阅读试题

The light from the campfire brightened the darkness, but it could not prevent the damp cold of Dennis's Swamp (沼泽地) creeping into their bones. It was a strange place. Martin and Tom wished that they had not accepted Jack's dare. They liked camping, but not near this swamp.

"So," Martin asked as they sat watching the hot coals. "How did this place get its name?"

"Are you sure you want to hear it ? It's a scary story," warned Jack.

"Of course!" cried out Tom. "If there were anything to be scared of, you wouldn't have chosen this place!"

"Ok, but don't say I didn't warn you," said Jack, and he began this tale.

"Way back in time, a man called Dennis tried to start a farm here. He built that cottage over there to live in. In those days, the area looked quite different - it was covered with tall trees and the swamp was a crystal-clear river. After three hard years, Dennis had cleared several fields and planted crops. He was so proud of his success that he refused to listen to advice.

"You are clearing too much land," warned one old man. "The land is a living thing. It will hit back at you if you abuse it."

"Silly fool," aid Dennis to himself. "If I clear more land, I can grow more crops. I'll become wealthier. He's just jealous!"

"Dennis continued to chop down trees. Small animals that relied on them for food and shelter were destroyed. He was so eager to expand his farm that he did not notice the river flowing slowly towards his door. Hedid not notice salt seeping to the surface of the land. He did not notice swamp plants choking all the native plants."

"What happened?" Martin asked. It was growing colder. He trembled, twisting his body closer to the fire.

"The land hit back - just as the old man warned," Jack shrugged. "Dennis disappeared. Old folks around here believe that swamp plants moved up from the river and dragged him underwater. His body was never found."

"What a stupid story," laughed Tom. "Plants can't …" Before he had finished speaking, he screamed and fainted(晕倒). The other two boys jumped up with fright, staring at Tom. Suddenly, they burst out laughing. Some green swamp ivy (常春藤) had covered Tom's face. It was a while before Tom could appreciate the joke.

阅读试题

56. The underlined word "dare" in Paragraph 1 is closed in meaning to ________.

A. courage 　
B. assistance　
C. instruction 　
D. challenge

57. Why did Jack tell Tom and Martin the story ?

A. To frighten them.
B. To satisfy their curiosity.
C. To warn them of the danger of the place.

D. To persuade them to camp in the swamp.

58. Why did Dennis ignore the warning of the old man ?

A. The old man envied him. 　　　　　　
B. The old man was foolish
C. He was too busy to listen to others.　

D. He was greedy for more crops.

59. Why did Tom scream and faint ?

A. He saw Dennis's shadow 　　　　　
B. He was scared by a plant
C. His friends played a joke on him. 　　
D. The weather became extremely cold.

60. What lesson can we learn from the story of Dennis ?

A. Grasp all, lose all. 　　　　　　　　
B. No sweat, no sweet.
C. It is no use crying over spilt milk. 　
D. He who makes no mistakes makes nothing.

参考译文

虽然篝火的火光照亮了黑夜，但却不能阻止沼泽地的潮湿寒冷侵入他们的骨髓。这是一个奇怪的地方。马丁和汤姆希望他们没有接受杰克的挑战。虽然他们喜欢露营，但是他们不喜欢这附近的沼泽。

马丁坐在那，看着暖暖的煤堆，问道：“那么，这个地方是怎么得名的呢？”

杰克提醒道：“你确定你想听吗？这是一个很可怕的故事。”

汤姆喊道：“当然！如果有任何可怕的东西的话，你就不会选择这个地方了。”

杰克说：“好了，但不要说我没有提醒你。”于是他开始讲这个故事。

“时间回到那个时候，有一个名叫丹尼斯的人试图在这里开辟一个农场。他在那边建造了一间小屋。那时候，这一地区看上去与现在完全不同，它原是被高大的树木覆盖着，而沼泽地所在的地方则是一条清澈的河。经过三年的艰苦奋斗，丹尼斯开垦了几个农场，并开始种植作物。他为他的成功而感到骄傲，从而拒绝听从建议。

一位老人提醒他说：“你开垦了太多土地。土地也是有生命的东西。如果你滥用它，它是会报复你的。”

丹尼斯对自己说：“愚蠢的傻瓜，如果我开垦更多的土地，那么我就可以种植更多的作物。我会变得富有。他只是嫉妒我而已。”

“丹尼斯继续砍树，以树木为食的小动物和它们的栖息地被摧毁了。他是如此渴望扩大他的农场以至于他没有注意到河流正慢慢地向他家门的方向流动，也没有注意到盐已经渗透到地表的土壤，更没有注意到沼泽植物取代了原有的土生植物。”

马丁问道：“发生什么事了？”天越来越冷，他颤抖着，扭转身体，靠近火源。

杰克耸耸肩，答道：“就像老人说的那样，土地反击了。丹尼斯消失了。这里的老人们认为是沼泽里的植物从河中爬上来将他拖到水下去了。而且他的尸体也没有找到。”

汤姆笑了，“多么愚蠢的故事。植物不能…”他话还没有说完，就尖叫着晕倒了。另外两个男孩吓得跳了起来，他们盯着汤姆。突然，他们大笑起来。因为一些绿色沼泽常春藤盖在汤姆的脸上。过了好一会儿汤姆才开始欣赏这个笑话。

答案解析

56. D 考查词义猜测。根据画线单词后面的"They liked camping, but not near this swamp."可知，该词应为"挑战"。

57. B 考查细节理解解。根据文章第二段至第五段的内容可知，Jack告诉他们这个故事是为了满足他们的好奇心。所以答案为B项。

58. D 考查细节理解。根据文章第八段的内容可知，Dennis想得到更多的土地，种更多的庄稼，从而变得更加富裕，因此他不听老人的劝告。所以选D项。

59. B 考查推理判断。从文章最后一段倒数第二句可知，选B项。

60. A 考查推理判断。 因为贪婪，Dennis失去了全部，并且把命也给搭上了。他的故事告诉我们：贪多必失。所以选A项。B项意为"一分耕耘，一分收获"；C项意为"覆水对难收"；D项意为"不犯错误的人必一事无成"。