3. 主旨类

实考真题 2008阅读理解 (TEXT B)

In an article some Chinese scholars are described as being “tantalized by the mysterious dragon bone hieroglyphics.” Tantalized is one of many English words that have their origins in myths and legends of the past (in this case, Greek and Roman ones). The meaning of the verb tantalize is a very particular one: “to promise or show something desirable to a person and then take it away; to tease by arousing hope.” Many (but not all) English dictionaries give you a brief indication of a word’s origins in brackets before or after the explanation of the meaning. For tantalize the following explanation is given: [> Tantalus]. This means that you should look up the name Tantalus to fi nd out the word’s origins, and if you do, you will find out that in Greek mythology, Tantalus was a king who was punished in the lower world with eternal hunger and thirst; he was put up to his chin in water that always moved away when he tried to drink it and with fruit on branches above him placed just a little bit out of his reach.

Can you see why his name was changed into a verb meaning “to tease or torment by arousing desire”?

Another example is the word siren, familiar to us as the mechanical device that makes such an alarming sound when police cars, ambulances, or fi re engines approach. This word also has its origins in Greek mythology. The traveler Odysseus (Ulysses to the Romans) made his men plug their ears so that they wouldn’t hear the dangerous voices of the sirens, creatures who were half bird and half woman and who lured sailors to their deaths on sharp rocks. So the word came to be associated both with a loud sound and with danger!

When someone speaks of a “jovial mood” or a “herculean effort”, he or she is using words with origins in mythology. Look these words up to fi nd their meaning and relationship to myths.

Many common words, such as the names for the days of the week and the months of the year, also come from mythology. Wednesday derives from the ancient Norse king of the gods, Woden, and Thursday was originally Thor’s day, in honour of Thor, the god of thunder.

As a matter of fact, all the planets, except the one we live on, bear names that come from Roman mythology, including the planet that is farthest away from the sun and for that reason was called after the Roman god of the dead. This god has also given his name to one of the chemical elements. Several other elements have names that come from mythology, too. 

It seems that myths and legends live on in the English language.

89. Which of the following can best serve as the title of the passage?

A. Greek and Roman Mythology in Language.
B. Mythological Origins of English Words.
C. Historical Changes in Word Meanings.
D. Mythology and Common Words.

解析：答案B。主旨类。作者以“tantalize”，“siren”，“jovial mood”，“herculean effort”等词或短语为例，阐述了英语里的许多单词都来源于神话和传说这一事实。

实考真题 2007阅读理解 (TEXT D)

The kids are hanging out. I pass small bands of students, in my way to work these mornings. They have become a familiar part of the summer landscape.

These kids are not old enough for jobs. Nor are they rich enough for camp. They are school children without school. The calendar called the school year ran out on them a few weeks ago. Once supervised by teachers and principals, they now appear to be “self care”.

Passing them is like passing through a time zone. For much of our history, after all, Americans arranged the school year around the needs of work and family. In 19th-century cities, schools were open seven or eight hours a day, 11 months a year. In rural America, the year was arranged around the growing season. Now, only 3 percent of families follow the
agricultural model, but nearly all schools are scheduled as if our children went home early to milk the cows and took months off to work the crops. Now, three-quarters of the mothers of school-age children work, but the calendar is written as if they were home waiting for the school bus.

The six-hour day, the 180-day school year is regarded as something holy. But when parents work an eight-hour day and a 240-day year, it means something different. It means that many kids go home to empty houses. It means that, in the summer, they hang out.

“We have a huge mismatch between the school calendar and realities of family life,” says Dr. Ernest Boyer, head of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

Dr. Boyer is one of many who believe that a radical revision of the school calendar is inevitable. “School, whether we like it or not, is educational. It always has been.”

His is not popular idea. School are routinely burdened with the job of solving all our social problems. Can they be asked to meet the needs of our work and family lives?

It may be easier to promote a longer school year on its educational merits and, indeed, the educational case is compelling. Despite the complaints and studies about our kids’ lack of learning, the United States still has a shorter school year than any industrial nation. In most of Europe, the school year is 220 days. In Japan, it is 240 days long. While classroom time alone doesn’t produce a well-educated child, learning takes time and more learning takes more
time. The long summers of forgetting take a toll.

The opposition to a longer school year comes from families that want to and can provide other experiences for their children. It comes from teachers. It comes from tradition. And surely from kids. But the most important part of the confl ict has been over the money.

95. Which of the following is an opinion of the author’s?
A. “The kids are hanging out.”
B. “They are school children without school.”
C. “These kids are not old enough for jobs.”
D. “The calendar called the school year ran out on them a few weeks ago.”

解析：答案A。主旨类。第一段的第一句：“The kids are hanging out.”作者的观点是现在的孩子上学的时间太短，很多时间都在外闲逛，无所事事。B、C、D是客观事实陈述，并不是作者观点。