閱讀理解（16）

　　A

　　Probably no other musical instrument is as popular around the world as the guitar. Musicians use the guitar for almost every kind of music. Country and western music would not be the same without a guitar. The traditional Spanish folk music called Flamenco could not exist without a guitar. The sound of American blues music would not be the same without the sad cry of the guitar. And rock and roll music would almost be impossible without this instrument.

　　Music experts do not agree about where the guitar first was played. Most agree it is

　　ancient. Some experts say an instrument very much like a guitar was played in Egypt more than 1,000 years ago.

　　Some other experts say that the ancestor of the modern guitar was brought to Spain from Persia sometime in the

　　twelfth century. The guitar continued to develop in Spain. In the 1700s it became similar to the instrument we

　　know today.

　　Many famous musicians played the instrument. The famous Italian violinist Niccolo Paganinni played and

　　wrote music for the guitar in the early 1800s. Franz Schubert used the guitar to write some of his famous works.

　　In modern times Spanish guitarist Andres Segovia helped make the instrument extremely popular.

　　In the 1930s, Les Paul began experimenting with ways to make an electric guitar. He invented the solid body

　　electric guitar in 1946. The Gibson Guitar Company began producing its famous Les Paul Guitar in 1952. It became

　　a powerful influence in popular music. The instrument has the same shape and the same six strings as the traditional guitar, but it sounds very different. Les Paul produced a series of extremely popular recordings that introduced the public to his music. They included Paul playing as many as six musical parts at the same time. Listen to

　　this Les Paul recording. It was the fifth most popular song in the United States in 1952. It is called “Meet Mister

　　Callaghan”．

　　1. The passage is organized in the pattern of________.

　　A. time and events

　　B. comparison and contrast

　　C. cause and effect

　　D. definition and classification

　　2. What can we infer from the first paragraph?

　　A. Music would not be the same without the guitar.

　　B. The choice of musical instrument is important for a band.

　　C. Guitar was the most popular musical instrument in the past.

　　D. Every musician likes playing music with the guitar.

　　3. The passage introduces ________.

　　A. the method of playing the guitar

　　B. the exact time of the guitar's origin

　　C. the way that the guitar is made

　　D. some musicians who play the guitar

　　4. Where could we find the passage?

　　A. In a newspaper.

　　B. On the air.

　　C. In a magazine.

　　D. In a history book.

　　[文章大意]　本文主要介紹了吉他在音樂中的重要性、發展史以及與其相關的音樂家。

　　1. A。推理判斷題。綜觀全文可知本文主要按時間和事件的順序來組織文章的。

　　2. A。推理判斷題。由第一段“Country and western music would not be the same without a guitar. The traditional Spanish folk music called Flamenco could not exist without a guitar. The sound of American blues music would not be the same without the sad cry of the guitar. And rock and roll music would almost be impossible without this instrument.”可推斷出沒有吉他音樂也不一樣了，故選A項。

　　3. D。細節理解題。本文在第三段介紹了一些與吉他有關的音樂家，故選D項。A、C兩項在文中沒提到，B項文中有提及，但沒說具體的時間，故不能選。

　　4. B。推理判斷題。由最后一段倒數第三句“Listen to this Les Paul recording.”可知這篇文章有音樂播放，故很有可能來自廣播。

　　B

　　Thousands of teenagers get their GCSE results today－and the big challenge of finding a job or apprenticeship(學徒身份)

　　begins. Jonathan Kelsall

　　knows how he got his results last summer. “I was really pleased with my results and had already decided what I wanted to do after school－horticulture(園藝學)，”

　　says Jonathan, 17, from Garstang, Lancs.

　　Physical outdoor work was the career he had in mind after growing up. “I chose horticulture and loved it. Every Wednesday I spent the day on a farm, working and learning，” says Jonathan. To get the certificate, Jonathan had to get work experience and contacted local companies begging for a chance.

　　“David Nichols, the owner of the Country Gardener, took me on and that convinced me this was what I wanted to do with my career，” says Jonathan. Last year，Jonathan contacted David again to see if there was any work－and David offered to take him on as a horticultural apprentice.

　　The National Apprenticeship Service has up to 17,000 apprenticeship vacancies available online www. apprenticeships. org. uk. Its executive director David Way says, “GCSE results day can be a really stressful time. The

　　good news is that with ever more apprenticeships there is an increasing range of high-quality options for young people. Apprentices have the opportunity to gain nationally recognised qualifications and paid employment.”

　　Jonathan says, “I love the work. We do everything from maintenance to landscaping.” Jonathan doesn't even mind the winter. “I'd much rather be outdoors than stuck in an office. That would drive me crazy.” And he has got fitter over the past year. “You need to be fit, especially when working with stone or flagstones. That side has definitely made me stronger. And the good news is that with my qualification certificate I can work anywhere.”

　　A college assessor visits every three or four weeks to see how things are going and to go through written work or assignments. “They read through my books where I keep notes and answer any questions. It's nothing at all like school. Everything you're taught is relevant to all the things you're doing.”

　　5. Why did Jonathan choose to be an apprentice?

　　A. To please his parents with hard work.

　　B. To make some pocket money after school.

　　C. To achieve his GCSE result in a different way.

　　D. To get a chance to work in an office of a company.

　　6. To gain a certificate of horticulture，Jonathan should ________.

　　A. look for some gardens and complete some physical work

　　B. get work experience and finish required assignments

　　C. make it a forever career and never have it changed

　　D. love the subject and have it in mind all the time

　　7. Who is David Nichols according to the passage?

　　A. Jonathan's professor and employee.

　　B. Jonathan's school teacher and boss.

　　C. Jonathan's trainer and best friend.

　　D. Jonathan's employer and director.

　　8. What is the advantage of having an apprenticeship?

　　A. It offers teenagers both qualification and jobs.

　　B. It offers parents a right to give children a job.

　　C. It offers apprentice a place to make money.

　　D. It offers employers free employees.

　　[文章大意]　在英國有越來越多的孩子選擇了當學徒，在此期間他們可以為會考的科目做準備，當然他們也要完成與之匹配的作業。而且他們還會有一定的工資。

　　5. C。細節理解題。根據第一段第一句“...get their GCSE results today－and the big challenge of finding a job or apprenticeship...”可知，Jonathan這樣做的目的是為了能用另外一種方式獲得會考的證書。GCSE是英文General Certificate of Secondary Education的簡稱，即英國普通中等教育證書。

　　6. B。推理判斷題。根據第二段第三句中“working and learning”可知這種學習的方式。而本段最后一句中“get work experience”和最后一段第一句話的“through written work or assignments”說明了這一點。

　　7. D。推理判斷題。根據第三段第一句的took me on可知David Nichols是Jonathan的老板，而本段最后一句話的“take him on as a horticultural apprentice”說明David收其為徒。

　　8. A。細節理解題。根據第四段的最后一句話的“...recognised qualifications and paid employment.”可知，當學徒的時候既能學到東西，為自己通過考試做準備，還能獲得工資。

　　C

　　One morning there was a message on the answering machine from an angry customer, complaining about her lack of service－service that had been stopped because her check had bounced(拒付)．

　　As it is my job to handle payments received, it was my duty to collect the check. As is often the case when a check bounces, I soon found that this woman's phone number was no longer in service. A check of the caller I．D. told us the call had come from the manager's office of the apartment building where our customer lived. We left a message with the manager and within the hour our call was returned.

　　I told our customer gently, sympathetically that a check she had written had been returned for lack of funds. I told her I always want to let people know about returned checks quickly because the huge fees the banks charge can cause more checks to be returned and more fees to be charged. I told her I hoped she could contact the bank and get things straightened out before her problems got worse. I also told her, gently once more，that I hated to add to her problems but she would owe us a fee for the returned check because the bank charges us a fee when a check is returned.

　　She told me she had difficulties because of being on a fixed income and being in poor health. She told me she had no children but had raised several that belonged to her husband and after living with him thirty years he had left her for another woman.

　　Finally, after she had promised to pay, I told her not only do I care about her situation, but she taught me something. When a person is angry, there may be reasons you don't know about. If you don't react with anger, you may learn what the real problem is and may in some way be able to help, if only with a little sympathy.

　　1. Why did the author try to call the woman?

　　A. To apologize to her.

　　B. To solve her problem.

　　C. To provide better service.

　　D. To charge for the fees.

　　2. How did the author get in touch with the woman?

　　A. By calling her manager.

　　B. By finding her apartment.

　　C. By leaving a message.

　　D. By contacting the bank.

　　3. What can we learn from the passage?

　　A. The woman's husband passed away and left several children for her.

　　B. The woman had to pay the check as well as a fee for the returned check.

　　C. The author will help the woman overcome her difficulties by paying for her.

　　D. The check written by the woman had been returned because of the wrong number.

　　4. What is the purpose of this text?

　　A. To solve a problem.

　　B. To present a research result.

　　C. To tell an interesting story.

　　D. To conclude a lesson.

　　[文章大意]　本文主要講述了作者如何帶著同情心與客戶談論所欠的債務，從而了解他們的困境。

　　1. D。細節理解題。由第二段第一句“As it is my job to handle

　　payments received，it was my duty to collect the check.”可知作者打電話給這位婦女是為了收取她所欠的費用。

　　2. C。細節理解題。由第二段最后一句“We left a message with

　　the manager and within the hour our call was returned.”可知作者是通過留信息的方法聯系上那位婦女的，故選C項。

　　3. B。推理判斷題。由第三段最后一句“I also told her，gently once

　　more, that I hated to add to her problems but she would owe us a fee

　　for the returned check because the bank charges us a fee when a check

　　is returned.”可知，這位婦女不但要付支票，而且還得付退回支票所收的費用。

　　4. D。主旨大意題。由最后一段作者所得出的結論，可知作者寫這篇文章的主要目的是得出一個經驗教訓，故選D項。

　　D

　　（2024重慶卷 ）

　　There have always been a lot of commonly believed but exercise. Some people believe that they can’t help putting on hold that if they stop exercising, their muscles will turn into fat. Here are some more myths：

　　false ideas about being fat and doing weight as they get older, while others

　　I‘ll never lose weight一I come from a fat family

　　Wrong! While we can’t change the body type we are bom with, we can’t blame our genes for making us fat. There’s plenty of evidence that fatness runs in families, and the main reason is that they

　　share the same habits of eating too much and exercising too little.

　　I am fat because I burn calories slowly

　　Wrong! Fatness is not caused by a slow metabolism(新陳代謝). In fact, although fat people consume more energy than slim people，they also fail to realize how much they eat! Keeping a diary can help you work out your daily food intake more accurately.

　　Exercise is boring

　　Wrong! Anything will become boring if you do it repetitively. The key is to develop a balanced and varied program thafs fun as well as progressive. If you enjoy a Sunday walk，take a different route. If you do yoga，try a tai chi class. If you like swimming, set yourself a distance or time challenge.

　　No pain, no gain

　　Wrong! Exercise is not meant to hurt. Indeed, pain is your body telling you something’s wrong, and continuing to exercise could lead to serious injury. You may experience mild discomfort as you begin to exercise regularly, but this is your body adapting to the positive changes in your lifestyle and the aches should disappear relatively quickly. If they don’t, rest and seek medical advice.

　　40.What does the author think about being fat?

　　A.It is the family genes that make people fat.

　　B.People are fat because they consume too little energy.

　　C.A diary of exercise can prevent people from becoming fat.

　　D.It is the consequence of people’s unbalanced lifestyle.

　　41.According to the author, how can we make exercise more interesting?

　　A.By taking varied exercise.

　　B.By choosing simple exercise.

　　C.By doing regular exercise.

　　D.By sticking to outdoor exercise.

　　42.What is the author’s opinion about “No pain, no gain” in exercising?

　　A.Keeping fit is essentially a painful experience.

　　B.Exercise should be stopped if continuous pain is felt.

　　C.Pain in exercise is a precondition for reaching your goal.

　　D.Getting used to pain leads to positive changes in your body.

　　43.What is the purpose of the passage?

　　A.To declare the importance of keeping fit.

　　B.To clarify some misconceptions about fatness and exercise.

　　C.To confirm what has long been believed about keeping fit.

　　D.To explain some medical facts about being fat and doing exercise.

　　A

　　【考點】考察社會生活類閱讀

　　【文章大意】本文是人們中一些關于肥胖和鍛煉的錯誤的觀點的說明同時還否定了這些錯誤的觀點。

　　40.D 推理題。作者在文章中否定了多個關于肥胖和鍛煉的錯誤觀點。根據第二段最后一句the main reason is that they share the same habits of eating too much and exercising too little可知肥胖和遺傳無關，和我們的飲食習慣以及鍛煉太少有關。A項說法是錯誤的。B項的說法與文章相反，人們肥胖是由于攝入太多引起的。文章只是說記日記可以讓我們知道自己吃了多少。只有D項說法是正確的。