12.World's hardest word
British people have always been good at saying"I'm sorry".They used to be so good at it that they would apologize (道歉) for things that weren't even their fault (错误).
However,the British seem to be losing touch with their art.According to a new book by British writer Max Davidson,instead of saying"I'm sorry"when they do something wrong,British people prefer to choose their words carefully.
In his book,"Sorry…The Hardest Word and How to Use It",Davidson writes about a number of recent apologies(道歉).One example is of British television host Jeremy Clarkson.He described Gordon Brown,then UK prime minister (首相),as"a one-eyed Scottish idiot (笨蛋)".(Brown is blind in his left eye.)
Clarkson was forced to apologize.He said:"In the heat of the moment,I made a comment about the prime minister.Now I apologize on reflection."Davidson says the apology was just"going through the motions (做表面文章)".Clarkson is not the only one.The best example may come from a UK MP (议员) Tessa Jowell.She said to the public:"If you feel our government falls short of what you expect,then I say sorry for that."
Jowell said"sorry".But she is actually saying it's not the government's fault but the voters'(选民的) fault for expecting too much from the government.
Perhaps those people with influence feel they may lose too much by apologizing.But as a teenager,would you really want to lose a close friend,just because you couldn't say something as simple as,"I'm sorry"?That would be hard to forgive (原谅).
61.What does the first sentence in the second paragraph mean?C
A.The British are still good at apologizing.
B.The British like to say sorry for everything they have done.
C.The British don't want to say"I'm sorry"now.
D.The British lose too much by saying"sorry".
62.We can tell from the story that Clarkson's apology wasD.
A.sincere
B.friendly
C.rude
D.insincere
63.According to Tessa Jowell,it'sA fault for expecting too much.
A.the voters'
B.the government's
C.the president's
D.her
64.The story mainly tells us thatB.
A.British people used to be polite and kind
B.British people choose their words carefully to apologize
C.British people like to go through the motions
D.British people are expecting too much from the government
65.The writer develops the passage mainly byA.
A.providing special examples
B.following the natural time order
C.giving out a cause and analyzing(分析)its effects
D.comparing opinions from different countries.
分析 文章大意:这是一篇社会文化类阅读,主要讲过去英国人经常会为自己的过错说"对不起".但是现在英国人似乎对道歉的艺术失去了接触.也许那些有影响的人觉得他们可能会因为道歉而失去很多,但作为一个十几岁的孩子,你真的想失去一个亲密的朋友,仅仅因为你不能说一些简单的"对不起"吗?
解答 61-65 CDABA
61.答案:C.细节理解题.划线部分However,the British seem to be losing touch with their art但是现在英国人似乎对道歉的艺术失去了接触.由instead of saying"I'm sorry"when they do something wrong,British people prefer to choose their words carefully.代替"对不起"当他们做错事情,英国人喜欢出言谨慎,可知.划线部分意思是英国人现在以不同的方式说"对不起",答案是C.
62.答案:D.细节理解题.根据Davidson says the apology was just"going through the motions戴维森说,道歉只是做表面文章.可知应该是不真实的.答案是D.
63.答案:A.细节理解题.根据 Tessa Jowell.She said to the public:"If you feel our government falls short of what you expect,then I say sorry for that她对公众说:"如果你觉得我们的政府没有你所期望的,那么我说抱歉.应该是选民期待过高.答案是D.
64.答案:B.主旨大意题.根据instead of saying"I'm sorry"when they do something wrong,British people prefer to choose their words carefully.代替"对不起"当他们做错事情,英国人喜欢出言谨慎.可知英国人慎重选择自己的话去道歉.答案是B.
65.答案:A.主旨大意题.根据文章大意可知是提供一些特殊的案例来说明这个情况.答案是A.
点评 阅读题型,要注重句子与句子之间、段落与段落之间逻辑关系以及对篇章的整体理解.根据所给问题选择正确选项完成试题.