The art of reading fiction is largely a matter of inferring meanings. To infer means to understand facts which are not directly stated---only suggested. Inference is one of the commonest ways of knowing things: a child holds his knee and cries; this action implies his feeling; an observer infers that the child is hurt. To infer accurately in everyday life requires caution in observing; to infer skillfully in fiction requires caution in reading; both require disciplined imagination.
The short-story reader can expect to find certain basic elements in any story. For example, all stories involve a person or persons, in a particular setting, faced with a demand for a response. The response called for may be a physical action, such as defeating an adversary(对手) or escaping from a danger; or it may be a mental action, such as adjusting to others or within oneself. In either case, the short story is a description in two ways: first, it shows the motives for a given human action; second, it makes a point about the general human situation. Such descriptions, however, rather than being stated directly, usually are implied by the elements of the story.
When the reader of a story understands all the facts and their interrelationships, he is ready to infer the significance of the story as a whole---its comment on the human situation. This comment, or theme, is the seed from which the story grew. It is also the idea by which all the separate elements of the story are governed, while these in turn further shape and modify the theme. In addition to action, character, and setting, these elements include structure, mood, tone, and point of view.
Fiction reading requires an awareness of all the ways in which a story communicates. It also requires attention to detail. What the author provides is a network of points which serve as clues to his meaning. He invites the reader to develop the meaning by inference, actually to create much of the story himself and so make it part of his own experience.
【小题1】According to the author, "infer" means ________ .

The art of reading fiction is largely a matter of inferring meanings. To infer means to understand facts which are not directly stated---only suggested. Inference is one of the commonest ways of knowing things: a child holds his knee and cries; this action implies his feeling; an observer infers that the child is hurt. To infer accurately in everyday life requires caution in observing; to infer skillfully in fiction requires caution in reading; both require disciplined imagination.

The short-story reader can expect to find certain basic elements in any story. For example, all stories involve a person or persons, in a particular setting, faced with a demand for a response. The response called for may be a physical action, such as defeating an adversary(对手) or escaping from a danger; or it may be a mental action, such as adjusting to others or within oneself. In either case, the short story is a description in two ways: first, it shows the motives for a given human action; second, it makes a point about the general human situation. Such descriptions, however, rather than being stated directly, usually are implied by the elements of the story.

When the reader of a story understands all the facts and their interrelationships, he is ready to infer the significance of the story as a whole---its comment on the human situation. This comment, or theme, is the seed from which the story grew. It is also the idea by which all the separate elements of the story are governed, while these in turn further shape and modify the theme. In addition to action, character, and setting, these elements include structure, mood, tone, and point of view.

Fiction reading requires an awareness of all the ways in which a story communicates. It also requires attention to detail. What the author provides is a network of points which serve as clues to his meaning. He invites the reader to develop the meaning by inference, actually to create much of the story himself and so make it part of his own experience.

1.According to the author, "infer" means ________ .

A．knowingfactsbeyondthestatement

B．lookingformoreevidencesforthestatement

C．findingoutadifferentmeaningfromthestatement

D．addingsomefactstothestatement

2.What is inferring in fiction based on?

A．Readers’guessing.                     B．Thebasicelementsofthestory.

C．Thesettingofthestory.                    D．Theinterrelationshipsbetweenpeopleinthestory.

3.What is the implied meaning of the last sentence?

A．Inferringcanreallyhelpthereaderdevelopimaginationandenrichhimself.

B．Inferringcanhelpthereaderwriteastoryofhisown.

C．Thereadershouldlookforanexperiencedescribedinthestoryhereads.

D．Theexperiencedescribedinthestorywillleaveagreatimpactonitsreader.

4.What is the main idea of this passage?

A．Inferringisanartofwriting.                  B．Inferringisaneedinfictionwriting

C．Inferringisthebasicskillinreadingfiction.       D．Inferringiscommoninreading.

Many disease researchers have warned that rising global temperatures could lead to more diseases, for example by allowing tropical diseases to expand their ranges into what are now mild regions．This is a particular fear for the diseases carried by insects such as malaria（疟疾）and sleeping sickness．

But the reality is more complex, argues Kevin Lafferty, a disease ecologist．He argues that a warming climate could favour some diseases in certain regions while controlling them in others．

Lafferty does not deny that climate change might allow malarial mosquitoes to spread to new areas．However he believes that hotter and drier conditions may also get rid of mosquitoes from areas where they currently exist．If this were the case, he says, there would be little, if any, net increase（净增长）in the risk of disease．

In addition, many mild regions such as southern Europe or the southern U.S. have good sanitation（卫生设备） and insect control programmes which, Lafferty says, would prevent diseases from becoming common even if climatic conditions were suitable．

Finally, he argues, climate change could wipe many species off the plant．Infectious pathogens（病原体）depend on their hosts for survival so they too may become endangered－especially if they, like malaria, rely on more than one host．

But Mercedes Pascual of the University of Michigan points out that there are large human populations in the east African highlands, just outside of the existing range of malarial mosquitoes．She said as temperatures rise, the mosquitoes will reach these areas．So the disadvantages will outweigh the advantages of decreased risk elsewhere．

Most of the ecologists do, however, seem to agree on one point: predicting where a disease is going to go next involves far more than just considering climate．No matter what the results of the debate are, they all agree that health concerns should continue to play a critical role in climate policy, and the debate shouldn't be regarded as weakening the case for action against global warming．

1．According to Kevin Lafferty, climate change__________.

    A．will not increase the spread of insect-borne diseases

    B．may not significantly increase the risk of disease in the whole world

    C．will not affect the dry regions where sanitation is good

    D．may not affect viruses that depend on more than one host

2．What does Mercedes Pascual think of Lafferty 's conclusion?

       A．She disagrees with it．                       B．She supports it．

       C．She is not sure of it．                        D．She thinks it needs proving．

3．We may infer from the passage that ___________.

    A．climate is the only factor in the prediction of the spread of diseases

    B．when making a climate policy one should take health into account

    C．the debate mentioned in the passage furthers the debate on global warming

    D．a policy should be made immediately to try to stop climate change

4．We can learn from the passage that ___________

    A．all the disease researchers agree that climate change will spread disease

    B．nothing can be done to stop the present global warming

    C．scientists have found ways to stop the wild spread of disease

    D．ecologists have different views on whether the global warming will spread diseases further

阅读理解

　　It is unbelievable how popular English is in Venezuela (委内瑞拉). Now we have a kind of language mixture between English and Spanish.

　　In the Venezuelans' daily conversations, they often use English words with Spanish verb endings. For example, if they send a fax, they use the word faxear, or if they have to click on the screen of their computer, they say clickear.

　　Also, they use simple English words in some Spanish sentences. You might hear someone say,“Voy a comprar unos jeans in el mall”which means“I'm going to buy some jeans in the mall,”or“Okey, vamos”which means“OK, let's go.”

　　In addition, you see English names everywhere for restaurants--Crystal Ranch, stores--Area Company, gymnasiums--Sport Center, Althletic Center, malls--The Country, and night clubs--Studio Fifty Four. In Caracas(加拉加斯), there is very fashionable neighborhood named Las Merce des, where each street has an American name like New York or Fifth Avenue. Therefore, when you go shopping, you can see signs in English in the windows of stores, such as On Sale.

　　In some Latin American countries, the increasing influence of English is a question often argued about. But in Venzuela, however, this is not the case. Venezuelans are open to receiving different cultural influences such as European fashion (时装) and British music. Moreover, many Venezuelans don't know where the words come from: they have been using them for years as a part of their language.

1．Which language do Venezuelans usually speak, judging from the information given in the article?

[　　]

A．English.　　　　　　B．Spanish.

C．Latin.　　　　　　　D．We cannot know.

2．In the second paragraph the writer is trying to make the point that _____.

[　　]

A．Venezuelans often use English words in a Spanish way

B．“fax”can be used both as a noun and a verb

C．“fax”and“click”are two of the English words most popularly used in Venezuela

D．“-ear”is a verb ending in Spanish

3．From the third paragraph we can know that _____.

[　　]

A．Venezuelans can't speak English well

B．there're no words for“jeans”or“mall”in Spanish

C．Spanish sentences are often based on English

D．English words are often heard in Venezuelans' speech

4．The last sentence of the article seems to support the point that _____.

[　　]

A．Venezuelans care little about cultural influence

B．Venezuelans' own language is going to die away

C．English words are popular in Venezuela because the users don't know they are English

D．it's time for Venezuelas to do something to keep their mother tongue alive