Question

The other day, my friend Jane was invited to a 40th birthday party. The time printed on the invitation was 7:30 pm．Jane went off with her husband, expecting a merry evening of wine, food, and song．

By 9:45, everybody was having great fun, but no food had appeared. Jane and David were restless. Other guests began whispering that they, too, were starving．But no one wanted to leave, just in case some food was about to appear. By 11:00, there was still no food, and everyone was completely off their heads. Jane and David left hungry and angry．

Their experience suggests that the words on the printed invitations need to be made clearer. Everyone reads and understands the invitations differently. Most of us would agree that 6:30 - 8:30 pm means drinks only, go out to dinner afterwards; 8:00 pm or 8:30 pm means possible dinner, but 9:30 pm and any time thereafter means no food, eat beforehand, arrive late．

But this is not always the case．If asked to a students’ party at 6:30 pm, it is unaccepted for guests to appear on time. Being the first to arrive — looking eager — is social death. When my mother is asked to a party at 6:30, she likes to be there, if not on time, then no later than seven．My age group (late thirties) falls somewhere between the two, but because we still think we’re young, we’re probably closer to student-time than grown-up time．

The accepted custom at present is confusing, sometimes annoying, and it often means you may go home hungry, but it does lend every party that precious element of surprise．

1.The underlined words “off their heads” probably mean _______．

A．tired

B．crazy

C．happy

D．encouraging

2.Jane and David’s story is used to show that _______．

A．party invitations can be confusing

B．party-goers usually get hungry at parties

C．people should ask for food at parties

D．birthday parties for middle-aged people are dull

3.For some young people, arriving on time for a students’ party will probably be considered _______．

A．very difficult	B．particularly thoughtful
C．friendly and polite	D．socially unacceptable

4.What is the general idea of the text? 

A．It’s safe to arrive late just when food is served．

B．It’s wise to eat something before going to a party．

C．It’s important to follow social rules of party-going．

D．There’s no need to read invitations carefully．

 

Answer 1

【答案】

1.B

2.B

3.D

4.C

【解析】

试题分析：这篇文章讲述的是参加晚会的社会习惯，说明我们要遵守社会习俗。

1.猜词题：参加晚会的人没吃晚饭，到晚11点，人们饿疯了。选B

2.推理题开头的故事做为例子，说明邀请信函令人迷茫，人们无法把握该如何去做。选B

3.推理题：第四段前几句说明，年轻的学生赴晚会迟到很正常。急切地第一个赶到的人太少见了。选D

4.主旨题：从全文可知，不同年龄段的人到达晚会的时间不同，对晚会时间理解不同，不遵从社会习惯，便会出现饿肚子等现象。所以，按社会习俗参加晚会极为重要。选C

考点：考查社会生活类短文阅读

点评：这篇文章是讲的是社会习俗，考生也要了解相关内容，对自己的生活有帮助，阅读时要关注细节和推理。也要去抓住文章主旨。