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It is widely known that any English conversation begins with The Weather.Such a fixation with the weather finds 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 weather­speak.
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 natural phenomena.“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 weather­speak among the English.Both commentators,somehow,are missing the point.The English weather conversation is not really about the weather at all.English weather­speak 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 weather­speak are not requests for weather data.Rather,they are routine greetings,conversation starters or the blank “fillers”.In other words,English weather­speak is a means of social bonding.
小题1: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
小题2: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.
小题3: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
小题4:What is the author’s main purpose of writing the passage?
A.To explain what English weather­speak is about.
B.To analyse 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.

小题1:D
小题2:B
小题3:D
小题4:A
本文为一篇议论文。由于英格兰的天气是多变的,所以英国人谈论天气被认为是见面或者搭讪的合理开场白是再熟悉不过的了,本文就此从不同的角度进行了解释。
小题1:解析:选D。推理判断题。本文第一句话就给出了答案,作者提到Dr.Johnson的评论旨在说明英国人见面总是以谈论天气开始,故答案为D项。
小题2:解析:选B。词义猜测题。根据第二段最后一句话“……那些不常见、难以预料的天气在不列颠群岛几乎是不被人知道的”可知,英国的天气根本不令人兴奋,随之而来的一种情绪也是几乎不能被理解的。obsession可以理解成是一种谈论天气的“强迫症”,故它是一种情绪的状态,所以答案为B项。
小题3:解析:选D。细节理解题。根据倒数第二段Jeremy所说的话可知,他反驳Bryson的观点,他认为英格兰的天气是多变而又不确定的,这吸引着英国人和外来者,所以答案为D项。
小题4:解析:选A。作者意图判断题。根据第一段的介绍和最后一段的总结可知,本文主要是解析英国人的weather?speak到底是关于什么的。所以答案为A项。B、C两项陈述有误,D项“使人们信服英国的天气是多变的”不是文章的主要谈论内容。
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