Unit 2 Poems
阅读理解(共两节,满分40分)
第一节(共15小题;每小题2分,满分30分)
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出最佳选项。
A
★★☆☆☆
Joanna Cole is the author of a wealth of children’s books on various subjects. Cole’s fertile imagination has provided beginning readers with jokes and puzzles, humorous tales of the Clown-Around family, and books about science. The winner of countless awards, Cole follows her own widespread interests to write. She is credited with introducing the interesting world of science to young readers through her book series such as the hugely popular “Magic School Bus” books, which inspired its own television program. A careful researcher, Cole is praised for her scientific accuracy, but her books gain most of their effectiveness from her humor and easily understood explanations of difficult technical subjects.
Cole first discovered the pleasure of writing when she was in grade school. “I discovered in the fifth grade what I liked to do: write reports and stories, make them interesting and draw pictures to go along with the words. Science was my favorite. Our teacher, Miss Bair, would ask us to read a science book every
15
week. And each week, she would choose one student to do an experiment and report on it to the class. I would have done an experiment every week if she had let me. Grade school was much more influential than my later education. Maybe that’s why as an adult I ended up writing books for children.”
After graduating from the City College of New York, Cole pursued (追求) her interest in books. After some graduate education courses, she spent a year as a librarian in a Brooklyn elementary school. Cole then became an editor at Scholastic. It was during her first job at the elementary school that she was inspired by an article about cockroaches (蟑螂) in The Wall Street Journal. Realizing that this was a subject she had never read about in school, Cole decided to write about it herself. The first publisher rejected the idea, but Cole had more luck when she sent her book to the publishing house of William Morrow, where Editor Connie C. Epstein helped her improve her skills in science writing. Beginning with that book, Cole has continued to pen both nonfiction and fiction for younger readers. In 1980, after ten years’ editing children’s books, she became a full-time writer.
21. We can learn from the text that Joanna Cole _____.
A. writes various books for adults
B. is good at getting science across to readers
C. is teaching science at an elementary school
D. received many awards for her scientific achievement
22. Joanna Cole’s attitude towards scientific experiments can be described as _____.
A. uncaring B. cautious
C. unfavorable D. enthusiastic
23. Which is the correct order of the following events related to Joanna Cole?
a. She worked as a librarian.
b. She became a full-time writer.
c. She discovered the pleasure of writing.
d. She studied in the City College of New York.
e. She sent her book to the publishing house of William Morrow.
15
A. c-d-a-b-e B. c-d-a-e-b
C. d-c-a-b-e D. d-a-c-e-b
24. Which of the following best describes Joanna Cole?
A. Talented and creative.
B. Popular but unhappy.
C. Serious and honest.
D. Friendly but strict.
B
★★★☆☆
Dear Allen,
I am delighted to learn that this year’s assessment of my performance is very positive. I enjoy working for Sunflower Corporation and will continue to serve the firm to the best of my ability.
In the light of this positive assessment, I would like to request a promotion (提拔) from my present position as Acting Director to that of full Director to be considered. I think there should also be a pay increase involved in this promotion.
As you know, I came to the Training and Development Department five years ago. Over the past five years, I have taken on the responsibilities of the department as the Acting Director. I have tried to improve the existing training courses to ensure (确保) a systematic training program. I have also taken steps to enrich our training courses even though this was not part of the job requirements. For example, I led a team in designing several training courses using detailed training material. Two of the programs, such as, “The Mystery of Leadership” and “Striving for Excellence”, enable us to offer 12 additional training courses. These programs help meet the needs of staff from all levels and practices within the firm.
As you also know, I founded and lead our campus recruitment (招聘) program — “Sunflower Management Trainee Program”, which is widely recognized in many universities.
15
Needless to say, I very much enjoy my present job. However, the above projects are beyond the original job description. They require me to spend extra hours and take additional responsibilities in order to ensure their proper implementation (实施).
Given my positive performance and the additional effort I have made, I would very much appreciate your consideration in reviewing my official position with the company, along with a pay increase.
Thank you for your attention and I look forward to your favorable reply.
Your sincerely,
Thomas
25. We know from the text that the author _____.
A. has done a good job this year
B. is satisfied with the present pay
C. wants to work in other departments
D. dislikes his position in the company
26. What do we know about the training courses designed by the author?
A. They are satisfying and successful.
B. They are within the author’s duties.
C. They fail to meet the needs of staff.
D. They are not well received in the company.
27. The letter was written to _____.
A. report on the work
B. ask for promotion and a pay rise
C. complain about working overtime
D. provide some suggestions on work
C
★★★★☆
In a Station of the Metro
The apparition of these faces in the crowd;
15
Petals on a wet, black bough.
This is the only Ezra Pound poem that many people will read in their lives. Why? One obvious reason is that it’s just two lines long. The poem, which can be understood as “A man sees a bunch of faces in the subway and thinks they look like flowers on a tree branch,” is an exercise in shortness. Pound wrote it after having a spiritual experience in a Paris metro (subway) station.
In 1916, the US poet originally thought he could best describe his vision in a painting. Unfortunately, he wasn’t a painter. So he wrote a thirty-line poem, which he didn’t like. He dropped the long version in the waste bin. Six months later, he wrote a shorter poem, but didn’t like that one either. Finally, a full year after the experience, he had been reading short Japanese poems called haikus, and he figured he would try this style. The result, which was published in 1913, is one of the most famous and influential works in modern poetry.
This poem is one of the monuments (纪念物) of the 20th-century artistic movement known as “Imagism”. Basically, Pound and his friends thought that images (意象) weren’t just decoration: they were the highest form of speech. By finding the right image, the poet can express the true, spiritual reality of a thing, which is more important than using a bunch of adjectives to describe its physical appearance. Thus, “In a Station of the Metro” is a poem that consists of one image expressed with absolute (绝对的) exactness and nothing else.
To the imagists, the best way to describe an experience is not to use more and more words; the best way is to find exactly the right words. Have you ever told a beloved one that “words can’t express” how much you love them? Well, Pound would say that you’re just being lazy. In his view, words can express anything, even if it takes an entire year to find the right ones.
28. In the short poem, Ezra Pound _____.
A. tells us one of his painful experiences
B. compares the passengers’ faces to flowers
C. describes a man walking among the crowd
D. shows a wet, black tree branch in a metro station
15
29. According to the text, “In a Station of the Metro” was _____.
A. based on one of Pound’s paintings
B. first discovered in a waste bin
C. influenced by haikus
D. completed in 1916
30. Pound and his friends _____.
A. stressed the importance of using adjectives
B. were good at describing abstract images
C. decorated their poems with pictures
D. used images to express their ideas
31. Pound would probably think one’s hard efforts to find a single right word was _____.
A. a bit ridiculous
B. very worrying
C. rather surprising
D. really worthwhile
D
★★★★☆
15
“A serious attack on the fairy tale as children’s literature (文学) comes from those who don’t wish children to be frightened,” writes C.S. Lewis in an essay.
Those who say that children must not be frightened mean two things. First, they mean that we mustn’t do anything likely to make children frightened. Secondly, they want to keep out of their minds the fact that they are born into a world of death, violence, pain, and adventure. C.S. Lewis says he agrees with the first reason, but not the second.
He comments that “since it is so likely that they will meet cruel enemies, let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage. By limiting your child to blameless stories of child life in which nothing at all alarming ever happens, you would fail to drive away the terrors, but would succeed in driving away all that can make them brave.”
I love the story about St. George. It may be hard to find, but make an effort to make your children familiar with St. George and the Dragon by Margaret Hodges to see the best of this tale. It is a successful adaptation (改写本) from Spenser’s Faierie Queen. It begins with “In the days when monsters and giants and fairy folk lived in England, a noble knight was riding across the plain ...” It’s a keeper, if you can find one to buy.
Bruno Bettelheim, a well-known child psychologist, also comments that fairy tales provide children with an invaluable education. He believes that all children have a rich supply of personal fantasies filled with fears and anxieties and that fairy tales comfort them and offer solutions. Happy endings tell them that solutions and hope are real and model the kind of happy life children want to find.
A good fantasy suggests rather than tells possible answers to life. I believe that reading fantasy literature quickens the ability to transfer (转移) ideas from tales to reality. It’s what good literature does — it makes life larger.
32. C.S. Lewis may probably agree that _____.
A. children shouldn’t be exposed to death or violence
B. children should be brave and have rich imagination
15
C. children shouldn’t be allowed to read frightening stories
D. children should read fairy tales to learn about the real world
33. What do we know about St. George and the Dragon?
A. It is worth keeping.
B. It was written by Spenser.
C. It tells a beautiful love story.
D. It is difficult for children to read.
34. In the text, Bruno Bettelheim believes that fairy tales _____.
A. show what happy life is
B. are filled with fears and pain
C. cause children too much anxiety
D. teach children how to solve problems
35. What would be the best title for the text?
A. What books children should read
B. Whether people should read fairy tales
C. How parents should choose books for kids
D. Why reading fantasy literature matters to children
第二节(共5小题;每小题2分,满分10分)
根据短文内容,从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
Why should we get an education?
Education is the process of learning and knowing, which is not limited to our school textbooks. It is a process that continues through our life. Even the regular happenings and events around us educate us, in one way or another. 36
Education makes better citizens. Education makes a worthy contribution to our lives, by making us responsible citizens. We get to know our history and culture through education. Education opens our minds. 37 There is no doubt that an educated person is a better citizen.
Education ensures a productive (富有成效的) future. Education ensures that the one who receives good education gets a safe future. 38 We find ourselves
15
in the most competitive jobs. The importance of education is obvious by the heights we achieve in life.
Education helps in decision-making. 39 We have to take decisions throughout our lives and sometimes, decision-making can be a very challenging process. Education is important, because it enables us to take the right decisions and prevent losses.
40 An educated person is a confident person. Education allows us to believe in ourselves. Self-belief is the most wanted quality in a human being and education leads us towards relying on ourselves, making us believe that we are ready to take on the world.
A. Education spreads awareness.
B. Education increases confidence.
C. Decision-making is an essential part of our life.
D. This article discusses the importance of education in our lives.
E. An educated person will find it easier to understand a different point of view.
F. Our productivity is increased by acquiring new skills and talents through education.
G. It enables us to understand our duties as citizens and encourages us to follow them.
第三部分:语言知识运用(共两节,满分45分)
第一节:完形填空(共20小题;每小题1.5分,满分30分)
阅读下面短文,从短文后各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。
★★★★☆
Many historians and scientists believe that the earliest people in North America may have traveled here from the continent of Asia many thousands of years ago. At that time, Earth was 41 the Ice Age. Much of the water that separates the northern parts of Asia and North America would have been 42 at the time. It may have 43 an ice bridge that people were able to walk across. Perhaps they were hunters following their food. Perhaps they were adventurous and wanted to 44
15
. Their migration (移居) to North America may make them the 45 of the people we call Native Americans.
We know that the 46 North Americans were nomads (游牧民族). They traveled from place to place 47 settling in one place. Eventually, these nomads began to establish permanent 48 . They had learned to gather plants growing in the wild. After a time, they began to learn about 49 . Agriculture is raising plants and animals for human use. With more reliable 50 for food, they didn’t need to move around so much.
As they began to look for more 51 homes, they paid attention to the resources of specific locations. They wanted to 52 near water sources, such as streams or rivers. This helped ensure that they could 53 their crops and take care of the water needs of humans and animals. It’s not surprising to discover that most early villages were 54 very close to water sources.
People moved around less often than before. 55 , they were still slowly migrating to other 56 . Every time they moved into a 57 natural environment they had to 58 the climate and resources of that area. The clothing they wore, the kind of houses they built and even the kind of food they ate 59 the area where they lived. Over time, four major cultural areas 60 in North America: the Eastern Woodlands, the Great Plains, the Pacific Northwest, and the Desert Southwest.
41. A. discovering B. escaping C. experiencing D. causing
42. A. warm B. frozen C. deep D. clean
43. A. shown B. broken C. ruined D. formed
44. A. practise B. explore C. learn D. sail
45. A. ancestors B. relatives C. friends D. neighbors
15
46. A. smartest B. earliest C. laziest D. bravest
47. A. except for B. because of C. instead of D. thanks to
48. A. settlements B. trust C. relations D. trade
49. A. advertisement B. construction C. industry D. agriculture
50. A. basis B. efforts C. sources D. beliefs
51. A. permanent B. satisfying C. beautiful D. useful
52. A. relax B. live C. work D. play
53. A. harvest B. offer C. study D. water
54. A. displayed B. expected C. located D. presented
55. A. However B. Therefore C. Otherwise D. Anyway
56. A. countries B. continents C. grasslands D. areas
57. A. different B. similar C. normal D. serious
58. A. look at B. deal with C. be careful about D. get used to
59. A. gave away B. took on C. relied on D. differed from
15
60. A. spread B. developed C. faded D. disappeared
第Ⅱ卷
第三部分:语言知识运用(共两节,满分45分)
第二节(共10小题;每小题1.5分,满分15分)
阅读下面材料,在空白处填入适当的内容(不多于3个单词)或括号内单词的正确形式。
Billy and Mike are having a hutong tour in a pedicab (三轮车).
Billy: It is really quiet here in the hutongs. I feel as if I 61. ________ (be) in a different world.
Mike: Yes, people living in hutongs are away from the hustle and bustle (拥挤喧嚣) of the streets outside. They lead 62. ________ simple and peaceful life in the courtyards (院子).
Billy: Yesterday I read a book that said the siheyuan was just like a “box”, 63. ________ the whole family lived. I wonder how they could get the daily necessities while 64. ________ (live) away from the outside world.
Mike: In the past, there were many venders (小贩) selling vegetables, eggs, fruits and other things in the hutongs. 65. ________ was very convenient for the people who lived there to do shopping. They could get 66. ________ they needed without walking out of the neighborhood. However, the “hutong culture” was 67. ________ (eventual) replaced by the multi-storey apartment building.
Billy: Now I know why people say the hutongs witnessed the 68. ________ (tradition) way of living in Beijing. Have you ever lived in a hutong?
Mike: Yes, I lived here when I was a little child. Later my family moved away and into an apartment near my school.
Billy: You must miss the life here a lot.
Mike: Yes! I love the way of living here 69. ________ particular. If I hadn’t moved, my life in childhood 70. ________ (be) more interesting.
Billy: Maybe you can come back after you retire.
Mike: I hope so.
15
第四部分:写作(共两节,满分35分)
第一节:短文改错(共10小题;每小题1分,满分10分)
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文,请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误,每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加:在缺词处加一个漏字符号(∧),并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除:把多余的词用斜线(\)划掉。
修改:在错的词下划一横线,并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意:1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词;2. 只允许修改10处,多者(从第11处起)不计分。
Last Friday, my class took part in the meaningful and challenging course. Early in the morning, we got to an Outward Bound centre. Upon arrive, we were divided into several groups and our coach introduces the course to us. Shortly afterwards, we got involved in various activity. One of them was jumping across a broken bridge. I was afraid at first, so with the encourage of the coach, I finally made it. That impressed me most was climbing over a wall to “escape”. We helped each one another and all of us managed to “survive”. Before we left the centre, we had a photo taking to record the unforgettable experience, which gave us good chance to build up courage and improve our teamwork spirit.
第二节:书面表达(满分25分)
假设你是李华。你的外国笔友丽莎(Lisa)最近读了中国古诗《悯农》(Sympathy for the peasants),她对这首诗不是太理解,写信希望你能帮助解读一下这首诗。请你用英语给她回一封信,谈谈你对这首诗的理解。
注意:词数100左右(开头已给出,但不计入总词数)。
Dear Lisa,
I learned from your letter that you read the Chinese poem Sympathy for the peasants but couldn’t make good sense of it.
15
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
参考答案:
21-25 BDBAA 26-30 ABBCD
31-35 DDADD 36-40 DGFCB 41-45 CBDBA
46-50 BCADC 51-55 ABDCA 56-60 DADCB
61. were 62. a 63. where
64. living 65. It 66. what
67. eventually 68. traditional 69. in
70. would / should / could / might have been
短文改错:
71. ... took part in the ... the → a
72. Upon arrive ... arrive → arrival / arriving
73. ... our coach introduces ... introduces → introduced
74. ... in various activity. activity → activities
75. ... so with the ... so → but
76. ... with the encourage ... encourage → encouragement
77. That impressed me ... That → What
78. ... helped each one another ... 去掉each
79. ... had a photo taking ... taking → taken
80. ... which gave us good ... good前加a
One possible version:
Dear Lisa,
15
I learned from your letter that you read the Chinese poem Sympathy for the peasants but couldn’t make good sense of it. Therefore, I would like to tell you something about it.
The poem was written by Li Shen, a famous poet in the Tang Dynasty. Its theme advocates saving food. In the poem, the poet describes a scene in which a peasant is working hard in the field on a burning hot day and his sweat is pouring onto the field. The poem reflects the hardship of peasants. It praises peasants’ contribution and persuades us not to waste any food. Although it is simple and direct, the language suits its theme.
I’m wondering whether you have a better understanding about the poem. I’m looking forward to your reply.
Yours,
Li Hua
15