Question

【题目】 Joseph Francis Charles Rock (1884–1962) was an Austrian-American explorer, botanist, and anthropologist(人类学家). For more than 25 years, he travelled extensively through Tibet and Yunnan, Gansu, and Sichuan provinces in China before finally leaving in 1949.

In 1924, Harvard sent Joseph Francis Rock on a treasure hunt through China’s southwestern provinces—the Wild West of their day. But gold and silver weren’t his task : Rock, a distinguished botanist, sought only to fill his bags with all the seeds, saplings, and shrubs he could find. During his three-year expedition, he collected 20,000 specimens for the Arnold Arboretum(阿诺德植物园).

Botany, though, was just one of Rock’s strengths. As an ethnologist(民族学者), he took hundreds of photographs of the Naxi, a tribe in Yunnan province, recording their now-lost way of life for both Harvard and National Geographic, and took notes for an eventual 500-page dictionary of their language. His hand-drawn map of his travels through China’s “Cho-Ni” territory, in the Harvard Map Collection, includes more than a thousand rivers, towns, and mountains indicated in both English and Chinese, and was so well made that the U.S. government used it to plan aerial missions in World War II.

Scientist, linguist, cartographer, photographer, writer—Rock was not a wallflower in any sense. Arrogant and self-possessed, he would walk into a village or warlord’s place “as if he owned the place,” said Lisa Pearson, the Arboretum’s head librarian.

In declaring his successful return under the headline “Seeking Strange Flowers, in the Far Reaches of the World” , the Boston Evening Transcript ran a large photo of the daring explorer wearing in a woolly coat and fox-skin hat. “In discussing his heroism including hair-raising escapes from death either from mountain slides, snow slides and robber armies, he waves the idea away as if it is of no importance.”

The Arboretum and Rock parted ways after 1927, mainly because his trip cost Harvard a fortune—about $900,000 in today’s dollars. Fortunately, many of his specimens, many of his amazing photos, and his great stories remain.

【1】What is the passage mainly about?

A.Rock’s service for the U.S government.

B.Rock’s cooperation with Harvard.

C.Rock’s work as a botanist.

D.Rock’s exploration in Southwest China.

【2】What contribution did Rock make to the USA besides collecting new plants and specimens?

A.He traveled through some uncivilized places in China.

B.His hand-drawn map was used in WWII.

C.He showed heroism by escaping difficulties.

D.He made headlines in Boston Evening News.

【3】How did Rock respond when people mentioned his heroic deeds?

A.Excitedly.B.Proudly.

C.CalmlyD.Nervously.

【4】What caused Rock to stop work for The Arboretum?

A.The vast expense.B.The dangerous journey.

C.The challenging tasks.D.The unknown world.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】D

【2】B

【3】C

【4】A

【解析】

本文是一篇说明文。主要讲述的是美国探险家Rock对中国西南地区的探险。

【1】主旨大意题。根据第一段第二句For more than 25 years, he travelled extensively through Tibet and Yunnan, Gansu, and Sichuan provinces in China before finally leaving in 1949.（在超过25年的时间里，他游历了中国的西藏、云南、甘肃和四川，最后在1949年离开）以及全文内容可知，本文主要讲的是Rock对中国西南部的探险。故选D。

【2】细节理解题。根据第二段的His hand-drawn map of his travels through China’s “Cho-Ni” territory, in the Harvard Map Collection, includes more than a thousand rivers, towns, and mountains indicated in both English and Chinese, and was so well made that the U.S. government used it to plan aerial missions in World War II.（在哈佛大学的地图收藏中，他手绘了一张中国“楚-尼”地区的旅行地图，其中有上千条河流、城镇和山脉，用中英文标注。这张地图制作得非常好，以至于美国政府在第二次世界大战中使用它来计划空中任务）可知，除了收集新的植物和标本外，Rock对美国的贡献还有他的手绘的地图在二战中被使用。故选B。

【3】推理判断题。根据倒数第二段最后一句中he waves the idea away as if it is of no importance.（他对这个想法不屑一顾，好像它不重要似的）可知，当人们提到他的英雄事迹时，Rock的反应很平静。故选C。

【4】细节理解题。根据最后一段第一句mainly because his trip cost Harvard a fortune—about $900,000 in today’s dollars（主要是因为他的旅行让哈佛损失了一大笔钱——以今天的美元计算大约是90万美元）可知，巨大的开支致使Rock停止了植物园的工作。故选A。

推理判断题要求在理解原文表面文字信息的基础上，做出一定的推理判断，从而得到文章的隐含意义和深层意义。推理判断题所涉及的内容可能是文中的某一句话，也可能是某几句话，所以推理题的答案只能是根据原文表面文字信息推出答案，即对原文某一句话或某几句话所作的同义改写。如第3题，根据倒数第二段最后一句中he waves the idea away as if it is of no importance.（他对这个想法不屑一顾，好像它不重要似的）可知，此处并不是直接说明Rock很平静，而是从这句话侧面推敲出来的。