No matter how many times you have seen images of the golden mask of boyking Tutankhamen, come face to face with it in Egypt’s Cairo museum, and you will suck in your breath.
It was on Nov 4, 1923, that British archaeologist Howard Carter stumbled on a stone at the base of the tomb of another pharaoh in Luxor that eventually led to a sealed doorway.
Then, on Nov 23, Carter found a second door and when he stuck his head through it, what he saw was to stun the world. Inside lay the great stone coffin, enclosing three chests of gilded wood.
A few months later, when a crane lifted its granite cover and one coffin after another was removed, Carter found a solid block of gold weighing 1 10kg. In it was the mummy of the 19-year-old Tutankhamen, covered in gold with that splendid funeral mask. And all this lay buried for more than 3,000 years.
Months after my trip to Egypt, I can relive the rush of emotion I felt and sense the hush that descended on the crammed Cairo Museum’s Tutankhamen gallery.
Cairo, a dusty city of 20 million people, is a place where time seems to both stand still and rush into utter chaos. It is a place where the ancient and contemporary happily go along on parallel tracks.
Take the Great Pyramids of Giza, sitting on the western edge of the city. Even as the setting sun silhouettes these gigantic structures against the great desert expanse, a call for prayer floats over semi-finished apartment blocks filled with the activity of city life.
While careful planning for the afterlife may lie buried underground in Cairo, it is noise and confusion on the streets. Donkey carts battle for space with pedestrians and the only operative road rule is “Might is right.” But it is a city that is full of life—from the small roadside restaurants to the coffee shops where men and women smoke the shisha.
Donkey carts piled high with flat-breads magically find their way in and out the maddening traffic; young women in long skirts and headscarves hold hands with young men in open collar shirts, while conversations dwell on Kuwait’s chances at the soccer World Cup.
36. According to the context, “suck in your breath” means “feel a sense of ______”.
37. Which of the following statements about the discovery of the mummy is INCORRECT?
38. Which word CANNOT be used to describe the city of Cairo?
39. Which pair of words/phrases indicates contrast?
40. What is the author’s attitude towards Cairo?
问题1选项
A.awe
B.horror
C.doubt
D.delight
问题2选项
A.The masked mummy was covered in gold.
B.The discovery of the mummy came as a surprise.
C.The mummy was first discovered by a British archaeologist.
D.The mummy was found lying right inside the stone coffin.
问题3选项
A.Crowdedness.
B.Quiet.
C.Noise.
D.Confusion.
问题4选项
A.Gigantic structure; great desert expanse.
B.A call for prayer; men and women with the shisha.
C.Chaos; maddening.
D.Coffee shops; pyramids.
问题5选项
A.Positive.
B.Negative.
C.Objective.
D.Not clear.
第1题:A
第2题:D
第3题:B
第4题:B
第5题:C
36.【选项释义】
36. According to the context, “suck in your breath” means “feel a sense of ______”. 36. 根据文章,“吸气”的意思是“感觉到______”。
A. awe A. 敬畏,惊叹
B. horror B. 害怕,恐惧
C. doubt C. 怀疑
D. delight D. 惊喜,高兴
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据题干定位第一段“无论你看过多少次图坦卡蒙国王的黄金面具(the golden mask of boyking Tutankhamen),在埃及开罗博物馆与它面对面,你都会屏住呼吸”,其中提到了golden mask,而在第四段对此有描述,根据倒数第二句“里面是19岁的图坦卡蒙的木乃伊,用黄金包裹着华丽的(splendid)葬礼面具”,从splendid可知,such in your breath指的是惊叹感,所以A项正确。
【干扰项排除】B、C、D选项均不符合原文意思,属于曲解原文。
37.【选项释义】
37. Which of the following statements about the discovery of the mummy is INCORRECT? 37. 下面关于木乃伊发现的陈述哪一个是不正确的?
A. The masked mummy was covered in gold. A. 戴面具的木乃伊全身覆盖着黄金。
B. The discovery of the mummy came as a surprise. B. 木乃伊的发现令人惊讶。
C. The mummy was first discovered by a British archaeologist. C. 这具木乃伊最初是由一位英国考古学家发现的。
D. The mummy was found lying right inside the stone coffin. D. 人们发现这具木乃伊就躺在石棺里。
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据第三段最后一句“里面躺着一个巨大的石棺,里面有三个镀金的木头箱子”,以及第四段前两句“几个月后,当起重机掀开它的花岗岩盖,一个接一个的棺材被移走时,卡特发现了一块重110公斤的实心黄金。里面是19岁的图坦卡蒙的木乃伊,用黄金包裹着华丽的葬礼面具。”,可知,木乃伊是被放在实心黄金里,而不是石棺里,D项表述错误,该题选择D项。
【干扰项排除】
A选项在文中提到,木乃伊是被放在实心黄金里,所以该项表述正确;
B选项定位第四段倒数第二句“里面是19岁的图坦卡蒙的木乃伊,用黄金包裹着华丽的(splendid)葬礼面具”,从splendid可知,木乃伊的发现是令人惊讶的,该项表述正确;
C项在第二段和第三段都有描述,发现者是British archaeologist Howard Carter,该项表述正确。
38.【选项释义】
38. Which word CANNOT be used to describe the city of Cairo? 38. 哪个词不能用来描述开罗城?
A. Crowdedness. A. 拥挤。
B. Quiet. B. 安静。
C. Noise. C. 嘈杂。
D. Confusion. D. 混乱。
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据第八段“虽然开罗的地下可能埋着为来世精心计划的东西,但街道上却充斥着噪音和混乱(noise and confusion)”,可知,开罗城是嘈杂和混乱的,B项与原文相反,该题选择B项正确。
【干扰项排除】
C、D选项在文中提到了,表述是正确的;
A选项定位第六段“开罗是一座有着两千万人口(20 million people)的尘土飞扬的城市,在这里,时间似乎既静止不动,又陷入彻底的混乱(rush into utter chaos)”,从中可知,有两千万人口的开罗城是utter chaos,所以Crowdedness表述正确。
39.【选项释义】
39. Which pair of words/phrases indicates contrast? 39. 哪一对单词/短语表示对比?
A. Gigantic structure; great desert expanse. A. 巨大的结构;伟大的沙漠广袤。
B. A call for prayer; men and women with the shisha. B. 祈祷的召唤;拿着水烟的男人和女人。
C. Chaos; maddening. C. 混乱;喧嚣。
D. Coffee shops; pyramids. D. 咖啡店;金字塔。
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】倒数第四段最后一句提到“在这里,远古与当代和谐并行”,然后下文开始提到各种对比关系。倒数第三段提到“在广阔的沙漠中,夕阳映照出这些巨大建筑的轮廓,但在充满城市生活活力的半成品公寓楼上空,传来了祈祷的召唤(a call for prayer)”,这里把世俗生活与宗教作对比。倒数第二段最后一句“但这是一个充满活力的城市,从路边的小餐馆到男男女女抽水烟的咖啡店”,这里以吸水烟的人们为例,说明世俗生活的情形,所以祷告声和吸水烟的人们构成对照关系,B项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项并不是对照关系,它们与落日一起构成和谐宏伟的画面,属于出处错位;
C选项是同一关系,属于出处错位;
D选项在文中并没有作对比,属于无中生有。
40.【选项释义】
40. What is the author’s attitude towards Cairo? 40. 作者对开罗的态度是什么?
A. Positive. A. 积极的。
B. Negative. B. 消极的。
C. Objective. C. 客观的。
D. Not clear. D. 不清楚的。
【考查点】主观态度题。
【解题思路】从倒数第四段中的“在这里,远古与当代和谐(happily)并行”可知,作者写了开罗好的一方面;从倒数第二段中的“街道上却充斥着噪音和混乱(noise and confusion),驴车与行人争夺空间,唯一有效的道路规则是强权即公理”可知,作者也写到了开罗的一些缺点,从中可见作者对开罗的态度是客观的,C项正确。
【干扰项排除】A、B、D选项均不符合,属于曲解原文。