Ireland has had a very difficult history. The problems started in the 16th century when English rulers tried to conquer(征服) Ireland. For hundreds of years, the Irish people fought against the English. Finally, in 1921, the British government was forced to give independence to the south of Ireland. The result is that today there are two “Irelands”. Northern Ireland, in the north, is part of the united kingdom. The Republic of Ireland, in the south, is an independent country.
In the 1840s the main crop, potatoes, was affected by disease and about 750,000 people died of hunger. This, and a shortage (短缺) of work , forced many people to leave Ireland and live in the USA, the UK, Australia and Canada. As a result of these problems, the population fell from 8.2 million in 1841 to 6.6 million in 1851.
For many years, the majority of Irish people earned their living as farmers. Today, many people still work on the land but more and more people are moving to the cities to work in factories and offices. Life in the cities is very different from life in the countryside, where things move at a quieter and slower pace.
The Irish are famous for being warm-hearted and friendly. Oscar Wilde, a famous Irish writer, once said that the Irish were “the greatest talkers since the Greeks”. Since independence, Ireland has revived(復(fù)興) its own culture of music, language, literature and singing. Different areas have different styles of old Irish song which are sung without instruments. Other kinds of Irish music use many different instruments such as the violin, whistles, etc.
小題1:What does the author tell us in paragraph 1?
A.How the Irish fought against the English.
B.How Ireland gained independence.
C.How English rulers tried to conquer Ireland.
D.How two “Irelands” came into being.
小題2:We learn from the text that in Ireland            .
A.food shortages in the 1840s led to a decline in population
B.people are moving to the cities for lack of work in the countryside
C.it is harder to make a living as a farmer than as a factory worker
D.different kinds of old Irish songs are all sung with instruments
小題3:The last paragraph is mainly about          .
A.the Irish character
B.Irish culture
C.Irish musical instruments
D.a(chǎn) famous Irish writer
小題4:What can be the best title for the text?
A.Life in Ireland
B.A Very Difficult History
C.Ireland, Past and Present
D.The Independence of Ireland

小題1:D
小題2:A
小題3:B
小題4:C

試題分析:文章介紹了愛爾蘭的歷史,愛爾蘭受制于英國(guó),在1921年,愛爾蘭南部才得到獨(dú)立,成立了共和國(guó),而北部屬于英國(guó)。由于自然災(zāi)害,愛爾蘭的人口驟減。文章還比較了愛爾蘭過去和現(xiàn)在的生活。最后提到了愛爾蘭的文化發(fā)展。
小題1:考查段落大意。愛爾蘭受英國(guó)的統(tǒng)治,在1921年,英國(guó)被迫承認(rèn)南愛爾蘭獨(dú)立!癟he result is that today there are two “Irelands”. Northern Ireland, in the north, is part of the united kingdom. The Republic of Ireland, in the south, is an independent country.”北愛爾蘭是英國(guó)的一部分,而南部的愛爾蘭共和國(guó)是獨(dú)立的國(guó)家。作者告訴我們,“兩個(gè)愛爾蘭”是如何形成的。故選D。
小題2:根據(jù)第二段“In the 1840s the main crop, potatoes, was affected by disease and about 750,000 people died of hunger.”和“the population fell from 8.2 million in 1841 to 6.6 million in 1851”可知,在十九世紀(jì)四十年代,主要農(nóng)作物受疾病影響,大約75萬人死于饑餓,愛爾蘭人口驟減到6600萬。故選A。
小題3:根據(jù)最后一段的“Ireland has revived(復(fù)興) its own culture of music, language, literature and singing”可知,最后一段主要講的是愛爾蘭的文化。故選B。
小題4:B總結(jié)的是愛爾蘭的一段歷史,文章沒有詳細(xì)講愛爾蘭的獨(dú)立,B、D排除;文章第三段主要講的是愛爾蘭的生活,A是對(duì)第三段的總結(jié),不夠全面。文章講了愛爾蘭的過去和現(xiàn)在,故選C。
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