Question

【題目】People aren’t walking any more-if they can figure out a way to avoid it.

I felt superior about this matter until the other day I took my car to mail a small parcel. The journey is a matter of 281 steps. But I used the car. And I wasn’t in any hurry, either. I had merely become one more victim of a national sickness: motorosis.

It is an illness to which T had thought myself immune(免疫的), for I was bred in the tradition of going to places on my own two legs. At that time, we regarded 25 miles as a good day’s walk and the ability to cover such a distance in ten hours as a sign of strength and skill. It did not occur to us that walking was a hardship. And the effect was lasting. When I was 45 years old I raced—and beat-a teenage football player the 168 steps up the Statue of Liberty.

Such enterprises today are regarded by many middle-aged persons as bad for the heart. But a well-known British physician, Sir Adolphe Abrahams, pointed out recently that hearts and bodies need proper exercise. A person who avoids exercise is more likely to have illness than one who exercises regularly. And walking is an ideal form of exercise-the most familiar and natural of all.

It was Henry Thoreau who showed mankind the richness of going on foot. The man walking can learn the trees, flowers, insects, birds and animals, the significance of seasons, the very feel of himself as a living creature in a living world. He cannot learn in a car.

The car is convenient means of transport, but we have made it our way of life. Many people don’t dare to approach Nature any more; to them the world they were born to enjoy is all threat. To them security is a steel river thundering on a concrete (混凝土) road. And much of their thinking takes place while waiting for the traffic to turn green.

I say that the green of forests is the mind’s best light. And none but the man on foot can evaluate what is basic and everlasting.

【1】What is the national sickness?

A. Walking too much.

B. Traveling too much.

C. Driving cars too much.

D. Climbing stairs too much.

【2】What was life like when the author was young?

A. People usually went around on foot.

B. People often walked 25 miles a day.

C. People used to climb the Statue of Liberty.

D. People considered a ten-hour walk as a hardship.

【3】The author mentions Henry Thoreau to prove that .

A. middle-aged people like getting back to nature

B. walking in nature helps enrich one’s mind

C. people need regular exercise to keep fit

D. going on foot prevents heart disease

【4】What is compared to “a steel river” in Paragraph 6?

A. A queue of cars.

B. A ray of traffic light.

C. A flash of lightning.

D. A stream of people.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】C

【2】A

【3】B

【4】A

【解析】這篇文章主要講了隨著現(xiàn)代化的發(fā)展，多數(shù)人擯棄了最初的步行出行，不管路途的遠近，都開車出行。事實上，步行不僅有益于身體健康，還幫助充實心靈。

【1】推理判斷題。由第二自然段I felt superior about this matter until the other day I took my car to mail a small parcel. The journey is a matter of 281 steps. But I used the car. And I wasn’t in any hurry, either.可知作者去郵寄一個包裹，只需要走281步，作者卻不愿意走路，而是開車去，由此推斷國民的通病是開車太多，選C。

【2】推理判斷題。由第三自然段for I was bred in the tradition of going to places on my own two legs. At that time, we regarded 25 miles as a good day’s walk and the ability to cover such a distance in ten hours as a sign of strength and skill.可推斷出在作者年輕時，人們通常采用步行的方式從一個地方到另一個地方，選A。

【3】推理判斷題。由第五自然段The man walking can learn the trees, flowers, insects, birds and animals, the significance of seasons, the very feel of himself as a living creature in a living world. He cannot learn in a car.可知Henry Thoreau認為人們在走路的過程中了解了樹、花、昆蟲、鳥和動物，季節(jié)的意義，而在車里無法感受這些。所以作者提到Henry Thoreau是為了證明走路實際上幫助充實心靈，選B。

【4】詞義猜測題。找到“a steel river”所在的句子，To them security is a steel river thundering on a concrete (混凝土) road.這句話的意思是對于他們來說，安全就是在混凝土的路上，一排排的汽車在咆哮，故選A。