阅读理解
PART II READING COMPREHENSION
TEXT B
Paris is like pornography. You respond even if you don’t want to. You turn a corner and see a vista, and your imagination bolts away. Suddenly you are thinking about what it would be like to live in Paris, and then you think about all the lives you have not lived. Sometimes, though, when you are lucky, you only think about how many pleasures the day ahead holds. Then, you feel privileged．
The lobby of the hotel is decorated in red and gold．It gives off a whiff of 19th century decadence. Probably as much as any hotel in Paris, this hotel is sexy. I was standing facing the revolving doors and the driveway beyond. A car with a woman in the back seat—a woman in a short skirt and black-leather jacket—pulled up before the hotel door. She swung off and she was wearing high heels. Normally, my mind would have leaped and imagined a story for this woman. Now it didn't. I stood there and told myself,” Cheer up. You’re in Paris.”
In many ways, Paris is best visited in winter. The tourist crowds are at a minimum, and one is not being jammed off the narrow sidewalks along the Rue Dauphine. More than this, Paris is like many other European cities in that the season of blockbuster cultural events tends to begin in mid-to late fall and so，by the time of winter, most of the cultural treasures of the city are laid out to be admired.
The other great reason why Paris in winter is so much better than Paris in spring and fall is that after the end of the August holidays and the return of chic Parisian women to their city, the restaurant-opening season truly begins hopping. By winter, many of the new restaurants have worked out their kinks(不足；困难)and, once the hype has died down, it is possible to see which restaurants are actually good and which are merely noisy and crowded．
Most people are about as happy as they set their mind to being, Lincoln said. In Paris it doesn’t take much to be happy. Outside the hotel, the sky was pale and felt very high up. I walked the few blocks to the Seine and began running along the blue-green river toward the Eiffel Tower. The tower in the distance was black，and felt strange and beautiful the way that many things built for the joy of building do. As I ran toward it, because of its lattice structure, the tower seemed obviously delicate. Seeing it, I felt a sense of protectiveness.
I think it was this moment of protectiveness that marked the change in my mood and my slowly becoming thrilled with being in Paris.
During winter evenings，Paris’s streetlamps have a halo and resemble dandelions. In winter, when one leaves the Paris street and enters a café or restaurant，the light and temperature change suddenly and dramatically, there is the sense of having discovered something secret. In winter, because the days are short, there is an urgency to the choices one makes. There is the sense that life is short and so let us decide on what matters．
16. According to the passage，once in Paris one might experience all the following feelings EXCEPT
A．regret B．condescension C．expectation D．impulse
17．Winter is the best season to visit Paris．Which of the following does NOT support this statement?
A．Fashionable Parisian women return to Paris
B．More entertainment activities are staged
C．There are more good restaurants to choose from
D．There are fewer tourists in Paris
18．"Most people are about as happy as they set their mind to being．"This statement means that most people
A．expect to be happy
B．hope to be as happy as others
C．would be happier if they wanted
D．can be happy if they want
19．In the eyes of the author, winter in Paris is significant because of
A．the atmosphere of its evenings
B．its implications for life
C．the contrast it brings
D．the discovery one makes
20．At the end of the passage, the author found himself in a mood of
A．excitement B．thoughtfulness
C．loneliness D．joyfulness
参考答案与解析
参考答案与解析：
16.A regret
题目问的是根据文章，当人们身在巴黎不会有以下那种感受。
该题可用排他法，先找出在文中提到的在巴黎会有的感受。选项B: condescension(自以为高人一等的)，可由第一段开头“Then, you feel privileged．”得出，privileged:有特权的；有优越感的，与condescension同义。选项C: expectation(期待)，可由“Suddenly you are thinking about what it would be like to live in Paris, and then you think about all the lives you have not lived.”看出，在巴黎你会憧憬与自己之前不同的那种新生活，由此产生期待的感觉，即expectation。选项D: impulse(冲动)，可由“You respond even if you don’t want to.”一句得出，在巴黎时，人们会不由自主的对所见所闻作出反应，就像是本能的冲动一般。因此只剩选项A: regret(后悔)，而且它也是明显错误的，从作者的口吻和描述中都充分显示出了他对这座城市的喜爱之情，又怎么会有后悔的感觉呢？
17. A Fashionable Parisian women return to Paris
题目问的是作者认为冬天是游览巴黎的最佳季节，四个选项中哪个不支持这一观点。
该题仍可使用排他法。选项B可由第三段“More than this, Paris is like many other European cities in that the season of blockbuster cultural events tends to begin in mid-to late fall and so，by the time of winter, most of the cultural treasures of the city are laid out to be admired.”得出，冬季正值巴黎各种特色文化活动季火热开展之际，因此会有更多的娱乐活动展现在游客面前。选项C可由第四段得出，作者在该段开头即直接点明另一个重要原因就是冬季巴黎的餐厅会增多。而此时，在各种广告宣传都结束后，人们可以更好的判断出哪些才是真正的好餐馆，哪些只是夸大其词实则喧哗又拥挤。选项D可由第三段“The tourist crowds are at a minimum, and one is not being jammed off the narrow sidewalks along the Rue Dauphine.”得出，冬季巴黎的游客量是一年之中最少的，游客就不用被拥挤的人群堵在狭窄的人行道上寸步难行。因此只剩选项A，文中确实有提到八月时髦巴黎女人的回归，但这只是是餐厅变多的原因，并不是作者认为冬天是游览巴黎的最佳季节的直接原因。
18. D can be happy if they want
题目问的是对林肯关于快乐的一句名言的理解：“Most people are about as happy as they set their mind to being．”
将该名言翻译一下即为：“大多数人当他们决定要快乐起来的时候就已经拥有了快乐。”所以该句与选项D：“Most people can be happy if they want.”(大多数人只要愿意都可以快乐起来。)意思相同。这里要注意的是选项C的意思与选项D结构相似，但意思却是完全不同的，它采用了虚拟语气，意为：“大多数人原本可以很快乐，如果他们愿意的话。”强调真实的情况是并不快乐的。
19. B its implications for life
题目问的是在作者眼中，冬天对巴黎来说是很重要的一个季节的原因是什么。
分析文章最后一段不难看出，该段主要是写作者在巴黎的冬天中获得的一些人生感悟，特别是最后两句：由于巴黎冬季的白天很短，所以人们在总会觉得时间不够用，得快速做出选择。由此引申出人生其实也是这样，由于它短暂而匆忙，而我们精力有限，因此要做出抉择，认定什么才是最重要的。因此选项B是正确的。
20. B thoughtfulness
题目问的是文章最后作者处于一种什么样的情感状态。
上题中已经提到最后一段是在写作者的人身感悟，他在巴黎的所见所感都让他进一步产生出对人生的思考和感悟，所以选项B：thoughtfulness（思虑，思考）是正确的。而选项A：excitement（兴奋），C:loneliness（孤独） D:joyfulness（快乐）都不是最后一段中显示出来的情感。