Question

There was once a beautiful nymph called Echo. But Echo had one failing; she was fond of talking, and whether in chat or argument, would have the last word. As she was good company, she and Zeus became good friends. However, Zeus’ wife, Hera, became jealous. She followed Zeus to the earth to find out what he was doing and Zeus asked Echo to distract Hera until he could escape. Later when Hera discovered she had been tricked, she became very angry. She turned on Echo and said, “You shall lose the use of your tongue because you cheated me. You’ll have the last word, bur no longer have the power to speak first.” So from that moment on, Beautiful Echo was hardly able to hold a conversation because she could only repeat the last words of those around her. She became very embarrassed and hid herself deep in the woods.

One day a handsome young man called Narcissus came into the woods. He had been hunting deer and lost his way. However, the moment Echo saw him, she fell in love with him. She followed him, wishing to tell him but unable to begin a conversation. Oh, how she wished she could speak first. Unfortunately, Narcissus was far too busy worrying about where his companions might be and how he could find his way home.

Eventually Narcissus, with Echo following behind along, came to a pool of water in the middle of the woods. Feeling thirsty, Narcissus bent down to drink. As he did so, he saw a beautiful creature in the water staring up at him. He immediately bent over and said to him, “I love you!” Echo, nearby, and seeing her chance, immediately responded “…. I love you!” But it was too late. Narcissus was already in love, with himself.

The stranger seemed to rise up closer to Narcissus who was so involved that he entirely failed to notice Echo. “I want to stay and look at this beautiful sight forever,” he whispered dreamily to himself.”… Forever,” repeated Echo sadly. “Come here,” called Narcissus to his reflection as he moved his head and the creature seemed to move away. “…Here.” responded Echo. Narcissus bent back down to see his reflection more clearly. “So beautiful! I’ve never seen anything so beautiful!” “….So beautiful!” responded Echo truthfully.

Narcissus remained by the water refusing all Echo’s silent offers of food and drink until he died. Where he had been, a flower grew in his place, as beautiful as Narcissus himself. As for Echo, from that time forward, she also didn’t eat or drink till she turned to rocks and all that was left was her voice. Even now you can still hear Echo trying to attract Narcissus’ attention by repeating his words and still see Narcissus as a beautiful flower growing near a pool.

1.Why was Echo unable to let Narcissus know she loved him?

A. Because she had lost the ability to speak.

B. Because she was too shy to speak first.

C. Because Narcissus took no notice of her.

D. Because Hera had taken away her ability to speak first.

2.“The stranger” in paragraph 4 refers to ______.

A. Echo

B. Hera.

C. Narcissus himself.

D. a fairy in the woods.

3.Which of the following kinds of person can be described as a “Narcissus”?

A. A person who loves and admires himself or herself.

B. A person who loves to admire beautiful water flowers.

C. A person who is too shy to have a chat with other people.

D. A person who’s afraid of being separated from companions.

4.What’s the best title of this passage?

A. Echo’s sacrifice. B. Echo and Hera.

C. Echo and Narcissus. D. Narcissus’s self-love.

 

Answer 1

1.D

2.C

3.A

4.C

【解析】

试题分析：文章改编自希腊神话故事《Echo and Narcissus》，Narcissus是水仙的意思，还指孤芳自赏的自恋狂。一个叫“回声”的仙女与宙斯(Zeus)关系很好，这遭到了宙斯妻子赫拉(Hera)的嫉妒，她收走了仙女的话语权，仙女变得只能重复别人说过的话。仙女爱慕一个叫Narcissus的人，但是，Narcissus沉迷于自己的美貌无法自拔，成了一个自恋狂，他完全不顾仙女Echo对他的情意。最后，Narcissus死后化作了水仙。

1.You shall lose the use of your tongue because you cheated me. You’ll have the last word, bur no longer have the power to speak first.”可知，Hera让Echo丧失了先开口说话的能力，只能重复别人说过的话，故选D。

2.he saw a beautiful creature in the water staring up at him... Narcissus was already in love, with himself.”和第四段“called Narcissus to his reflection...Narcissus bent back down to see his reflection more clearly”可知，Narcissus喜欢上了自己的影子，故选C。

3.I want to stay and look at this beautiful sight forever, ...Narcissus bent back down to see his reflection more clearly. “So beautiful! I’ve never seen anything so beautiful!””可知，Narcissus迷恋上了自己的倒影，Narcissus一词有“自恋狂”的意思，故选A。

4.Narcissus的英俊，并对他穷追不舍，但她不能正常说话，只能重复别人说过的话，也就无法表达自己的想法，而Narcissus爱上了自己在水中的倒影，根本不去理睬Echo的爱慕，A、D都太片面，文章讲述了一个关于Echo和Narcissus的故事，C项最全面，故选C。

考点：神话故事类短文阅读