考研英語歷年閱讀理解真題精析--1997年part2

字號(hào):

Part Two
    A report consistently brought back by visitors to the US is how friendly, courteous, and helpful most Americans were to them. To be fair, this observation is also frequently made of Canada and Canadians, and should best be considered North American. There are of course, exceptions. Small minded officials, rude waiters, and ill mannered taxi drivers are hardly unknown in the US Yet it is an observation made so frequently that it deserves comment.
    For a long period of time and in many parts of the country, a traveler was a welcome break in an otherwise dull existence. Dullness and loneliness were common problems of the families who generally lived distant from one another. Strangers and travelers were welcome sources of diversion, and brought news of the outside world.
    The harsh realities of the frontier also shaped this tradition of hospitality. Someone traveling alone, if hungry, injured, or ill, often had nowhere to turn except to the nearest cabin or settlement. It was not a matter of choice for the traveler or merely a charitable impulse on the part of the settlers. It reflected the harshness of daily life: if you didn’t take in the stranger and take care of him, there was no one else who would. And someday, remember, you might be in the same situation.
    Today there are many charitable organizations which specialize in helping the weary traveler. Yet, the old tradition of hospitality to strangers is still very strong in the US, especially in the smaller cities and towns away from the busy tourist trails. “I was just traveling through, got talking with this American, and pretty soon he invited me home for dinner — amazing.” Such observations reported by visitors to the US are not uncommon, but are not always understood properly. The casual friendliness of many Americans should be interpreted neither as superficial nor as artificial, but as the result of a historically developed cultural tradition.
    As is true of any developed society, in America a complex set of cultural signals, assumptions, and conventions underlies all social interrelationships. And, of course, speaking a language does not necessarily meant that someone understands social and cultural patterns. Visitors who fail to “translate” cultural meanings properly often draw wrong conclusions. For example, when an American uses the word “friend”, the cultural implications of the word may be quite different from those it has in the visitor’s language and culture. It takes more than a brief encounter on a bus to distinguish between courteous convention and individual interest. Yet, being friendly is a virtue that many American value highly and expect from both neighbors and strangers.
    5. In the eyes of visitors from the outside world, _____.
    A) rude taxi drivers are rarely seen in the US
    B) small minded officials deserve a serious comment
    C) Canadians are not so friendly as their neighbors
    D) most Americans are ready to offer help
    6. It could be inferred from the last paragraph that _____.
    A) culture exercises an influence over social interrelationship
    B) courteous convention and individual interest are interrelated
    C) various virtues manifest themselves exclusively among friends
    D) social interrelationships equal the complex set of cultural conventions
    7 . Families in frontier settlements used to entertain strangers _____.
    A) to improve their hard life
    B) in view of their long distance travel
    C) to add some flavor to their own daily life
    D) out of a charitable impulse
    8. The tradition of hospitality to strangers _____.
    A) tends to be superficial and artificial
    B) is generally well kept up in the United States
    C) is always understood properly
    D) was something to do with the busy tourist trails
    Unit4(1997) Part 2
    重點(diǎn)詞匯:
    1.courteous ?(有禮貌的)即court+eous,court看作單詞“宮廷”,-eous形容詞后綴,“宮廷的”→有禮貌的。
    2.observation (觀察;pl.觀察后的言論)←observe觀察+ation。God creates by intuition; man creates by inspiration, strengthened by observation.上帝憑著直覺創(chuàng)造,人類憑著由觀察加強(qiáng)的靈感創(chuàng)造。
    3.deserve(v.應(yīng)受,值得)與desert一起記,“沙漠是應(yīng)該受到重視的”。
    4.charitable(仁慈的)即charit(y)+able,charity仁慈,-able形容詞后綴。
    5.assumption(假定;承擔(dān);呈現(xiàn))是assume的名詞形式; assumption — the mother of screw-up 臆斷——把事情弄糟的根源。
    6.interrelationship ?(相互關(guān)系)即inter+relation+ship,inter-相互,relation關(guān)系,-ship抽象名詞后綴。
    7.encounter (v.n.遭遇)即en+counter,en-使,counter對(duì)面,“使面對(duì)面”→遭遇。If we encountered a man of rare intellect, we should ask him what books he read.若遇到才智非凡的人,就應(yīng)該問他讀的是哪些書。
    8.individual(個(gè)別的;個(gè)體)即in+divid+ual,in-否定前綴,divid詞根“分”,-ual后綴,“不可再分的”→個(gè)別的。同根詞:divide(v.分配;除);subdivide→sub在下+divide→“在下面分”→再分。The worth of a state, in the long run, is the worth of the individuals composing it.歸根結(jié)底,國家的價(jià)值就是組成它的個(gè)人的價(jià)值
    9.exclusively (專有地;排外地)是exclude(v.除外)的副詞形式。Freedom is always and exclusively freedom for the one who thinks differently.對(duì)于獨(dú)立思考的人,自由永遠(yuǎn)是也只能是自由。
    10.entertain(v.招待;使快樂)即enter+tain,enter-(=inter),tain詞根“容納”,于是“使容納進(jìn)來”→招待→使快樂;名詞形式為entertainment←entertain+ment。同根詞:contain→con+tain→“一起容納”→容納。
    難句解析:
    ① There are, of course, exceptions. Small-minded officials, rude waiters, and ill-mannered taxi drivers are hardly unknown in the US. Yet it is an observation made so frequently that it deserves comment.
    第一個(gè)句子使用了there be句型,其中of course是插入語。第二句是主語+系動(dòng)詞+表語結(jié)構(gòu)。第三句話中使用了so... that結(jié)構(gòu):其中made so frequently是過去分詞作定語,修飾前面的observation。
    第一句中的of course作插入語,用逗號(hào)與句子的其它部分分開,在開始閱讀的時(shí)候可以不看。注意第二句話中使用了雙重否定表示肯定:hardly unknown等于pretty well-known。另外注意so... that結(jié)構(gòu)的用法:太……以至于。另外observation這里的意思是“因觀察而得出的意見”。另外it deserves comment中的it指代前面的observation。
    ② Strangers and travelers were welcome sources of diversion, and brought news of the outside world.
    句子的主干結(jié)構(gòu)是Strangers and travelers were... and brought...。
    注意diversion在這里的含義是“解悶,取樂的事情,消遣,娛樂”,而不是“轉(zhuǎn)移,轉(zhuǎn)向”的意思。
    ③ Someone traveling alone, if hungry, injured, or ill, often had nowhere to turn except to the nearest cabin or settlement.
    這是一個(gè)簡單句。traveling alone是現(xiàn)在分詞作定語修飾前面的someone,if hungry, injured, or ill...實(shí)際上是簡略的if引導(dǎo)的狀語從句,相當(dāng)于if (he is) hungry, injured, or ill,這里作插入成分。另外have sth.+動(dòng)詞不定式,這一結(jié)構(gòu)中的動(dòng)詞不定式通常是相當(dāng)于定語部分,修飾前面的sth.,這里就是:沒有可以投靠(to turn to/動(dòng)詞不定式)的地方(nowhere/sth.)。
    注意turn to這里的引申含義是“投靠,求助于,求教于”的意思。
    ④ It was not a matter of choice for the traveler or merely a charitable impulse on the Part of the settlers.
    句子的主干結(jié)構(gòu)是It was not a matter of choice... or merely a charitable impulse...,是主語+系動(dòng)詞+表語的結(jié)構(gòu)。表語由并列的兩部分組成,由or來連接。
    on the Part of相當(dāng)于前面的for,意思是“在……方面,對(duì)……而言”。
    ⑤ The casual friendliness of many Americans should be interpreted neither as superficial nor as artificial, but as the result of a historically developed cultural tradition.
    這個(gè)句子的主干結(jié)構(gòu)是The casual friendliness should be interpreted neither as A nor B, but as C,使用了被動(dòng)語態(tài)。其中neither... nor...結(jié)構(gòu)后用的是同樣詞性的成分:形容詞superficial和artificial。
    注意neither... nor... but結(jié)構(gòu)的使用:既不是……也不是……而是……,重點(diǎn)在but之后。as the/a result of:作為……的結(jié)果,由于……而……。
    ⑥ As is true of any developed society, in America a complex set of cultural signals, assumptions, and conventions underlies all social interrelationships.
    句子的主干結(jié)構(gòu)是... cultural signals, assumptions, and conventions underlies... interrelationships。
    注意as在這里是一個(gè)代詞,表示“這一情況,這一事實(shí)”??梢詤⒖家韵碌睦鋪砝斫鈇s的用法:The night had turned cold, as is usual around here.夜晚變得很冷,在這一帶經(jīng)常如此。
    試題解析:
    5. 【正確答案】[D]
    意為:大部分美國人樂于助人。文章第一句指出,去過美國的人所帶回的印象總是(consistently):大多數(shù)美國人表現(xiàn)為友好、禮貌、樂于助人。本文從歷史及文化的角度探討了產(chǎn)生這一現(xiàn)象的原因。
    A意為:粗魯?shù)某鲎廛囁緳C(jī)在美國罕見。B意為:心胸狹窄的官員值得嚴(yán)肅的一提(或:應(yīng)受嚴(yán)肅的批評(píng))。C意為:加拿大人不如其鄰國(當(dāng)主要指美國)人民友好。注意:[A]、[B]、[C]表達(dá)的觀點(diǎn)都不是第一段中所提到的訪美者的觀點(diǎn),第一段的第二、三、四句表達(dá)的是本文作者的觀點(diǎn)。在作者看來,公平地講,許多到過加拿大的人對(duì)加拿大人也有同感,因此可以說:這是一種北美現(xiàn)象——北美人大都友好、禮貌、樂于助人。同時(shí),在他看來,這種情況也有例外:心胸狹隘的官員、粗魯?shù)氖陶?、無禮的出租車司機(jī)也不乏其人,但總的來看這并不構(gòu)成主流。
    6. 【正確答案】 [A]
    意為:文化影響社會(huì)關(guān)系。最后一段的第一句是全段的主題,該句可譯為:像其他發(fā)達(dá)國家一樣,在美國,人際關(guān)系的背后是一系列復(fù)雜的文化符號(hào)、信念和習(xí)俗。換言之,美國的文化決定了美國人的行為。
    B意為:禮貌的習(xí)慣與個(gè)人興趣互相影響。最后一段第五句可譯為:僅靠在公共汽車上瞬時(shí)相遇來區(qū)別禮貌是出自于文化習(xí)慣還是個(gè)人的興趣是不夠的。根據(jù)本段的主旨和全文的主旨,這句話應(yīng)該理解為:判斷一個(gè)人表現(xiàn)出的禮貌行為究竟僅產(chǎn)生于其個(gè)人素質(zhì)還是產(chǎn)生于文化的熏陶,僅看其個(gè)別的、偶然的行為是不行的。換言之,如果他隨時(shí)隨地表現(xiàn)為禮讓,或者,如果生活在某一區(qū)域或國家的人都表現(xiàn)為禮讓,那末,你才能判定禮貌行為不是一種個(gè)人現(xiàn)象,而是一種社會(huì)文化現(xiàn)象。C意為:各種美德僅表現(xiàn)在朋友關(guān)系中。這一點(diǎn)文章最后一段沒提到。最后一段所舉的“朋友”一詞的例子旨在說明:在不同文化中,“相同”的概念未必有同一內(nèi)涵或外延。D意為:社會(huì)關(guān)系等于一系列復(fù)雜的文化習(xí)俗。根據(jù)該段第一句,二者是決定與被決定關(guān)系,并非等同關(guān)系。見上文分析。
    7. 【正確答案】 [C]
    意為;為自己的日常生活增添情趣。第二段指出,在美國歷史的很長一段時(shí)期(即所謂“拓荒”時(shí)代),對(duì)許多地區(qū)來說,一個(gè)旅行者的到來是很受歡迎的,因?yàn)樗梢詫?duì)平時(shí)單調(diào)的生活起一個(gè)調(diào)節(jié)(break)作用。離群索居的家庭共同的問題是日常生活的單調(diào)與寂寞,陌生人或旅行者的到來可以使他們暫時(shí)擺脫這種生活狀況,另外.他們也可以因此獲得外界信息。
    A意為:改善艱苦的生活。根據(jù)上文分析可見,陌生人受歡迎的原因主要是因?yàn)樗麄兯鶐淼木裥?yīng),而非物質(zhì)生活效應(yīng)。第三段提到,拓荒地區(qū)(frontier)的殘酷現(xiàn)實(shí)也是形成美國人禮貌傳統(tǒng)的原因。一個(gè)孤獨(dú)的旅游者有問題自然求助于路邊最近的居住點(diǎn),這對(duì)旅游者來說不是一個(gè)選擇問題(即:他別無選擇),對(duì)就近的定居者來說,提供必要的幫助也不僅僅是出于憐憫(charitable impulse)。這反映的是日常生活的嚴(yán)酷現(xiàn)實(shí):如果定居者不接收并幫助他,就沒有別人了,另外,有一天定居者本人也可能處于同一境地。B意為:考慮到他們所做的長途跋涉。D意為:出于憐憫。見上文分析。
    8. 【正確答案】[B]
    意為:在美國得以廣泛的保持。第二、三段探索了形成美國人友善好客傳統(tǒng)的原因之后,第四段指出,雖然現(xiàn)在有許多專門的機(jī)構(gòu)幫助旅行者,但是,友善好客的舊傳統(tǒng)在美國仍根探蒂固,這突出表現(xiàn)在遠(yuǎn)離旅游熱線的一些小城市中。本段最后一句指出,許多美國人隨意表現(xiàn)出的友善不應(yīng)該被看作是表面或虛假的應(yīng)酬,而應(yīng)該看作是一種歷史文化現(xiàn)象。另外,文章最后一段指出,友善好客是倍受美國人珍視的美德,他們同樣希望鄰國人和其他外國人也表現(xiàn)出這一美德。
    A意為:經(jīng)常是表面上的、虛假的。見上文分析。C意為:總是能被正確理解。相反,第四段指出,許多外國人對(duì)美國人的一些友好表示感到不可思議(amazing),這反映了他們對(duì)美國歷史文化傳統(tǒng)的不理解。參閱第四段第三、四、五句。D意為:與一些旅游熱線有關(guān)。不對(duì),見上文分析。
    全文翻譯:
    去美國訪問的人經(jīng)常帶回報(bào)告說,大多數(shù)美國人對(duì)他們友善、好客、樂于助人。公正的說,人們對(duì)加拿大人也有這樣的評(píng)論,因而,應(yīng)當(dāng)認(rèn)為這是北美普遍的現(xiàn)象。當(dāng)然也有例外。在美國,心胸狹隘的官員,舉止粗魯?shù)恼写秃翢o禮貌的出租車司機(jī)也并非罕見。盡管有不如意的地方,但因?yàn)槿藗兂35贸雒绹撕每偷挠^察意見,因而也就值得議論一番了。
    過去很長一段時(shí)間,在美國很多地方,旅行者的到來因暫時(shí)打破原本的單調(diào)生活而受人歡迎。無聊、孤獨(dú)是居住相對(duì)遙遠(yuǎn)的家庭的普遍問題。陌生人和旅行者很受歡迎,他們帶來了娛樂消遣,還帶來了外面世界的消息。
    開拓者的嚴(yán)酷生活現(xiàn)實(shí)也促成了這一好客的傳統(tǒng)。單獨(dú)旅行時(shí),如果挨餓、受傷或生病,通常只能向最近的小屋或村落求助。對(duì)旅行者來說,這不是一個(gè)選擇的問題;而對(duì)當(dāng)?shù)鼐用駚碚f,這也并非是行善的一時(shí)沖動(dòng)。它反映了日常生活的嚴(yán)酷:如果你不收留他,那他便無處求助了。請記住,有一天你也可能處于相同的境遇。
    如今,有了很多的慈善組織專門幫助疲憊的旅行者。不過,熱情接待陌生人的傳統(tǒng)在美國仍然很盛行,尤其是在遠(yuǎn)離旅游熱線的小城鎮(zhèn)?!拔抑皇锹愤^,和這個(gè)美國人聊了聊。很快,他就請我到他家吃飯——這真令人驚奇?!眮砻绹穆每驼?wù)摯祟愂录芷毡?,但并非總能得到正確理解。很多美國人不經(jīng)意表現(xiàn)的友好不應(yīng)被看做是表面或虛假的應(yīng)酬,而應(yīng)該看成是文化傳統(tǒng)的歷史發(fā)展結(jié)果。
    同任何發(fā)達(dá)國家一樣,一系列復(fù)雜的文化特征,信念和習(xí)俗構(gòu)成了美國所有社會(huì)交往的基礎(chǔ)。當(dāng)然,會(huì)講一種語言并不意味著就理解該語言的社會(huì)和文化模式。不能正確“詮釋”文化含義的旅行者往往得出錯(cuò)誤的結(jié)論。例如,美國人所說的“朋友”一詞,其文化含義可能與旅行者語言和文化中的“朋友”大相徑庭。要想正確區(qū)分禮貌是出于文化習(xí)俗還是個(gè)人興趣,單憑一次公共汽車上的偶遇是不夠的。不過,友好是很多美國人推崇的美德,同時(shí)希望鄰居和陌生人也能如此。