Question

【题目】Two Christmas traditions have come under attack in recent years from environmentalists: Christmas cards and Christmas trees.

Paper cards are seen as wasteful and, for some people, going card-free is another way ofgoing green. They also argue that in a world of e-mail, Skype, Facebook and Twitter, peopleare in touch all the time anyway; they no longer need the yearly card that connects them with long lost friends. If you want to send Christmas greetings, there are freee-cards, which get the job done with no postage or wasted paper.

However, especially for people who didn’t grow up with e-mail, there is something missing from a Christmas e-mail. The first Christmas cards appeared in London in 1843and were designed by the same man who had introduced the world’s first postage stamp three years earlier. His name was Sir Henry Cole.Theyrose in popularity throughout the 20th century. Many people sent cards that were sold for charity (慈善). In the UK this year, in the three weeks before Christmas, the postofficeexpects to handle 100 millioncards every day.

When we think of trees at Christmas, there is one that instantly springs into mind---the evergreen tree that people decorate with ornaments and place their giftsunder.Thecustom dates back almost a thousand years to Germany. Nowadays 33 to 36 millionChristmas trees are produced in America and 50 to 60 million in Europe each year.Some trees are sold live with roots and soil so people can plant them later and reusethem next year.

Some people prefer artificial trees as they are reusable and much cheaperthan the natural ones. However, environmentalists point out that theyare made from petroleum(石油) products, thus causing many pollution problems.

【1】What is the purpose of writing the article?

A. To introduce the debate about some Christmas traditions.

B. To explain the history of two typical Christmas traditions.

C. To analyze how two Christmas traditions grew in popularity.

D. To suggest the solution to the problems caused by celebrating Christmas.

【2】What does the underlined word “They” in the fourth paragraph probably refer to?

A. Many people. B. Christmas e-mails.

C. Postage stamps. D. Christmas cards.

【3】Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the article?

A. There is always a wider Christmas tree market in America than in Europe.

B. The custom of decorating Christmas trees first appeared in Britain.

C. Some people love to buy live trees that can be reused next year.

D. Artificial trees are better than natural ones in all aspects(方面).

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】A

【2】D

【3】C

【解析】本文是一篇说明文，说明了圣诞节习俗：圣诞卡片和圣诞树，对其进行讨论，圣诞卡片浪费纸，圣诞树是由石油做成的，有很多的污染。

【1】A

推理题，由本文的主要意思“辩论圣诞节习俗，有圣诞卡片、圣诞树等”，可以推出答案，故选A。

【2】D

推理题，由第四段第一行Many people sent cards that were sold for charity.可以推出They指的是“圣诞卡片”，所以选D。

【3】C

细节题，由最后一段第一句Some people prefer artificial trees as they are reusable and much cheaper than their natural alternative.可知，有些人喜欢买活的树，可以在明年利用。，所以选C。

本文说明了辩论圣诞节习俗，有圣诞卡片、圣诞树等。做细节题的关键是找出原文的根据，认真核查题支和原文的异同，常犯错误有：绝对化语言，范围扩大或缩小，以偏概全，张冠李戴等。推断题测试考生在阅读基础上的逻辑推理能力，要求考生根据文章所述事件的逻辑关系，对未说明的趋势或结局作出合理的推断；或根据作者所阐述的观点理论，对文章未涉及的现象、事例给以解释。考生首先要仔细阅读短文，完整了解信息，准确把握作者观点。