B) will continue to change as new people and ideas influence it C) is only currently performed in Russia and the United States D) is often performed by dancers with little training 4. The information in this passage is presented_____. A) through the story of one dancer
B) by describing various positions and steps C) by listing reasons why ballet has succeeded D) in chronological order
5. The word pageants means_____. A) dances B) instructors C) kings
D) elaborate shows 答案与题解:
1. C 本题问的是:这篇文章主要讲述的是，A、B、D 选项都是文章的一部分，而本文主要讲的就是芭蕾舞的发展，因此 C 是正确答案。
2. D 本题问的是:对于早期芭蕾舞最重要的影响是，本文第三段提到“在 17 世纪，专业的芭蕾舞蹈团应运而生”“法国国王路易十四建立了皇家舞蹈学院”，因此 D 是正确答案。 3. B 本题问的是:从这篇文章你可以总结出芭蕾，A 、C、D 选项在文中没有提到，结合本文最后一段可以看出 B 选项是正确的，芭蕾将随着新的人物和新的想法而改变。 4. D 本题问的是:本文的信息是通过何种方式介绍的。本文从芭蕾舞的起源开始一直介绍到 芭蕾舞的现况，因此选择 D，按照时间前后的顺序。
5. D 本题问的是:单词 pageant 的汉语意思是什么，正确答案是 D ，盛大的表演。 第十六篇 The Sahara
The name Sahara derives from the Arabic word for \or \At 3. 5 million square miles，an area roughly the size of the United States，the Sahara Desert in northern Africa is the largest desert in the world. lt spans the continent from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea. Daytime temperatures can reach as high as 130°F. The humidity sometimes gets into the teens. But it can also be as low as 2. 5 percent，the lowest in the world. Most of the Sahara receives less than five inches of rain per year，while large areas sometimes have no rainfall at all for years.
At the heart of the Sahara is the landlocked north African country of Niger. Here the sand dunes can be 100 feet tall and several miles long. Here sand plains stretch over an area larger than Germany where there is neither water nor towns. Yet sitting in the midst of the surrounding desert is the town of Bilma. Suddenly there are pools of cIear water. Surprisingly，there are groves of date palms. Underground water resources，or oases，sufficient to support irrigated agriculture are found in dry stream beds and depressions. Irrigation ditches run off a creek to water fields. Corn，cassava，tea，peanuts，hot peppers，and orange，lime，and grapefruit trees grow in these fields. Donkeys and goats graze on green grass.
The Sahara of Niger is still a region where you can see a camel caravan of 500 camels tied together in loose lines as long as a mile，traveling toward such oasis towns. There a caravan will collect life-sustaining salt，which is mined from watery basins，and transport it up to 400 miles back to settlements on the edges of the desert. The round trip across the vast sands takes one month. 词汇:
Humidity /hju'mId ?t l/ n. 湿度 irrigate / ' lrlgelt/ v. 灌溉 stretch / stret?/ v. 伸展 camel /'k?m ?l/ n. 骆驼 date palms n. 椰枣树 注释:
1. Underground water resources，or oases，sufficient to support irrigated agriculture are found in dry stream beds and depressions. 在干河床和洼地处可找到充足的地下水资源或者绿洲来支持灌溉农业。
2. Irrigation ditches run off a creek to water fields. 灌溉沟渠通过一条小溪到达水田中。 3. Donkeys and goats graze on green grass. 青草上放养着驴和山羊。 练习:
1. This passage is mostly about _______. A) life in the Sahara B) the deserts of Africa C) Bilma
D) how camels travel in the desert
2. Rainfall in most of the Sahara is_______. A) less than five inches per year B) less than ten inches per year C) less than twenty inches per year D) zero
3. The Sahara can be described as_______. A) a place of contrasts
B) a place where no one Iives
C) an area where the winters are cold D) an area that appeals to many tourists
4. The phrase \of_______.
A) northern Africa B) Niger C) the Sahara D) all of Africa
5. In this passage caravan means _______. A) traveling circus
B) group traveling together through difficult country C) railroad train
D) a small，fast sailing ship 答案与题解:
1. A 本题问的是:这篇文章主要讲了什么?根据文段，本文主要介绍了撒哈拉沙漠的地理概 况，城镇的农业，以及城镇之间的日常来往。B 选项范围过宽。C 选项不全面，文章不止介绍了比尔马的情况。D 选项文中没有具体介绍。所以 A 是对的。
2. A 本题问的是:在撒哈拉的绝大多数地区，降雨情况如何?根据第一段的最后一句话，撒哈拉的绝大多数地区每年降雨量低于 5 英寸。所以 A 正确。
3. A 本题问的是:撒哈拉沙漠可以被描述成什么? A 的意思是，一个具有强烈对比的地方。B 的意思是杳无人烟的地方。C 的意思是冬天很冷的地区。D 的意思是吸引很多游客
的地方。B，C，D 均不符合文意，因此 A 正确。
4. C 本题问的是:句子“大约和美国大小相当的地区”指明的是什么地方的大小?根据第一段的第二句话可知，本句的主语是撒哈拉沙漠。因此 C 正确。
5. B 本题问的是:文中“caravan”的意思是什么? A 的意思是旅行马戏团。C 是火车。D 是又小又快的帆船。根据文中的介绍，穿过沙漠的驼队由上百只骆驼组成，来到绿洲城镇收集 盐，因此 B 选项“一群人一起穿过条件恶劣的国家”是正确的。 *第十九篇 The Family
The structure of a family takes different forms around the world and even in the same society. The family's form changes as it adapts to changing social and economic influences. Until recently, the most common form in North America was the nuclear family，consisting of a married couple with their minor children. The nuclear family is an independent unit. It must be prepared to fend for itself. Individual family members strongly depend on one another. There is little help from outside the family in emergencies. Elderly relatives of a nuclear family are cared for only if it is possible for the family to do so. In North America，the elderly often do not live with the family ; they live in retirement communities and nursing homes.
There are many parallels between the nuclear family in industrial societies，such as North America，and of families in societies such as that of the Inuits，who live in harsh environments. The nuclear family structure is well adapted to a life of mobility. In harsh conditions，mobility allows the family to hunt for food. For North Americans，the hunt for jobs and improved social status also requires mobility.
The nuclear family was not always the North American standard. In a more agrarian time，the small nuclear family was usually part of a larger extended family. This might have included grandparents，mother and father，brothers and sisters，uncles，aunts，and cousins. In North America today，there is a dramatic rise in the number of single-parent households. Twice as many households in the United States are headed by divorced，separated，or never-married individuals as are comprised of nuclear families. The structure of the family，not just in North America, but throughout the world，continues to change as it adapts to changing conditions. 词汇:
nuclear /'nju:kh/ adj. 原子核的，中心的 harsh /ha:?/ n. 严酷的
emergency /I'm?:d??nsI/ n. 紧急状况 agranan / ?'gre?rl?n/ adj. 土地的，耕地的 注释:
1. lt must be prepared to fend for itself. 它必须能够照料自己。
2. In North America，the elderly often do not live with the family; they live in retirement communities and nursing homes. 在北美洲，老人很少和家人一起生活;他们一般住在退休社区和养老机构。
3. In harsh conditions，mobility allows the family to hunt for food. :在恶劣的条件下，流动性能让一个家庭吃饱饭。 练习:
1. Another good title for this passage would be_____. A) What Makes a Family? B) The Life of the Inuits. C) Living with Hardship.
D) The Failure of theNuclear Family. 2. A nuclear family is defined as_____.
A) a married couple with their minor children B) a single father with，minor children C) parents，grandparents，and children D) parents，children，and aunts and uncles
3. The information in this passage would most likely be found in_____. A) an anthropology textbook B) a biology textbook C) a mathematics textbook D) a geography textbook
4. The information in the first paragraph is presented mainly through _____. A) listing statistics B) telling a story
C) pointing out similarities D) pointing out differences
5. The word mobility means_____. A) money
B) readiness to move C) organization D) skill
答案与题解:
1. A 本题问的是:这篇文章的题目还可以是什么? A 的意思是是什么构成了一个家。B 的意 思是因纽特人的生活。C 的意思是生活得很艰难。D 的意思是核心家庭的失败之处。根据文意，本文主要介绍了与家庭相关的信息。B 不是主要内容。C 未提到。D 未提到。因此A 是正确的答案。
2. A 本题问的是:核心家庭的定义是什么?根据第一段的第三句话:Until recently，the most common form in North America was the nuclear family，consisting of a married couple with their minor children. 可知 A 是正确的答案。
3. A 本题问的是:这篇文章最有可能出自哪里? A 的意思是人类学课本。B 的意思是生物课本。C的意思是数学课本。D 的意思是地理课本。本文主要介绍了家庭，因此最有可能是人类学课本。所以 A 是正确的答案。
4. C 本题问的是:第一段的信息主要以何种方式陈述的?根据第一段的陈述方式，并没有列 出数据或者讲故事，而是通过描述共性而阐述出核心家庭的概念。因此 C 是正确的答案。
*第二十篇 Tales of the Terrible Past
It is not the job of fiction writers to analyze and interpret history. Yet by writing about the past in a vivid and compelling manner，storytellers can bring earlier eras to life and force readers to consider them seriously. Among those taking on the task of recounting history are some black writers who attempt to examine slavery from different points of view.
Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison deals specifically with the legacy of slavery in her book Beloved. The main character in this novel，a former slave called Sethe，lives in Ohio in the years following the Civil War，but she cannot free herself from her horrific memories. Through a series of flashbacks and bitter reminiscences，the reader learns how and why Sethe escaped from the plantation she had lived on; the fate of her husband，who also tried to escape; and finally，what happened to the child called Beloved. Morrison's scenes of torture and murder are vivid and
strongly convey the desperation of the slaves and the cruelty of their owners.
Charles Johnson's Middle Passage approaches slavery from a different，yet no less violent，vantage point. His main character，Rutherfprd Calhoun，is a ne'er-do-well free black American who stows away on a slave ship bound for Africa to collect its \he is discovered，Calhoun witnesses firsthand the appalling conditions in which the captured Africans are transported. When they finally rebel and take over the ship，he finds himself in the middle -- and is forced to come to terms with who he is and what his values are.
Neither Beloved nor Middle Passage is an easy read，but both exemplify African American writers' attempts to bring significant historical situations alive for a modem audience. 词汇:
interpret /in't?:prit/ v. 解释，翻译 desperation /desp?'rei??n/ n. 绝望的境地 recount /ri'kaunt / v. 叙述 capture /'k?pt?? / v. 俘获 slavery /'sleiv?ri / n. 奴隶制度 注释:
1. Yet by writing about the past in a vivid and compelling manner，storytellers can bring earlier eras to life and force readers to consider them seriously. 然而通过用一种生动有趣的方式来描写过去，小说家可以将早期时代重现，并引起读者的重视。
2. His main character. Rutherford Calhoun. is a ne'er-do-well free black American who stows away on a slave ship bound for Africa to collect its \.他的主人公叫做 Rutherford Calhoun，是一个游手好闲，身份自由的美国黑人。他偷偷登上了一艘开往非洲贩卖奴隶的船只。 练习:
1. This passage is mostly about__________. A) the causes of slavery in America B) black writers in the late 20th century
C) why Morrison and Johnson wrote the books they did D) two novels that deal with slavery 2. Beloved is set__________. A) on a slave ship
B) on a plantation before the Civil War C) in Ohio after the Civil War D) in an African town
3. The writer seems to feel that__________.
A) eveyone should read Morrison's and Johnson's novels B) the books are worthwhile but challenging C) black writers should ignore racial issues
D) we will repeat the past if we don?t learn about it
4. The writer emphasizes that the two books are similar in their__________. A) use of flashbacks B) treatment of women C) criticism of whites D) portrayal of violence
5. The word appalling means__________. A) terrible