Question

It is widely known that any English conversation begins with The Weather. Such a fixation with the weather finds expression in Dr.Johnson’s famous comment that “When two English meet, their first talk is of weather.” Though Johnson’s observation is as accurate now as it was over two hundred years ago, most commentators fail to come up with a convincing explanation for this English weather-speak.

Bill Bryson, for ezample, concludes that,as the English weather is not at all exciting,the obsession with it can hardly be understood. He argues that”To an outsider,the most striking thing about the English weather is that there is not very much of it.” Simply, the reason is that the unusual and unpredictable weather is almost unknown in the British Isles.

Jeremy Paxman, however, disagrees with Bryson, arguing that the English weather is by nature attractive. Bryson is wrong, he says,because the English preference for the weather has nothing to do with the natural phenomena.”The interest is less in the phenomena themselves, but in uncertainty.” According to him, the weather in England is very changeable and uncertain and it attracts the English as well as the outsider.

Bryson and Paxman stand for common misconceptions about the weather-speak among the English. Both commentators, somehow, are missing the point. The English weather conversation is not really about the weather at all. English weather-speak is a system of signs ,which is developed to help the speakers overcome the natural reserve and actually talk to each other. Everyone knows conversations starting with weather-speak are not requests for weather data. Rather, they are routine greetings,conversation starters or the blank”fillers”, In other words, English weather-speak is a means of social bonding.

1.The author mentions Dr.Johnson’s comment to show that________.

A.most commentators agree with Dr.Johnson

B.Dr.Johnson is famous for his weather observation

C.the comment was accurate two hundred years ago

D.English conversations usually start with the weather

2.What doe s the underlined word”obsession” most probably refer to?

A.A social trend.   B.An emotional state.

C.A historical concept.   D.An unknown phenomenon.

3.According to the passage,Jeremy Paxman believes that________.

A.Bill Bryson has little knowledge of the weather

B.there is nothing special about the English weather

C.the English weather attracts people to the British Isles

D.English people talk about the weather for its unccrtainty

4.What is the author’s main purpose of writing the passage?

A.To explain what English weather-speak is about.

B.To analyse misconceptions about the English weather.

C.To find fault with both Bill Bryson and Jeremy Paxman.

D.To convince people that the English weather is changeable.

 

Answer 1

1.D

2.B

3.D

4.A

【解析】

試題分析: 本文是一篇關于文化習俗的文章。眾所周知，英國人見面打招呼都是喜歡談論天氣。為什么英國人喜歡以天氣為談論話題呢？在本文中作者深層分析了其文化根源。這種日常問候的方式即是一種社會紐帶。

1.推理判斷題。文章首段提出It is widely known that any English conversation begins with The Weather.（眾所周知，任何英語交流都是以天氣開頭。）緊接著就以Dr.Johnson的話來舉例說明，由此判斷作者提到Dr.Johnson 的話是為了說明英國人這種社會習俗，故選D。

2.猜測詞義。根據(jù)第二段中Bill Bryson, for example, concludes that, as the English weather is not at all exciting（例如，Bill Bryson認為由于英國的天氣一點都不會讓人興奮）, 和the obsession with it can hardly be understood……很難讓人理解,判斷obsession是與前面內(nèi)容相反的意思，故答案選B。

3.推理判斷題。根據(jù)第三段“The interest is less in the phenomena themselves, but in uncertainty.” According to him, the weather in England is very changeable and uncertain and it attracts the English as well as the outsider.可知Jeremy Paxman的觀點是：英國人喜歡談論天氣的原因是由于英國天氣的多變和不確定性。故選C。

4..主旨大意題。本文從英國人見面打招呼以談論天氣引入中心，分析了為什么英國人喜歡以天氣為談論話題，然后介紹了兩個常見的錯誤觀點，繼而深層分析了其文化根源，故選A。

考點：考查社會文化類短文閱讀