Question

【题目】It happened to me recently. I was telling someone how much I had enjoyed reading Barack Obama’s Dreams From My Father and how it had changed my views of our President. A friend I was talking to agreed with me that it was ,in his words, “a wonderfully written book ”. however, he then went on to talk about Mr. Obama in a way which suggested he had no idea of his background at all .I felt that I was talking to a book liar.

And it seems that my friend is not the only one. Approximately two thirds of people have lied about reading a book which they haven’t .In the World Book Day’s “Report on Guilty（愧疚的） Secrets”, Dreams From My Father is at number 9.The report lists ten books, and various authors, which people have lied about reading, and as I’m not one to lie too often (I’d hate to be caught out ),I’ll admit here and now that I haven’t read the entire top ten .But I am pleased to say that, unlike 42 percent of people, I have read the book at number one ,George Orwell’s 1984.I think it’s really brilliant.

The World Book Day report also has some other interesting information in it. It says that many people lie about having read Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Fyodor Dostoevsky(I haven’t read him, but haven’t lied about it either )and Herman Melville.

Asked why they lied, the most common reason was to “impress” someone they were speaking to. This could be tricky if the conversation became more in –depth!

But when asked which authors they actually enjoy, people named J.k. Rowling, John Grisham, Sophie Kinsella(ah, the big sellers, in other words).Forty-two percent of people asked admitted they turned to the back of the book to read the end before finishing the story(I’ll come clean: I do this and am astonished that 58 percent said they had never done so).

【1】How did the author think of Dreams From My Father?

A. It was his favorite.

B. It made little sense.

C . He was very fond of it.

D. He totally had no idea.

【2】What can we learn from “Report on Guilty Secrets”?

A. 58% of people haven’t read 1984.

B. All of the listed authors are unknown.

C. Many people have ever lied about reading.

D. Dreams From My Father isn’t among the top ten.

【3】Why do people probably lie about reading?

A. To admire the writer.

B. To advertise the book.

C. To start a conversation.

D. To leave a good impression.

【4】What’s the tone (语气) of the author in the article?

A. Very friendly.

B. A little humorous.

C. Rather confusing

D. Quite cautious.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】C

【2】C

【3】D

【4】B

【解析】

试题分析：作者通过与朋友聊天引出本文的话题book liar，列举了大家谎称读了实际未读的书目，以及大家喜欢的一些作家，并阐述了人们撒谎的最常见的理由。

【1】C推理判断题。根据文章第一段中的I was telling someone how much I had enjoyed reading Barack Obama’s Dreams From My Father and how it had changed my views of our President.A friend I was talking to agreed with me that it was ,in his words, “a brilliantly（精彩地）written book”.可知作者很喜欢这本书，这本书使他改变了对总统的看法，故选C.

【2】C推理判断题。根据第二段Approximately two thirds of people have lied about reading a book which they haven’t .In the World Book Day’s “Report on Guilty（愧疚的） Secrets”, Dreams From My Father is at number 9.The report lists ten books, and various authors, which people have lied about reading可知报告中提到大约三分之二的人曾经谎称读过某些书，故选C.

【3】D推理判断题。根据文章第四段中的Asked why they lied, the most common reason was to impress someone they were speaking to.可知人们之所以选择撒谎是想让对方觉得自己知识渊博，从而给对方一个好的印象。故选D.

【4】B推理判断题。根据文中括号里的句子(I’d hate to be caught out ), (I haven’t read him, but haven’t lied about it either ) (ah, the big sellers, in other words).等可知作者在文章中的语气是些幽默的，故选B.