Question

In many cultures white is often associated with something positive. A white-collar job, for instance, is the kind of job many people look for, working with your brain and not your hands.

White has a clean and pure image. That is why doctors, dentists, and nurses usually wear white uniforms. Babies are dressed in white at baptisms（洗禮）and brides wear white wedding gowns at weddings. White in these cases is the symbol of innocence or purity.

Sometimes white is used in expressions that are not good. “Whitewash” is one such expression. At first, “whitewash” meant to paint over something with white paint to make it look better. However, it means something different today: to hide or to cover up mistakes or failures.

A “white elephant” is another example of white used in a negative way. In ancient Thailand, a white elephant was regarded as a sacred animal, but it was very expensive to keep. The kings of those days presented a white elephant to the people they wanted to ruin. Once they received this holy, royal animal as a gift, they were not allowed to sell or kill it. Today, a “white elephant” means something that is big, useless, and unwanted. In America, when people want to get rid of their furniture or clothes, they often have a “white elephant sale”.

1.The text is mainly about________.

A. the history of some English idioms

B. the meanings of white in English culture

C. some interesting customs in English culture

D. some useful English words and expressions

2. Which expression has a historical background?

A. White elephant. B. White-collar.

C. White-wash. D. White elephant sale.

3.In which statement does “white” have a negative meaning?

A. A boy is dressed in white at baptisms.

B. A bride wears a white wedding gown.

C. A girl finds a white collar job.

D. A man whitewashes his crime.

4.The author develops the text mainly by ______.

A. analyzing its cause and effect

B. comparing different ideas

C. providing typical examples

D. following the time order

Answer 1

1.B

2.A

3.D

4.C

【解析】

試題分析：“白色”所體現(xiàn)的正反寓意。

1.B主旨大意題。通讀全文可知，該文重在對“白色”所體現(xiàn)的正反寓意加以敘述，故該題正確答案為B.

2.A細(xì)節(jié)信息題。根據(jù)文章最后一段對 “white elephant”這一貶義詞歷史由來的解釋，可知“white elephant”一詞的貶義由來，是有歷史淵源的，故該題正確答案為A.

3.D細(xì)節(jié)信息題。文章第一、二段講述的是white所體現(xiàn)出正面的積極的意義的一些場合（白領(lǐng)、受洗禮時(shí)孩子穿白色的衣服、結(jié)婚時(shí)新娘子穿著白色的婚紗），而三、四兩段則告訴讀者white體現(xiàn)出消極意義的場合（“whitewash”和“white elephant”），由此細(xì)節(jié)可知該題正確答案D.

4.C考查文章結(jié)構(gòu)。通讀文章可知，作者主要是使用“舉例子”的方式來告訴讀者“白色”所體現(xiàn)的正反寓意的。故該題正確答案為C.

考點(diǎn)：社會文化類文章的閱讀