Question

【题目】It is widely known that any English conversation begins with The Weather. Such a fixation with the weather finds expression in Dr. Johnson's famous comment that “When two English meet, their first talk is of weather.” Though Johnson's observation is as accurate now as it was over two hundred years ago, most commentators fail to come up with a convincing explanation for this English weather speak.

Bill Bryson, for example, concludes that, as the English weather is not at all exciting, the obsession with it can hardly be understood. He argues that “To an outsider, the most striking thing about the English weather is that there is not very much of it.” Simply, the reason is that the unusual and unpredictable weather is almost un-known in the British Isles.

Jeremy Paxman, however, disagrees with Bryson, arguing that the English weather is by nature attractive. Bryson is wrong, he says, because the English preference for the weather has nothing to do with the natural phenomena. “The interest is less in the phenomena themselves, but in uncertainty.” According to him, the weather in England is very changeable and uncertain and it attracts the English as well as the outsider.

Bryson and Paxman stand for common misconceptions about the weather-speak among the English. Both commentators, somehow, are missing the point. The English weather conversation is not really about the weather at all. English weather-speak is a system of signs, which is developed to help the speakers overcome the natural reserve and actually tal to each other. Everyone knows conversations starting with weather-speak are not requests for weather data. Rather, they are routine greetings, conversation starters or the blank “fillers “. In other words, English weather-speak is a means of social bonding.

【1】 The author mentions Dr. Johnson's comment to show that _________.

A. most commentators agree with Dr. Johnson

B. Dr. Johnson is famous for his weather observation

C. the comment was accurate two hundred years ago

D. English conversations usually start with the weather

【2】 What does the underlined word “obsession “most probably refer to?

A. A social trend. B. An emotional state.

C. A historical concept. D. An unknown phenomenon.

【3】 According to the passage, Jeremy Paxman believes that _________.

A. Bill Bryson has little knowledge of the weather

B. there is nothing special about the English weather

C. the English weather attracts people to the British Isles

D. English people talk about the weather for its uncertainty

【4】 What is the author's main purpose of writing the passage?

A. To explain what English weather-speak is about.

B. To analyse misconceptions about the English weather.

C. To find fault with both Bill Bryson and Jeremy Paxman.

D. To convince people that the English weather is changeable.

Answer 1

【答案】【1】D

【2】B

【3】D

【4】A

【解析】【1】 推理判断题。第一段作者首先提出英国人见面谈论天气这一现象，接着就给出了 Dr. Johnson的评论，由此可判断引用Dr. Johnson评论的目的是说明这一现象的普遍，故选D项。

【2】 词义猜测题。第二段提到Bill Bryson认为由于英国的天气一点也不让人兴奋，所以人们见面就谈天气的这种痴迷令人费解。可推断obsession的意思可能是“痴迷”，是一种情感状态，故选B。A:社会趋势; B:情感状态; C:历史概念; D:未知现象。

【3】 推理判断题。根据第三段中" The interest is less in the phenomena themselves, but in uncertainty. " 可知人们见面谈论天气的兴趣不在天气本身，而在于天气的不确定性，故选D。

【4】 主旨大意题。文章第一段首先引出英国人见面爱谈天气的现象，第二和第三段分别阐述了 Bill Bryson和Jeremy Paxman对这一现象的两种相反观点，最后一段提出了自己的观点：英国人见面谈论天气是社交的一种手段，可判断文章的写作目的是剖析英国人见面谈天气的原因。