B
Once when I was six years old, I saw an amazing picture in a book called True Stories from Nature about the primeval forest. It was a picture of a boa constrictor(大蟒蛇)in the act of swallowing an animal. In the book it said: “Boa constrictors swallow their prey wholly without chewing it. After that they are not able to move and they sleep through the six months that they need for digestion. ”
I thought deeply then over the adventures of the jungle. And after some work with a colored pencil, I succeeded in making my first drawing, my Drawing Number One. I showed my work to the grown-ups and asked them whether the drawing frightened them. But they answered, “Frighten? Why should anyone be frightened by a hat? ”
My drawing was not a picture of a hat. It was a picture of a boa constrictor digesting an elephant. But since the grown-ups were not able to understand it, I made another drawing. I drew the inside of the boa constrictor so that the grown-ups could see it clearly. They always need to have things explained. That’s my Drawing Number Two.
The grown-ups’ response this time was to advise me to lay aside my drawings of boa constrictors whether from the inside or the outside and devote myself instead to geography, history, arithmetic and grammar. That is why at the age of six I gave up the dream that I might have been a great painter. I had been disheartened by the failure of my Drawing Number One and my Drawing Number Two. Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them.
So then I chose another profession and learned to pilot airplanes. I have flown a little over all parts of the world, and it is true that geography has been very useful to me. At a glance, I can distinguish China from Arizona. If one gets lost in the night, such knowledge is valuable.
In the course of this life, I have had lots of chances to meet with a great many people. And that hasn’t much improved my opinion of them. Whenever I met one of them who seemed to me at all clear-sighted, I tried showing him my Drawing Number One which I have always kept. I would try to find out if this was a person of true understanding. But whoever it was, he or she would always say: That is a hat. Then I would never talk to that person about boa constrictors or primeval forest or stars. I would bring myself down to his level. I would talk to him about bridge, golf, politics and neckties. And the grown-up would be greatly pleased to have met such an intelligent man.
【文章大意】作者的两幅画一直都得不到人们的真正理解, 他感到非常困惑, 希望能遇到一个理解自己的人, 但希望总是落空。
6. The writer drew his first picture in order to ________ .
A. show the grown-ups what the book was about
B. frighten the grown-ups trying to enter the forest
C. remind himself of the adventures of the jungle
D. illustrate a boa constrictor’s act of digesting an animal
【解析】选D。推理判断题。根据第三段中的“It was a picture of a boa constrictor digesting an elephant. ”可知, 应选D项。
7. How did the writer understand the grown-ups’ response to his second drawing?
A. He was actually only good at academic study.
B. It was a waste of time for him to keep on drawing.
C. He had difficulty in communicating with the adults.
D. He was good at anything but geography.
【解析】选B。推理判断题。根据文章的第四段开头可知, 大人们觉得作者继续画画简直就是浪费时间。故选B项。
8. The underlined word “disheartened” in Paragraph 4 could most probably be replaced by ________ .
A. discouraged B. dissatisfied
C. discriminated D. disturbed
【解析】选A。词义猜测题。根据上下文和画线词后面的“the failure”可知, 这两幅画的失败打击了作者, 故dishearten在此可理解为“使失去信心, 使泄气”。故选A项。
9. Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. The writer could have become a pilot if encouraged when young.
B. The writer finally changed his opinion of grown-ups.
C. The writer has been showing his two pictures to others ever since.
D. The writer felt nobody could have really understood him.
【解析】选D。细节理解题。根据最后一段中的“I would try to find out if this was a person of true understanding. But whoever it was, he or she would always say: That is a hat. ”可知D项正确。
【技法导练】
如何快速解答观点态度题
观点态度题可以是考查文章作者对某件事的态度, 可以是考查文中提到的某人对某件事的态度, 也可以是考查对文中某句话表达的态度。 (1)考查文章的主旨, 可能是客观、主观、积极、消极、喜欢、讨厌之类的, 看作者的态度进行选择, 注意寻找文中的关键词汇, 它们可能会表露出作者的态度。
(2)考查对某人或事的态度, 就要找这个人出现在文中的位置, 看看这个人说的话之类的, 联系上下文, 就可以找到该人的态度。
(3)考查对某句话的态度, 注意分析这句话是谁说的, 然后也是根据上下文进行判断。
阅读理解第4题为观点态度题。根据文章内容, 特别是第三段和最后一段可知Christakis认为教育类的电视节目对孩子行为的影响是。
