Question

16．It is widely known that any English conversation begins with The Weather．Such a fixation with the we ather 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 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 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 En glish 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．
32．The author mentions Dr．Johnson's comment to show thatD．
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
33．What does the underlined word"obsession"most probably refer to？B
A．A social trend．
B．An emoti onal state．
C．A historical concept．
D．An unknown phenomenon．
34．According to the passage，Jeremy Paxman believes thatD．
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
35．What is the author's main purpose of writing the passage？A
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．

Answer 1

分析 本文属于议论文阅读，作者通过这篇文章主要向我们描述了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，本文就此从不同的角度进行了解释．

解答 32．D．推理判断题．根据文章第一段"It is widely known that any English conversation begins with The Weather"可知作者提到Dr．Johnson的评论旨在说明英国人见面总是以谈论天气开始，故选D．
33．B．词义猜测题．根据第二段最后一句话Simply，the reason is that the unusual and unpredictable weather is almost unknown in the British Isles"…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，故选B．
34．D．细节理解题．根据倒数第二段"Bryson is wrong，he says，because the English preference for the weather has nothing to do with the natural phenomena．"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，故选D．
35．A．推理判断题．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；故选A．

点评 考察学生的细节理解和推理判断能力，做细节理解题时一定要找到文章中的原句，和题干进行比较，再做出正确的选择．在做推理判断题不要以个人的主观想象代替文章的事实，要根据文章事实进行合乎逻辑的推理判断．