:According to the passage, socialization happens to ______.| A．only the Vietnamese in America | B．only Americans | | C．only older people | D．everyone |
小题4:The underlined word “resocialization” means ______.| A．keeping one’s own way of life | | B．keeping up with others | | C．a process of learning how to live in a new society | | D．understanding a new culture |
|
最新试题
热门考点