The art of reading fiction is largely a matter of inferring meanings. To infer means to understand facts which are not directly stated---only suggested. Inference is one of the commonest ways of knowing things: a child holds his knee and cries; this action implies his feeling; an observer infers that the child is hurt. To infer accurately in everyday life requires caution in observing; to infer skillfully in fiction requires caution in reading; both require disciplined imagination.
The short-story reader can expect to find certain basic elements in any story. For example, all stories involve a person or persons, in a particular setting, faced with a demand for a response. The response called for may be a physical action, such as defeating an adversary(对手) or escaping from a danger; or it may be a mental action, such as adjusting to others or within oneself. In either case, the short story is a description in two ways: first, it shows the motives for a given human action; second, it makes a point about the general human situation. Such descriptions, however, rather than being stated directly, usually are implied by the elements of the story.
When the reader of a story understands all the facts and their interrelationships, he is ready to infer the significance of the story as a whole---its comment on the human situation. This comment, or theme, is the seed from which the story grew. It is also the idea by which all the separate elements of the story are governed, while these in turn further shape and modify the theme. In addition to action, character, and setting, these elements include structure, mood, tone, and point of view.
Fiction reading requires an awareness of all the ways in which a story communicates. It also requires attention to detail. What the author provides is a network of points which serve as clues to his meaning. He invites the reader to develop the meaning by inference, actually to create much of the story himself and so make it part of his own experience.According to the author, "infer" means ________ .
| A．knowingfactsbeyondthestatement |
| B．lookingformoreevidencesforthestatement |
| C．findingoutadifferentmeaningfromthestatement |
| D．addingsomefactstothestatement |
What is inferring in fiction based on?
| A．Readers’guessing. | B．Thebasicelementsofthestory. |
| C．Thesettingofthestory. | D．Theinterrelationshipsbetweenpeopleinthestory. |
What is the implied meaning of the last sentence?
| A．Inferringcanreallyhelpthereaderdevelopimaginationandenrichhimself. |
| B．Inferringcanhelpthereaderwriteastoryofhisown. |
| C．Thereadershouldlookforanexperiencedescribedinthestoryhereads. |
| D．Theexperiencedescribedinthestorywillleaveagreatimpactonitsreader. |
What is the main idea of this passage?
| A．Inferringisanartofwriting. | B．Inferringisaneedinfictionwriting |
| C．Inferringisthebasicskillinreadingfiction. | D．Inferringiscommoninreading. |
My old digital camera broke down, so I wanted to buy a new one. Being the cautious type, I fancied a reliable brand. So I went on the Net, spent 15 minutes reading product reviews on good websites, wrote down the names of three top recommendations and headed for my nearest big friendly camera store. There in the cupboard was one of the cameras on my list. And it was on special offer. Oh joy. I pointed at it and asked an assistant, "Can I have one of those? " He looked perturbed(不安). "Do you want to try it first?" he said. It didn’t quite sound like a question. "Do I need to?" I replied, "There’s nothing wrong with it." This made him look a bit offended and I started to feel bad. "No, no. But you should try it," he said encouragingly, "compare it with the others.
I looked across at the others: shelves of similar cameras placed along the wall, offering a wide range of slightly different prices and discounts, with each company selling a range of models based around the same basic box. With so many models to choose from, it seemed that I would have to spend hours weighing X against Y, always trying to take Z and possibly H into account at the same time. But when I had finished, I would still have only the same two certainties that I had entered the store with: first, soon after I carried my new camera out of the shop, it would be worth half what I paid for it; and second, my wonderful camera would very quickly be replaced by a new model.
But something in the human soul whispers that you can beat these traps by making the right choice, the clever choice, the wise choice. In the end, I agreed to try the model I had chosen. The assistant seemed a sincere man. So I let him take out my chosen camera from the cupboard, show how it took excellent pictures of my fellow shoppers... and when he started to introduce the special features, I interrupted to ask whether I needed to buy a carry-case and a memory card as well. Why do we think that new options still offer us anything new? Perhaps it is because they offer an opportunity to avoid facing the fact that our real choices in this culture are far more limited than we would like to imagine.The shop assistant insisted that the writer should ____.
| A．trust him and stop asking questions |
| B．try the camera to see if there was anything wrong with it |
| C．get more information about different companies |
| D．compare the camera he had chosen with the others |
What does the writer mean by "it would be worth half what I paid for it"(Paragraph 2)?
| A．He should get a 50% discount. |
| B．The price of the camera would soon fall. |
| C．The quality of the camera was not good. |
| D．The price of the camera was unreasonably high. |
The writer decided to try the model he had chosen because he _______.
| A．knew very little about it |
| B．wanted to make sure the one he chose would be the best |
| C．didn't trust the shop assistant |
| D．had a special interest in taking pictures of his fellow shoppers |
It can be inferred from the passage that in the writer’s opinion, _______.
| A．we waste too much money on cameras |
| B．cameras have become an important part of our daily life |
| C．we don’t actually need so many choices when buying a product |
| D．famous companies care more about profit than quality |
Though the Web is becoming increasingly popular, the TV never fails to attract people. Do you know which television network is the largest in America? It is not ABC, CBS, or Fox. Nor is it one of the cable net-works such as CNN, which carries only news and news stories. It is not ESPN, the all-sports cable net-work, or even MTV, which is famous for its music videos. Rather it is PBS, Public Broadcasting System, a non-profit public broadcasting TV service. PBS has 349 member television stations in the U. S. and some member stations by cable in Canada.
PBS only attracts a minority of all TV viewers, about 2 percent. The industry leader, NBC, however, attracts 11 percent of viewers. But the growth of public television in the past two decades has been dramatic. This is especially noteworthy(值得关注) when one considers that public television stations must often survive on very limited budgets, on viewers’ donations, and on private foundations and some governmental funding.
The level of quality of PBS programs, whether in national and international news, entertainment, or education, is excellent. Almost a whole generation of children throughout the world is familiar with Sesame Street and the characters of The Muppet Show. PBS is especially well known for the quality of its many educational TV programs. Over 95 percent of all public television stations have tele-courses. These courses are accepted and supported by more than 1, 800 colleges and universities throughout the US. Each year, over a quarter of a million students take courses this way.According to this article, PBS received part of its funding from___.
| A．the audience |
| B．public schools |
| C．advertising agencies |
| D．other television stations |
What is PBS most famous for?
| A．Cable services. |
| B．Generous donations. |
| C．Tele-courses. |
| D．Live news broadcasts. |
Which of the following is TRUE about public television stations?
| A．The majority of their viewers are minority people. |
| B．Ninety-five percent of their programs are tele-courses. |
| C．They are shrinking in number because they make no profits. |
| D．Their courses are accepted by many universities in America. |
Which of the following has the highest percentage of viewers?
| A．ABC | B．PBS |
| C．NBC | D．Fox |
Long long ago, there lived in England a king named Midas. He was a greedy(贪婪的) man and loved gold(金子) better than anything else in the world.
One day, he asked a god to give him more gold. The god decided to punish him and said, “Your wish is granted already. Everything you touch will turn to gold.”
Midas was very happy when he heard this. The next morning, he got up early to test his skills. When he touched his bed, it turned to gold. “Gold!” cried Midas, laughing like a little boy, “It works.”
Not only stones, flowers, and the furniture in his house turned to gold, but, when he sat down to table, so did the food he ate and the water he drank. He was unhappy now. Just then his daughter ran up to him. Midas touched her hand. At once she became a gold statue(雕像)！
A last, he begged the god to free him from his wish. “Go to the river and bathe in it.” said the god. So Midas did, and the water took away his golden touch.Where did the king live?
| A．Greece | B．China |
| C．England | D．India |
The god decided to punish Midas because he was_______.
| A．greedy | B．proud |
| C．unhappy | D．lazy |
The unlined word “granted” in Paragraph 2 can be replaced by “_________”.
| A．satisfied | B．finished |
| C．discussed | D．expected |
Which is the correct order according to the story?
a. Midas became the king of the England
b. His daughter turned to gold
c. Midas was happy with his skill
d. The god freed him from his wish
e. Midas asked god for more gold
| A．d-e-c-b-a | B．a-e-c-b-d |
| C．a-e-b-c-d | D．e-a-c-d-b |
What can we learn from the story?
| A．It is the early bird that catches the worm. |
| B．Do not put all your eggs in one basket. |
| C．God does not always bring happiness. |
| D．A bird in hand is worth two in the forest. |
Most people want to be happy, but few know how to find happiness. Money and success alone do not bring lasting happiness. Aristotle, a Greek thinker, said, “Happiness depends upon ourselves.” In other words, we make our own happiness. Here are a few suggestions to help you be happier.
The first secret of happiness is to enjoy the simple things in life. Too often, we spend so much time thinking about the future, for example, getting into the college or getting a good job, which we fail to enjoy the present. You should enjoy life’s simple pleasures, such as reading a good book, listening to your favorite music, or spending time with close friends. People who have several close friends often live happier and healthier lives.
Another secret to living a happy life is to be active, and have hobbies where you forget your problems and time. Many people experience this dancing, or playing a sport, such as swimming. You can forget about your problems and only think about the activity.
Finally, many people find happiness in helping others. Studies show that people feel good when they spend their time helping others. If you want to feel happier, do good things for someone. You can help a friend with his or her studies, go shopping to buy food for an elderly person, or simply help out around the house by washing the dishes.The best title of this passage is _________ .
| A．Money makes you happy |
| B．The Secret of Happiness |
| C．Ideas for Helping Other People to Be Happy |
| D．Good Friends Make You Happy |
The second paragraph mainly tells us that __________.
| A．happiness is to enjoy the simple things in life. |
| B．we shouldn’t think about our future. |
| C．the more friends you have, the happier you will feel. |
| D．some people fail to live a happy life. |
The passage gives us _______ pieces of advice on happiness.
| A．one | B．two |
| C．three | D．four |
The writer believes that________ .
| A．everyone knows how to live a happy life. |
| B．it’s wrong to spend time on work. |
| C．hobbies take up too much time. |
| D．doing good things for someone can make you happier |
Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?
| A．Reading a good book. |
| B．Travelling to a foreign country. |
| C．Playing a sport. |
| D．Spending time with close friends. |
It was Mother’s Day. A man stopped his car at a flower shop to order some flowers. He wanted the shopkeeper to send the flowers to his mother, who lived two hundred miles away.
As he got out of his car, he found a young girl sitting on the road crying. He asked her what was wrong and she replied, “I want to buy a red rose for my mother, but I only have seventy-five cents. A rose costs two dollars.” The man smiled and said, “Come into the shop with me, and I will buy you a rose.”
He bought the little girl her rose and ordered his own mother’s flowers. As they were leaving, he offered to dive the girl home. She said, “Yes, please! You can take me to my mother.” She brought him to a cemetery (墓地), where she placed the rose on the grave.
The man was moved. He returned to the flower shop, picked up the flowers he had ordered, and drove two hundred miles to his mother’s house.The man went to shop to ______________ .
| A．have a rest | B．help the little girl |
| C．buy some food | D．order some flowers |
The man’s mother lived _______ away from him.
| A．2 kilometers | B．75 miles |
| C．200 miles | D．200 kilometers |
The girl was crying on the road because________________ .
| A．she was hungry |
| B．she got injured |
| C．she couldn’t afford (买得起) a rose |
| D．she couldn’t find her way home |
After the man bought the girl a rose, they went to_______ together.
| A．a cemetery |
| B．his shop |
| C．the girl’s home |
| D．his mother’s house |
We can learn from the passage that __________.
| A．the girl loved flowers very much |
| B．the girl loved her mother very much |
| C．the shopkeeper sent the flowers to the man’s mother |
| D．the man drove to his mother’s house to look after her |
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