16

语篇提能阅读理解ATherearemanyidiomsinEnglish.Anidiomisaphrasethatwecan'tunderstandfromthemeaningofeachword.Thefollowingaresomeofthem.AsthecrowfliesWhenabirdfliesfromplacetoplace,ittakesthemostdirectroute.Butwhenpeopledrive,theyhavetofollowroadsandoftengofarther.Whenpeoplegiveadistance“asthecrowflies”，theymeantheshortestdistancebetweenthetwopoints,notthedistanceyouwouldhavetotravelbyfollowingroads.AsDanandhismomdrovealongtheriver,theycouldseethebeachontheoppositeside.Danasked,“Howfarisittothebeach？”“It'sonlyaboutaquarterofamileasthecrowflies，”hismothersaid.BlowhotandcoldInoneofAesop'sFables,amanblowsonhisfingerstowarmthemupandthenblowsonhissouptocoolitdown.Inbothcases,themanisopeninghismouth,butwhatcomesoutisverydifferent.Ifapersonsaysonethingandlatersaystheopposite,wesaythatthepersonisblowinghotandcold.“IsFeliciagoingtotryoutforthesoccerteamthisyear？”Stacyasked.“Idon'tknow，”Triciareplied.“Lastweekshewassayingyes,butthisweekshe'ssayingno.She'sreallyblowinghotandcold.”BreaktheiceNowadayspeopleusethephrasetorefertoendinganawkwardsilencebybeginningaconversation.Itwasthefirstdayofsummercamp.Thefourgirlsbegantomaketheirbedsinsilence.Noneofthegirlskneweachother,andnooneknewwhattosay.Finally,oneofthembroketheicebysaying,“Hey,where'severybodyfrom？”BurythehatchetInNativeAmericanculture,whentwonationsagreedtoendtheirwar,theyburiedthehatchet.Sotoburythehatchetistomakepeacewithsomeoneelse.Colincouldnotexcusehissisterforbreakinghistennisracket.Finally,hissistersaid,“Colin,can'tweburythehatchet？”语篇解读本文是说明文。文章介绍了几个有趣的英语习语。1．Whatdoes“asthecrowflies”mean?A.Inthesmoothestway.B.Byplane.C.Inastraightline.D.Attopspeed.答案与解析C细节理解题。由Asthecrowflies中的“Whenabirdfliesfromplacetoplace,ittakesthemostdirectroute”和“theymeantheshortestdistancebetweenthetwopoints”可知，asthecrowflies指“直线距离”。2．“Blowhotandcold”canbeusedtotalkaboutsomeone's________.A.poorhealthB.badmannersC.communicationskillsD.changingattitudes答案与解析D细节理解题。由Blowhotandcold中的“Ifapersonsaysonethingandlatersaystheopposite”和例子中的“Lastweekshewassayingyes,butthisweekshe'ssayingno”可知，blowhotandcold用来形容“态度变来变去”。3．Whenthefourgirlsweremakingtheirbedsinsilence,theyprobablyfelt________.A.shyB.disappointedC.excitedD.curious答案与解析A推理判断题。由Breaktheice中的“...endinganawkwardsilencebybeginningaconversation”以及例子给出的语境可知A项正确。BTheEnglishlanguagestartedabout1,500yearsagoinEngland.Threegroupsofpeoplecametothecountry.TheyweretheAngles,theSaxons,andtheJutes.ThesethreegroupsbroughttheirlanguageswiththemtoEngland.Aftersometime,thethreelanguagesbecameonenewlanguage—English.Thename“English”comesfromtheAngles.TheylivedinmostofEngland.“England”means“AngleLand”or“CountryoftheAngle”．Thelanguagethatwespeaktoday—ModernEnglishisnotthesameastheEnglishthatpeopleused1,500yearsago,includingOldEnglish(before1150)andMiddleEnglish(uptill1500).Thatlanguage—OldEnglishsoundsdifferent,andithassomedifferentrulesofgrammar.TherewereonlyafewthousandwordsinOldEnglish.ButModernEnglishdoescomefromOldEnglish,anditisstilllikeitinmanyimportantways.4．WhendidModernEnglishstart?A.Abouttheyear1150.B.Betweenthe12thcenturyandthe16thcentury.C.Beforetheyear1500.D.Inabouttheyear1500.答案与解析D推理判断题。根据第二段第一句可知，古英语结束的时间就是现代英语开始的时间，而据文章中所说古英语持续到1500年，故现代英语应该在大约1500年开始的。5．Accordingtothepassage,ModernEnglishisdifferentfromOldEnglishin________.A.grammarB.pronunciationC.vocabularyD.alloftheabove答案与解析D细节理解题。根据第二段第二、三句“Thatlanguage—OldEnglishsoundsdifferent,andithassomedifferentrulesofgrammar.TherewereonlyafewthousandwordsinOldEnglish.”可知现代英语与古英语在发音、语法规则和词汇量等方面不同。6．Wecaninferfromthepassagethat________.A.ModernEnglishhasmorewordsthanOldEnglishB.ModernEnglishhasnothingtodowithOldEnglishC.ModernEnglishhasavocabularytwiceasOldEnglishD.thereisnodifferencebetweenOldEnglishandMiddleEnglish答案与解析A推理判断题。根据最后一段倒数第二句“TherewereonlyafewthousandwordsinOldEnglish.”可知现代英语比古英语的词汇量要大。7．Whichofthefollowingtellsthemainideaofthepassage?A.TheEnglishlanguage.B.ThehistoryofEnglish.C.WhereEnglishcomesfrom.D.ThedifferencesbetweenModernEnglishandOldEnglish.答案与解析B主旨大意题。综合全文内容可知，本文主要讲述了英语的历史。而A项太广泛；C和D则只概括了文章的一部分，故选B项。