Question

12．It's a Christmas tradition that's more than half a century old．And it happened completely by accident．
It started in 1955，when a local Sears store in Colorado Springs，Colorado printed an ad，which included a spedial phone mumber kids could call to know where Santa's sleigh was at any given moment．Unfortunately，someone made a mistake in printing the phone mumber and kids were calling the wrong line．
A Colonel（上校） named Henry Shoup began answering his phong at what would become NORAD，the North American Aerospace Defence Command．At first，he thought it was a simple error of one caller．
But as the phone ketp ringing and tiny voices kept asking about Santa，Shoup realized he couldn't disappoint them．So he told the staff to issue updates to any one asking about the location of Santa．
The wrong turned into a custom of the holiday and kept growing in popularity，and NORAD finally decided to make it permanent．
It's become a holiday favourite ever since，adapting to whatever new technology has come along since．In the early days，it was a phone line．Then in the 60s，NORAD put out a special series of"reports"that was played on hundreds of radio stations across North America，broadcasting the Jolly Old Elf's exact position on Christmas Eve．
Think of it as kind of an early GPS without the computer gear．
Finally，came the Internet and NORAD has now transferred its annual watch onto the Web，with a site devoted to keeping tabs on the most famous journey in the world-what you might call the real amazing race，an around-the-world mission that has to be finished within 24hours．
This year's entry allows kids to track Santa in 3Dusing Google Earth and play games at the North Pole using the Kids Countdown Section，and it even offers Santa Cams which are only operational on the night before Christmas．
36．Why did children keep calling Henry Shoup？D
A．Because they wanted to play a joke on him．
B．Because they wanted to amuse him．
C．Because he knew where Santa exactly was．
D．Because they wanted to know where Santa's sleigh was．
37．What did Colonel Henry Shoup do when more and more children kept calling？C
A．He became annoyed and decided to tell them the truth．
B．He became excited and jioned them in searching Santa．
C．He thought quickly and took it seriously to satisfy their needs．
D．He laughed at them and took no notice of their calls．
38．What does"Jolly Old Elf"in Paragraph 6 most probably refer to？A
A．Santa Claus．
B．Colonel Henry Shoup．
C．NOARD．
D．The staff in Henry Shoup's charge．
39．According to the passage，how did people learn about the Jolly Old Elf's exact position in the 1960s？B
A．By calling a special phone mumber．
B．By listening to a special series of reports over the radio．
C．With the help of a kind of early GPS．
D．By scanning the spedial column in the newspaper．
40．The passage mainly tells usB．
A．an old favorite holiday that develops along with new technology
B.50-year-old tracking Santa tradition that started by accident
C．a real amazing race，an around-the-world mission within 24 hours
D．a Colonel and the North American Aerospace Defence Command．

Answer 1

分析 本文为科教类说明文，文章向读者介绍了圣诞节追踪圣诞老人的习俗的由来；原本一家商店登广告，为孩子们了解圣诞老人位置，但是电话号码提供错了，电话被误打到NORAD，为了不使孩子们失望，上校 Henry Shoup 认真地让手下帮助解决孩子们的疑问，结果这个美丽的错误就逐渐演变成习俗，并且随着技术的变化而调整．

解答 36．答案是D．细节理解题；由第二段中"a special phone number kids could call to know where Santa's sleigh was"可知，通过广告中提供的号码孩子们能了解到圣诞老人的雪橇的位置；但是由"someone made a mistake in printing the phone nmumber and kids were calling the wrong line"可知号码打印错误，孩子们打错了电话，由下一段可知，打到了NORAD，是Henry Shoup在接电话，故判断孩子们误打给Henry Shoup是为了了解圣诞老人雪橇的位置，答案选D．
37．答案是C．细节理解题；由第四段中"Shoup realized he couldn't disappoint them．So he told the staff to issue updates to any one asking about the location of Santa．"可知，Shoup不想让孩子们失望，让参谋解决每个孩子询问的关于圣诞老人的位置的问题，由此判断，Shoup认真地对待这件事，故选C．
38．答案是A．词义指代题；由上文可知，这个习俗就是告知孩子们圣诞老人的位置，故"Jolly Old Elf"指代圣诞老人，答案是A．
39．答案是B．细节理解题；由第六段中"Then in the 60s，NORAD put out a special series of"reports"that was played on hundreds of radio stations across North America"可知，60年代NORAD通过北美的电台（radio stations）播报圣诞老人的位置，故选B．
40．答案是B．主旨大意题；文章第一段告诉读者这个圣诞节的习俗由50多年的历史，而它的出现完全是偶然；下文分析这个习俗是什么--追踪圣诞老人的位置如何产生、习俗的演变；故选B．

点评 本文介绍了圣诞节追踪圣诞老人位置这一习俗的由来；以细节题居多，阅读要在整体理解文章的基础上，在做细节题时根据题干定位细节，在语境中正确理解原句，然后对照选项做出合理的判断；主旨大意的判断要把握文章整体，避免以偏概全．