阅读试题

It is widely known that any English conversation begins with The Weather. Such a fixation with the weatherfinds 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 unknown 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 naturalphenomena. "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 talk 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.

阅读试题

72. 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

73. 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.

74. 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

75. What is the author's main purpose of writing the passage?

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

B. To analyze 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.

参考译文

人们都知道任何英语会话都会从天气开始。我们在约翰逊博士的著名评论中找到这样一种固定的天气表达，他说：“当两个英国人见面的时候，首先谈论天气。”虽然约翰逊如今的观察还和两百多年前一样准确，但是对于英国人谈论天气的对话，大多数评论家仍未能拿出一个令人信服的解释。

例如，比尔·布莱森认为英国的天气一点也不令人兴奋，所以痴迷它很难被理解。他认为，“对于一个外来客而言，关于英国的天气最引人注目的是它的多变。”简单地说，原因就是在不列颠群岛这种不寻常且不可预测的天气几乎是未知的。

然而，杰里米·帕克斯曼不同意布赖森的观点，他认为英国的天气具有自然的吸引力。他说，布赖森是错误的，因为英国人偏爱天气与自然现象无关。“有趣的不是自然现象本身，而是它的不确定性。”根据他的说法，英国的天气是变化无常的，它吸引着英国人，同时也吸引着外来客。

对于英国人的天气说，布赖森和帕克斯曼都持有错误的观点。不知何故，两个评论员都误解了关键点。英国人关于天气的对话并不是真的谈论天气。英国人的天气说只是一个符号系统，它是为了帮助说话人克服自我保护的障碍，以实现实际的交谈。每个人都知道英国人谈论天气并不要求具体的日期。相反，他们只是例行问候，或是聊天的开始或是对话空白的填补。换句话说，英国人的天气说只是一种社会关系的纽带。

答案解析

72. D 考查推理判断。由第一段第一句"It is widely known that any English conversation begins with The Weather."可知，英国人喜欢以谈论天气来开始一段对话，而下文Dr. Johnson的话证明了这一点。

73. B 考查词义猜测。由画线词所在句中的"as the English weather is not at all exciting, the obsession with it can hardly be understood."可知，英国的天气一点也不令人振奋，英国人对谈论天气的痴迷，让人很难理解。a social trend"一种社会趋势"；an emotional state"一种情绪状态"；a historical concept"一个历史概念"；an unknown phenomenon"一种未知的现象"。故选B。

74. D 考查细节理解。由第三段的第三句"The interest is less in the phenomena themselves, but in uncertainty."可知答案为D。

75. A 考查写作目的。通读全文可知，本文主要讨论了英国人经常以谈论天气作为谈话开始的原因。作者在文中列出了两个人对这一问题的误解并在最后一段指出，英国人谈论天气是为了克服含蓄的天性，建立社交关系。因此A项正确。