Question

       The light from the campfire brightened the darkness, but it could not prevent the damp cold of Dennis’s Swamp (沼澤地) 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,’ said 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. He did 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(暈倒). 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.

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.

Answer 1

【語篇解讀】本文是一篇記敘文，題材是人物故事類。本文通過三個朋友在沼澤地野營時Tom講述的故事，告知我們貪多必失的道理。

段落	關鍵詞、句	大意推測
第一部分（Para. 1-5）	the campfire；the darkness；damp cold；a strange place; How did this place get its name;	故事背景：在沼澤地野營時的環(huán)境描述，三個朋友對沼澤地得名的好奇、從而引出故事的講述。
第二部分（Para.6-11）	Dennis tried to start a farm; grow more crops; chop down trees, so eager to expand his farm; did not notice salt seeping; dragged；never found	故事講述：Dennis為了種植莊稼,不顧一切地開墾了大片荒地，Dennis為自己的成功感到自豪時，被沼澤地的植物拽入水中，從而銷聲匿跡，落了個一無所得，死無全尸。
第三部分（Para.12）	What a stupid story; screamed and fainted; appreciate the joke;	結尾： 在談論故事時，Tom被沼澤常春藤嚇到了。

【解析】

56. D。猜測詞義題。難度：中等。根據第一段中的The light from the campfire brightened the darkness, but it could not prevent the damp cold of Dennis’s Swamp (沼澤地) creeping into their bones. It was a strange place.可知來自于篝火的光照亮了黑暗卻不能阻止深入骨髓的Dennis沼澤地的濕氣可見這是一個奇怪的地方。三人來此野營是Jack的一個挑戰(zhàn)。A. courage  勇氣、膽量；B. assistance幫助、協助；C. instruction指示、說明；D. challenge挑戰(zhàn)

解題思路：從本段中的環(huán)境描述和三人對野營的喜愛可以得知接受jack的應該是一個挑戰(zhàn)。

干擾項排除：考生易選A項，考生易于從此的本意入手，不能結合語境判斷詞匯的含義。

57. B。推理判斷題。難度：中等。根據段落中的幾個朋友的不斷發(fā)問和詞匯“cried out Tom”的使用，可知孩子們對于Dennis沼澤地的得名充滿好奇。

干擾項排除：考生要結合上下文找準題目的切入點。本題從題干分析可知，要求找出故事講述的背景。D項明顯與題目相悖，選項是說服他們去沼澤地野營應該是在野營前的事而故事的講述是在野營時的講述，明顯有時間差；A、C兩項，偏離了故事講述得背景。故事的講述是對Dennis沼澤地得名的闡明。有的同學在選題中不能很好的理解題意和題干、不結合語境。

58.D。細節(jié)題。難度：較易。根據題干定位到到7、8段。從“‘If I clear more land, I can grow more crops. I’ll become wealthier.”如果我能清理更多的地，我就能種更多的莊稼我能變得更富有。可知Dennis對種植更多莊稼的貪婪和渴望。這也就是他忽略老人的警告的原因。

59. C。推理判斷題。難度：中等。根據題干關鍵詞scream and faint 定位倒數第一段。文中 “Some green swamp ivy (常春藤) had covered Tom’s face.”有一些綠色的常春藤蓋在Tom臉的上。可知Tom答案。

60. A。推理判斷題。難度：較難。從文中的故事講述可知，Dennis不顧一切地墾荒和對種植更多莊稼的貪婪之心，局卻是被水中植物拽入水中，一無所得，死不見尸。

解題思路：故事的結尾一般是作者的感想或得出的啟示教訓，。

干擾項排除：A貪多必失；B不勞無獲；C覆水難收；D向不犯錯誤就一事無成。