Question

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 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 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.

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

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.

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

4.What is the author’s purpose of writing the passage?

A．To explain what English weather-speak 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.

 

Answer 1

【答案】

1.D

2.B

3.D

4.A

【解析】

【語篇解讀】本文是一篇論說文，題材是English weather-speak。全文從英國人見面招呼最喜歡問天氣引入中心，為什么英國人那么喜歡以天氣為談論話題，繼而深層分析其文化根源——日常問候的方式，一種社會紐帶。

1.推理判斷題。難度：中等。題干關鍵詞為Dr. Johnson’s comment，定位第一段。根據It is widely known that any English conversation begins with The Weather.（眾所周知，任何英語交流都是以天氣開頭。）緊接著就舉例說明。故選D項。

2.猜測詞義。難度：中等。定位第2段Bill Bryson, for example, concludes that, as the English weather is not at all exciting, the obsession with it can hardly be understood.（例如，Bill Bryson認為由于英國的天氣讓人郁悶，這種激動的狀態(tài)就很難讓人理解。）注意前面的關鍵提示not at all exciting，從而容易選擇答案B。

3.推理判斷題。難度：較易。題干關鍵詞為Jeremy Paxman，定位第三段“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.。可知Jeremy Paxman的觀點是英國人喜歡談論天氣的原因是由于英國天氣的多變和不確定。故C項符合。

4.寫作意圖。難度：中等。全文從英國人見面招呼最喜歡問天氣引入中心，為什么英國人那么喜歡以天氣為談論話題，通過兩個常見的錯誤觀點的介紹，繼而深層分析其文化根源——日常問候的方式，一種社會紐帶。故選A項。