Question

Ireland has had a very difficult history. The problems started in the 16th century when English rulers tried to conquer(征服) Ireland. For hundreds of years, the Irish people fought against the English. Finally, in 1921, the British government was forced to give independence to the south of Ireland. The result is that today there are two “Irelands”. Northern Ireland, in the north, is part of the united kingdom. The Republic of Ireland, in the south, is an independent country.
In the 1840s the main crop, potatoes, was affected by disease and about 750,000 people died of hunger. This, and a shortage (短缺) of work , forced many people to leave Ireland and live in the USA, the UK, Australia and Canada. As a result of these problems, the population fell from 8.2 million in 1841 to 6.6 million in 1851.
For many years, the majority of Irish people earned their living as farmers. Today, many people still work on the land but more and more people are moving to the cities to work in factories and offices. Life in the cities is very different from life in the countryside, where things move at a quieter and slower pace.
The Irish are famous for being warm-hearted and friendly. Oscar Wilde, a famous Irish writer, once said that the Irish were “the greatest talkers since the Greeks”. Since independence, Ireland has revived(复兴) its own culture of music, language, literature and singing. Different areas have different styles of old Irish song which are sung without instruments. Other kinds of Irish music use many different instruments such as the violin, whistles, etc.
【小题1】What does the author tell us in paragraph 1?

A．How the Irish fought against the English.

B．How Ireland gained independence.

C．How English rulers tried to conquer Ireland.

D．How two “Irelands” came into being.

【小题2】We learn from the text that in Ireland            .

A．food shortages in the 1840s led to a decline in population

B．people are moving to the cities for lack of work in the countryside

C．it is harder to make a living as a farmer than as a factory worker

D．different kinds of old Irish songs are all sung with instruments

【小题3】The last paragraph is mainly about          .

A．the Irish character

B．Irish culture

C．Irish musical instruments

D．a famous Irish writer

【小题4】What can be the best title for the text?

A．Life in Ireland

B．A Very Difficult History

C．Ireland, Past and Present

D．The Independence of Ireland

Answer 1

【小题1】D
【小题2】A
【小题3】B
【小题4】C

解析试题分析：文章介绍了爱尔兰的历史，爱尔兰受制于英国，在1921年，爱尔兰南部才得到独立，成立了共和国，而北部属于英国。由于自然灾害，爱尔兰的人口骤减。文章还比较了爱尔兰过去和现在的生活。最后提到了爱尔兰的文化发展。
【小题1】考查段落大意。爱尔兰受英国的统治，在1921年，英国被迫承认南爱尔兰独立。“The result is that today there are two “Irelands”. Northern Ireland, in the north, is part of the united kingdom. The Republic of Ireland, in the south, is an independent country.”北爱尔兰是英国的一部分，而南部的爱尔兰共和国是独立的国家。作者告诉我们，“两个爱尔兰”是如何形成的。故选D。
【小题2】根据第二段“In the 1840s the main crop, potatoes, was affected by disease and about 750,000 people died of hunger.”和“the population fell from 8.2 million in 1841 to 6.6 million in 1851”可知，在十九世纪四十年代，主要农作物受疾病影响，大约75万人死于饥饿，爱尔兰人口骤减到6600万。故选A。
【小题3】根据最后一段的“Ireland has revived(复兴) its own culture of music, language, literature and singing”可知，最后一段主要讲的是爱尔兰的文化。故选B。
【小题4】B总结的是爱尔兰的一段历史，文章没有详细讲爱尔兰的独立，B、D排除；文章第三段主要讲的是爱尔兰的生活，A是对第三段的总结，不够全面。文章讲了爱尔兰的过去和现在，故选C。
考点：历史类短文阅读