高考英语阅读理解专项训练：习俗类（附详解）

　　2009年高考英语阅读理解专项训练——习俗类

　　(1)

　　CARDIFF, Wales Poets, singers and musicians from across the globe gathered in Wales to celebrate the tradition(传统) of storytelling.

　　“It might seem strange that people still want to listen in age of watching television, but this is an unusual art form whose time has come again,” said David Ambrose, director of Beyond the Border, an international storytelling festival(节) in Wales.

　　“Some of the tales, like those the Inuit from Canada, are thousands years old. So our storytellers have come from distant lands to connect us with the distance of time,” he said early this month.

　　Two Inuit women, both in their mid 60s, are among the few remaining who can do Kntadjait, or throat singing, which has few words and much sound. Their art is governed by the cold of their surroundings, forcing them to say little but listen attentively.

　　Ambrose started the festival in 1993, after several years of working with those reviving (coming back into use or existence) storytelling in Wales.

　　“It came out of a group of people who wanted to reconnect with traditions. and as all the Welsh are storytellers, it was in good hands here.” Ambrose said.

　　1. Ambrose believes that the art of storytelling _______.

　　A. will be more popular than TV

　　B. will be popular again

　　C. started in Wales

　　D. are in the hands of some old people

　　2. From the tales told by the Inuit, people can learn _______.

　　A. about their life as early as thousands of years ago

　　B. why they tell the stories in a throat-singing way

　　C. how cold it has been where the Inuit live

　　D. how difficult it is to understand the Inuit

　　3. According to the writer, which of the following is NOT true?

　　A. Storytelling once stopped in Wales.

　　B. Storytelling has a long history in Wales.

　　C. Storytelling is always well received in Wales.

　　D. Storytelling did not come back until 1993 in Wales.

　　4. The underlined phrase in good hands means _______.

　　A. controlled by rich people

　　B. grasped by good storytellers

　　C. taken good care of

　　D. protected by kind people

　　【答案解析】

　　短文介绍了威尔斯故事节的有关情况。

　　1. B。推断题。根据 …but this is an unusual art form whose time has come again 可以推断这种讲故事的传统会再度受到欢迎。

　　2. A。细节题。根据 Some of the tales, like those the Inuit from Canada, are thousands years old 可推知此题答案为 A。

　　3. D。细节题。文中说Ambrose started the festival in 1993，Ambrose1993年创办了这个节，但并不等于说讲故事的传统1993年才恢复的，这是两码事。故选D。

　　4. C。词义猜测题。从 as all the Welsh are storytellers 可以推断出 in good hands 是“照顾得好或举办得好”的意思，故选 C。

　　(2)

　　I came to live here where I am now between Wounded Knee Greek and Grass Greek. Others came too, and we made these little grey houses of logs that you see, and they are square, It is a bad way to live, for there can be no power in a square.

　　You have noticed that everything an Indian does is in a circle, and that is because the Power of the World always works in circles, and everything tries to be round. In the old days when we were a strong and happy people, all our power came to us from the respectful circle of the nation, and so long as the circle was unbroken, the people were getting rich. The flowering tree was the living center of the circle, and the circle of the four quarters nursed it. The east gave peace and light, the south gave warmth, the west gave rain, and the north with its cold and strong wind gave strength and continuous power. This knowledge came to us from the outer world with our brief. Everything the Power of the World does is done in a circle. The sky is round, and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball, and so are all the stars. Birds make their nests in circle, for theirs are the same as ours. The sun comes forth and goes down again in a circle. The moon does the same, and both are round. Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing, and always come back again to where they were. The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is in everything where power moves. Our places were like the nests of birds, and these were always set in a circle, the nation’s circle, a nest of many nests, where the Great Spirit meant for us to nurse our children.

　　But the Wasichus (Indian word for “white people”) have put us in these square boxes. Our power is gone and we are dying, for the power is not in us any more. You can look at our boys and see how it is with us. Where we were living by the power of the circle in the way we should, boys were men at twelve or thirteen years of age. But now it takes them very much longer to be bull - grown.

　　1. According to the passage, the Indians _______.

　　A. don’t have modern instruments in their homes

　　B. refused to move from round places

　　C. lived in round places, but were forced to live in square houses

　　D. lived in round places, but then decided to move into square houses

　　2. Two things being compared in the passage are _______.

　　A. the Indians’ past and present living conditions

　　B. the Indians’ past and modern beliefs

　　C. the Indians’ old and new power

　　D. people and nature

　　3. In the second paragraph “the four quarters” refers to _______.

　　A. the four rooms of the Indian’s house

　　B. the four kinds of natural power

　　C. the four seasons

　　D. the four directions

　　4. According to the author, once the Indians moved into square houses, _______.

　　A. they had to move to other houses

　　B. boys took more time to grow into men

　　C. they forgot the old way of life

　　D. everyone was not happy

　　【答案解析】

　　本文描述了一名印第安人认为该民族被白人从圆形建筑赶到方形房子之后，以前的种种祥和就此消失了。

　　1. C。细节题。阅读全文可知 A、B、D 不符合原文之意，而答案 C 是本文大意的描述。

　　2. A。细节题。根据本文内容可知全篇作者都在把过去的祥和与现在的不如人意进行对比，故选 A。

　　3. D。细节题。根据第 2 段and the circle of the four quarters nursed it. The east gave…the south gave…the west gave…the north with… 可知 D 为正确答案。

　　4. B。细节题。根据最后一段 But now it takes them very much longer to be bull-grown 可知现在男孩要长大需花费更长的时间。

　　(3)

　　When you are in another country, it is important to know the language, but it is equally important to know how to communicate nonverbally(非语言地), before saying anything by making gestures. According to a pioneer in nonverbal communication, only 30 to 35 percent of our communication is verbal. When people don't know the language, the most common way to communicate is through gestures. However, many gestures have different meanings, or no meaning at all, in different parts of the world.

　　In the United States, for example, nodding your head up and down means “yes”. In some parts of Greece and Turkey, however, this motion can mean “no”. In Southeast Asia, nodding your head is a polite way of saying “I've heard you”.

　　In ancient Rome, when the emperor wanted to spare someone's life, he would put his thumb up. Today in the United States, when someone puts his / her thumb up, it means “Everything is all right”. However, in Sardinia and Greece, the gesture is insulting and should not be used there.

　　In the United States, raising your clasped hands above your head means “I’m the champion” or “I’m the winner”. It is the sign prizefighters make when they win a fight. When a leading Russian statesman(政治家) made this gesture after a White House meeting, Americans misunderstood and thought he meant he was a winner. In Russia, however, it is a sign of friendship.

　　In the United States, holding your hand up with the thumb and index finger in a circle and the other three fingers spread out means “Everything is O.K.” and is frequently used by astronauts and politicians. In France and Belgium, it can mean “You’re worth nothing.”

　　There are other nonverbal signals that people should be aware of when they go to another country, such as the distance to maintain between speakers. Americans usually feel comfortable when speaking with someone if the distance between them is about eighteen inches to arm’s length. Anything closer makes them feel uncomfortable.

　　When talking to Americans, it is also important to make eye contact. If you look down when talking to an American, he / she may feel that you are embarrassed, afraid, or trying to hide something.

　　In addition to knowing how to communicate nonverbally in a country, it is important to know what you and he cannot discuss. In the United States, there are certain topics to avoid when you first meet someone, For example, don’t ask people their age, weight, religion, marital status(婚姻状况), how much money they earn, or how much something costs. You can talk about work, the weather, traffic problems, sports, food, news of the day, where one lives, consumer subjects (computers, car repairs, and so forth), and travel or vacation plans.

　　These few examples illustrate that your actions can speak louder than your words. In a particular cultural contest, what you say and what you don’t say are equally important.

　　1. Which of the following is true?

　　A. People all over the world only communicate verbally.

　　B. Most of our gestures have no meaning at all.

　　C. Some people think that 65 to 70 percent of our communication is nonverbal.

　　D. Gestures are the most common way to common way to communicate.

　　2. As we can see from the passage there are ______ kinds of nonverbal communication signals.

　　A. four

　　B. five

　　C. six

　　D. seven

　　3. Please paraphrase the clause“…your actions can speak louder than your words.

　　A. Your deeds are better than your words

　　B. What you do is better than what you say

　　C. You try to show your best manners

　　D. you are better understood by your gestures than through your words

　　4. The main idea of the passage is that when you are in another country, ______.

　　A. it is unimportant to know the language

　　B. it is important to know what you can talk about to a foreigner

　　C. to know how to communicate nonverbally is as important as to know the language

　　D. to communicate the rough gestures is more important than to know the language

　　【答案解析】

　　当我们去一个国家时，知道用该国的语言交流诚然很重要，但知道怎样通过手势语交流也同样重要。

　　1. B。判断题。根据 According to a pioneer in nonverbal communication, only 30 to 35 percent of our communication is verbal 可推知答案。

　　2. C。细节题。通读全文就会知晓，本文谈到了6种gestures。

　　3. D。推断题。这句话的意思是：你的行动比你的话更有效，再联想到本文谈论在国外与人进行交流时gesture 的重要性。由此可推出答案为D。

　　4. C。主旨题。从文章结构和内容来看，第1句话When you are in another country, it is important to know the language, but it is equally important to know how to communicate nonverbally 就是主题句。