Question

【题目】LONDON (Reuters) — Quiet please — Britain’ s Queen Elizabeth is preparing to have her swans counted. Buckingham Palace has announced that the annual Swan Upping, a tradition dating back to the 12th century which involves a census of the swan population on the River Thames, will be conducted by the Queen’ s official Swan Marker from July 20—24.

“With the assistance of the Queen’s Swan Warden, Professor Christopher Perrins of the University of Oxford, the swans and young cygnets (小天鹅) are also assessed for any signs of injury or disease，” Buckingham Palace said in announcing the count.

The process involves the Swan Marker, David Barber, rowing up the Thames for five days with the Swan Warden in traditional skiffs while wearing special scarlet uniforms and counting, weighing and measuring swans and cygnets.

It may seem eccentric, but it is very important to the Queen, According to custom, Britain’ s sovereign owns all unmarked, mute swans in open water, but the Queen now exercises the right only on stretches of the Thames and its nearby tributaries.

In medieval times, the Swan Marker would not only travel up the river counting the swans, but would catch as many as possible as they were sought after for banquets and feasts.

This year, the Swan Marker and the Swan Warden are particularly keen to discover how much damage is being caused to swans and cygnets by attacks from dogs and from discarded fishing tackle (渔具)．

It is also an important year because Queen Elizabeth has decided to join her team of Swan Uppers for part of the census. She will follow them up the river and visit a local school project on the whole subject of swans, cygnets and the Thames.

“Education and conservation are essential to the role of Swan Upping and the involvement of school children is always a rewarding experience，” Buckingham Palace said.

【1】 In medieval times，________.

A. swans were better protected than now

B. a lot of swans were killed by dogs

C. swans were a delicious dish on royal banquets

D. common people could catch the swans

【2】We can infer from the passage that the process of counting the swans ________.

A. remains almost unchanged in the past years

B. involves a lot of royal members

C. sometimes lasts longer than before

D. is always guarded by special soldiers

【3】This year, the Swan Marker and the Swan Warden mainly want to find out________.

A. the exact number of swans and cygnets

B. how a local school project is going on

C. how much damage the swans and cygnets suffer

D. how education and conservation are carried out along the Thames

【4】Which of the following is the main idea of the passage?

A. Britain’ s Queen is concerned about swans.

B. Britain’ s Queen orders a count of swans.

C. An old tradition in Buckingham Palace.

D. Queen Elizabeth will count swans herself.

5．The underlined word “tributaries” can be best replaced by ________. A. districts

B. anks

C. trees

D. branches

Answer 1

【答案】【1】C

【2】A

【3】C

【4】B

【5】D

【解析】【1】细节理解题。从文章倒数第四段可知，在中世纪天鹅被捉住，然后成为皇家宴会上的美味。

【2】推理判断题。从文章第四段对数天鹅过程的描述以及参与清点的官员的穿着打扮可知，其过程几乎没有变化，因为这是一项传统活动。

【3】细节理解题。从文章倒数第三段内容可知答案为C。

【4】主旨大意题。文章第一段是本文的主题段，英国女王下令清点泰晤士河上的天鹅的数量。

【5】词义理解题。根据语境和常识可知，此处是指在泰晤士河及其支流上生活的天鹅。故答案为D。