Mark Twain has been called the inventor of the American novel. And he surely deserves additional praise: the man who popularized the clever literary attack on racism.
I say clever because anti-slavery fiction had been the important part of the literature in the years before the Civil War. H. B. Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin is only the most famous example. These early stories dealt directly with slavery. With minor exceptions, Twain planted his attacks on slavery and prejudice into tales that were on the surface about something else entirely. He drew his readers into the argument by drawing them into the story.
Again and again, in the postwar years, Twain seemed forced to deal with the challenge of race. Consider the most controversial, at least today, of Twain's novels, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Only a few books have been kicked off the shelves as often as Huckleberry Finn, Twain's most widely read tale. Once upon a time, people hated the book because it struck them as rude. Twain himself wrote that those who banned the book considered the novel "trash and suitable only for the slums (贫民窟)." More recently the book has been attacked because of the character Jim, the escaped slave, and many occurences of the word nigger. (The term Nigger Jim, for which the novel is often severely criticized, never appears in it.)
But the attacks were and are silly-and miss the point. The novel is strongly anti-slavery. Jim's search through the slave states for the family from whom he has been forcibly parted is heroic. As J. Chadwick has pointed out, the character of Jim was a first in American fiction-a recognition that the slave had two personalities, "the voice of survival within a white slave culture and the voice of the individual: Jim, the father and the man."
There is much more. Twain's mystery novel Pudd'nhead Wilson stood as a challenge to the racial beliefs of even many of the liberals of his day. Written at a time when the accepted wisdom held Negroes to be inferior (低等的) to whites, especially in intelligence, Twain's tale centered in part around two babies switched at birth. A slave gave birth to her master's baby and, for fear that the child should be sold South, switched him for the master's baby by his wife. The slave's lightskinned child was taken to be white and grew up with both the attitudes and the education of the slave-holding class. The master's wife's baby was taken for black and grew up with the attitudes and intonations of the slave.
The point was difficult to miss: nurture (养育), not nature, was the key to social status. The features of the black man that provided the stuff of prejudice-manner of speech, for example- were, to Twain, indicative of nothing other than the conditioning that slavery forced on its victims.
Twain's racial tone was not perfect. One is left uneasy, for example, by the lengthy passage in his autobiography (自传) about how much he loved what were called "nigger shows" in his youth-mostly with white men performing in black-face-and his delight in getting his mother to laugh at them. Yet there is no reason to think Twain saw the shows as representing reality. His frequent attacks on slavery and prejudice suggest his keen awareness that they did not.
Was Twain a racist? Asking the question in the 21st century is as wise as asking the same of Lincoln. If we read the words and attitudes of the past through the "wisdom" of the considered moral judgments of the present, we will find nothing but error. Lincoln, who believed the black man the inferior of the white, fought and won a war to free him. And Twain, raised in a slave state, briefly a soldier, and inventor of Jim, may have done more to anger the nation over racial injustice and awaken its collective conscience than any other novelist in the past century.
| 1． |
How do Twain's novels on slavery differ from Stowe's?
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| 2． |
Recent criticism of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn arose partly from its.
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| 3． |
What best proves Twain's anti-slavery stand according to the author?
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| 4． |
The story of two babies switched mainly indicates that.
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| 5． |
What does the underlined word "they" in Paragraph 7 refer to?
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| 6． |
What does the author mainly argue for?
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B
When the population of the port town began to suffer from poisoning, the police came to find the cause of the poison．They thought someone was poisoning the people on purpose but no one knew how it was possible．Soon people took the position that the pork was poisoned．It was a popular food everyone ate and it could have possibly made everyone sick．Anyone who had possession of pork would throw it out．Even the poorest of the poor wouldn’t eat pork．Signs were posted on poles and letters were sent to everyone to warn people of the pork．Shortly afterwards, even policemen in high positions were also getting sick．
Soon it became political and popular．Politicians rushed to the town to talk about politics and promised how they would find the solution if they were elected．Everyone was so sick that they didn’t care about politics．Everyone was in a position where he or she didn’t know what to do anymore．They went to the post office to mail posts out asking for help．The poor town didn’t know how to deal with the situation．
One day, a well-known scientist from New York came to the town with a huge box containing many instruments and his possessions．He went to pools and the port and made measurements．He was quiet and polite．Then one day he made a speech at a newspaper meeting-room to announce his findings．
“I am sorry to say your water supply is so heavily polluted; it is poisoned．I know who has been poisoning you all for such a long time．It is you who have been poisoning yourselves with pollution．A great deal of rubbish has been thrown into the water day after day．No one here has taken good care of the environment．It is no wonder all of you have been sick．” Shocked at the news, the people present were lost in thought．
59．Which is the correct order of the facts described in the story?
a． People suffered from poisoning． b．Politicians came to make promises．
c． People began to realize the real cause． d．Pork was thrown away．
e． The water there was polluted． f．A scientist came to check the water．
A． e, a, d, b, f, c B．e, a, d, c, f, b
C． a, e, b, d, c, f D．f, c, d, b, e, a
60．Which of the following statements is correct?
A．Everyone was so sick of politics that they didn’t care about those politicians．
B．According to the scientist from New York, not all the population in the town have taken good care of the environment．
C．The reason why the people in the town got sick was that they ate the pork poisoned by the heavily polluted water．
D．if the people in the town hadn’t polluted the water supply, they would not have suffered from poisoning or sickness．
61．After reading the passage, we can infer that ________
A．politicians took every chance to make themselves elected
B．pork was the main food of the people in the town
C．people in the town were not well-educated
D．even some police officers were getting ill
第三部分阅读理解（共两节，满分40分）
第一节（共15小题：每小题2分，满分30分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
My sister and I shared a typical sisterly relationship: we couldn’t stand each other．Or, to be honest, she couldn’t stand me．I took her as a hero．My clothes mysteriously looked like hers, and even my words tended to copy those I heard from her．Any sort of talk we had usually became a fighting, and try as I might, my sister had an extra six years worth of rude vocabulary．
After a while, I stopped trying to impress her and learned to be totally indifferent（冷漠的）；we soon fell into a sad pattern — I avoided her, she paid no attention to me, and deep inside, it hurt．She was only a sister in name．I truly believed that we would forever be apart, two housemates without conversation, two strangers without warmth．
I still remember the day I learned to ride a bike．I had received the bike that Christmas, which was great, until I realized I had no idea how to ride it．My mom had long since abandoned any attempt to teach me; I had proved to be a frustrating student．I had to learn by myself, a little bit each day, but unsuccessfully．On that day I was so disappointed that I threw my bike aside and began to cry, I guess that was what caused my sister to come outside．At first I was nervous, as I thought she would begin to laugh at me．She did not．She gently picked my bike up．That was the beginning．She fearlessly held my hand while the tears dried on my cheeks．She never once let me fall．And for three hours — three wonderful hours — we learned to ride my bike．No shouting．No fighting．No arguing．
That day I learned that my sister was human — how else could she have been my teacher? It was a life-changing experience．We still occasionally have our quarrels, but since that day, it’s been easier to get along because we have an unspoken respect for each other．
56．From the first paragraph, we can infer that _____．
A．the writer’s sister usually won the fighting
B．the writer was not always honest with her sister
C．the writer showed little respect for her sister
D．the writer’s sister had a good memory
57．When the writer failed to impress her sister, she _____．
A．felt hurt and treated her sister as a stranger
B．decided to be indifferent to her sister
C．didn’t talk with any member of the family
D．kept apart from her sister for a long time
58．What caused the writer to cry when she learned to ride a bike?
A．She fell off the bike and hurt herself seriously．
B．Her mother refused to buy her a bike．
C．She couldn’t learn how to ride a bike by herself．
D．Her sister laughed at her old bike．
E
Having one of those days or weeks—when everything seems to trouble you? Even if you do nothing about it, your bad mood will probably go away after some time. But with a little effort, you can forget it much faster—often within a day or two.
Walk it off
Exercise is the most popular bad-mood buster（破坏者）. A person who's in a bad mood has low energy and high tension. Taking a fast ten-minute walk, or doing some quick exercises can do wonders towards changing that bad mood.
Tune it out
Listening to your favorite music for a while can also make tension go away quickly, because music starts associations with past positive experiences we've had.
Give yourself a pep talk
Stop and listen to what's on your mind. Bad moods are often started by too many negative thoughts. Write them all down on paper; the pessimistic (悲观的) messages you've been giving yourself and then give optimistic answers. (“I still don't have a job. “vs” I have two interviews next week. ”)
Reduce your stress
Relaxation techniques are wonderful mood-lifters. These include deep breathing, stretching and visualizing (想象), all of which sound complicated but aren't. One easy way to visualize: close your eyes and picture a favorite place, such as the beach. Another simple way to clear up worries is to make a to-do list. One reason for being in a bad mood is feeling you have no options (选择权). By taking control over certain areas, you realize you're not helpless. You can make changes in your mood and life.
Avoid things that won't improve your mood
TV may not help much: You need to increase your energy level and stimulate something in your mind—that the TV show “Neighbors” won't do. And before you reach for that piece of cake and coffee, think about how mood and food are linked. Sugar and caffeine contribute to depressed moods. The better choice? Research shows that carbohydrates, such as potatoes and pasta, produce a calming effect in people who have a desire for them.
72. We learn from the passage that it might help rid us of a bad mood_______.
A. to do nothing about it
B. to take a slow walk on the beach
C. to do some exercises with light music
D. to talk it to neighbours
73. Why is it suggested that you close your eyes and picture the beach?
A. It is not complicated to do so.
B. It is an area to be easily controlled.
C. It helps beat a bad mood.
D. It brings us a new technique.
74. TV may not improve your mood because_______.
A. it sometimes shows what happens around you
B. it keeps you stay unmoved
C. it reminds you of eating and drinking
D. it produces a calming effect
75. This passage most probably appears in_______.
A. a book on physical exercisesB. a doctor's handbook
C. a notice about amusement D. a magazine on health
D
It is common to consider learning as something that takes place in school, but much of human learning occurs outside the classroom, even from birth and people continue to learn throughout their lives.
Even before they enter school, young children learn to walk, to talk, and to use their hands to use toys, food, and other objects. They use all of their senses to learn about the sights, sounds, tastes, and smells in their environments. They learn how to communicate with their parents, grandparents, siblings, friends, and other people important to their world. When they enter school, children learn basic academic subjects such as reading, writing, and mathematics. They also continue to learn a great deal outside the classroom. They learn which behaviors are likely to be rewarded and which are likely to be punished. They learn social skills for communicating with other children. After they finish school, people must learn to deal with many major changes that affect their lives, such as getting married, raising children, and finding and keeping a job.
Because learning continues throughout our lives and affects almost everything we do, the study of learning is important in many different fields. Teachers need to understand the best ways to educate children. Psychologists, social workers, criminologists, and other humanservice workers need to understand how certain experiences change people's behaviors. Employers, politicians, and advertisers make use of the principles of learning to affect the behaviors of workers, voters, and consumers.
Learning is closely related to memory, which is the storage of information in the brain. Psychologists who study memory are interested in how the brain stores knowledge, where this storage takes place, and how the brain later outputs knowledge when we need it. In contrast, psychologists who study learning are more interested in behavior and how behavior changes as a result of a person's experiences.
68. The underlined "siblings" in the second paragraph probably means_______.
A. teachers B. classmates C. doctors D. brothers or sisters
69. Which period of children's life does they begin to know to behave well according to the passage?
A. After they go into society B. Before they enter school
C. When they are at schoolD. Before they are born
70. Which of the following is WRONG according to the passage?
A. As a matter of fact, learning begins with formal school education.
B. Teachers need to understand the best ways to educate their students.
C. People need to understand how certain experiences change their behaviors.
D. Employers should study the principles of learning to manage their workers well.
71. The author mainly tries to tell us_______in the last paragraph.
A. learning is only related to memory and experiences
B. psychologists are interested in how the brain stores knowledge
C. psychologists are more interested in a person's behavior
D. how the relationship between learning, brain and behavior works
C
Disposing (处理) of waste has been a problem since humans started producing it. As more and more people choose to live close together in cities, the waste disposal problem becomes increasingly difficult.
During the eighteenth century, it was usual for several neighboring towns to get together to select a faraway spot as a dump site. Residents or trash haulers (垃圾拖运者) would transport household rubbish, rotted wood, and old possessions to the site. Periodically some of the trash was burned and the rest was buried. The unpleasant sights and smells caused no problem because nobody lived close by. Factories, mills, and other industrial sites also had waste to be disposed of. Those located on rivers often just dumped the unwanted remains into the water. Others built huge burners with chimneys to deal with the problem.
Several facts make these choices unacceptable to modern society. The first problem is space. Dumps, which are now called landfills, are most needed in heavily populated areas. Such areas rarely have empty land suitable for this purpose. Property is either too expensive or too close to residential neighborhoods. Long distance trash hauling has been a common practice, but once farm areas are refusing to accept rubbish from elsewhere, cheap land within trucking distance of major city areas is nonexistent. Awareness (意识) of pollution dangers has resulted in more strict rules of waste disposal. Pollution of rivers, ground water, land and air is a price people cannot longer pay to get rid of waste. The amount of waste, however, continues to grow.
Recycling efforts have become common place, and many towns require their people to take part. Even the most efficient recycling programs, however, can hope to deal with only about 50 percent of a city's reusable waste.
64. The most suitable title for this passage would be_______.
A. Places for Disposing Waste B. Waste Pollution Dangers
C. Ways of Getting Rid of Waste D. Waste Disposal Problem
65. During the 18th century, people disposed their waste in many ways except for_______.
A. burying it B. recycling it C. burning it D. throwing it into rivers
66. What can be inferred from the third paragraph?
A. Farm areas will continue accepting waste from the city in modern society.
B. There is cheap land to bury waste in modern society.
C. It is difficult to find space to bury waste in modern society.
D. Ways to deal with waste in modern society stay the same.
67. The main purpose of writing this article is to_______.
A. draw people's attention to waste management
B. warn people of the pollution dangers we are facing
C. call on people to take part in recycling programs
D. tell people a better way to get rid of the waste