Question

【題目】Do Encyclopedias Know Everything?

LONG BEFORE Wikipedia or Encyclopedia Britannica (《大英百科全書》), there was Pliny the Elder. He was a first-century Roman researcher. His assistants (助理) read to him while he ate dinner and while he bathed. All the while, Pliny took notes. He even considered walking a waste of time. His assistants carried him around Rome in a chair while he read.

All of this was preparation for his Historia Naturalis (《博物志》). The book was published in A.D. 77. It is considered the oldest surviving encyclopedia on Earth. There are 2,500 chapters. They cover everything from mice to Mars.

“No Roman author has completed such a project,” Pliny proudly announced. Unluckily, two years after publishing (出版) the encyclopedia, he died in a natural disaster.

Accidents can hardly be avoided (避免). However, they can be recorded. Editors of encyclopedias, like Pliny, organize the knowledge of our world. Like a valuable gift, the books pass through the ages. They begin their lives as a tool and end them as a historical record.

Therefore, in my opinion, an encyclopedia is not just a record of what its editors know. It’s also a record of what they don’t know.

Pliny was wrong when he said there were seven planets, including the Sun and the Moon. He was wrong, too, when he said Africans were black from being burnt by the Sun. After all, Historia Naturalis is a book edited by a Roman thousands of years ago. These were all he truly knew.

Similarly, both Wikipedia and Encyclopedia Britannica have some incorrect information. Even the biggest encyclopedias only represent what their editors know.

“The task of editing an encyclopedia can never be completed,” said Roger Lewinter, an American researcher. Encyclopedias can’t record all of the human knowledge but just some of it. They are always waiting for someone — you, perhaps — to improve them.

【1】According to the article, before Pliny the Elder completed his Historia Naturalis, ______.

A.Nobody had considered walking a waste of timeB.There was no encyclopedia on Earth

C.Nobody knew what Mars wasD.No Roman author had completed an encyclopedia

【2】When did Pliny die in a natural disaster?

A.In A.D. 79.B.In A.D. 77.C.In A.D.75. D. In 77 B.C.

【3】Which of the following statements would the author agree to?

A.We should destroy Pliny’s encyclopedia because it contains too many mistakes.

B.Modern encyclopedias — such as Wikipedia — have fewer mistakes.

C.In the biggest encyclopedia, we can find all of the human knowledge.

D.In all encyclopedias, there is some incorrect information.

【4】The author expects his readers to _____.

A.find all the mistakes in Historia NaturalisB.improve an encyclopedia

C.complete the task of editing an encyclopediaD.take a look at the world’s biggest encyclopedias

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】D

【2】A

【3】D

【4】B

【解析】

本文是一篇說(shuō)明文。介紹了Pliny創(chuàng)作《博物志》的過(guò)程和這本百科全書的重要價(jià)值，同時(shí)也指出，在這些百科全書里面，由于當(dāng)時(shí)的一些知識(shí)盲點(diǎn)，存在一些錯(cuò)誤的內(nèi)容，呼吁有讀者來(lái)完善這些錯(cuò)誤。

【1】細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)文章第三段第一句話“No Roman author has completed such a project”可知，之前沒(méi)有羅馬作者完成過(guò)百科全書，故選D。

【2】細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)文章第二段第二句“The book was published in A.D. 77.”和文章第三段第二句“Unluckily, two years after publishing (出版) the encyclopedia, he died in a natural disaster”可知，Pliny死于出版的兩年后，也就是A.D.79，故選A。

【3】細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)文章第五段可知，作者認(rèn)為百科全書不僅記錄了編輯者所知的內(nèi)容，也把他們未知的內(nèi)容一起記錄了。結(jié)合第六第七段舉的例子，在這些百科全書中也是存在不正確的內(nèi)容的，故選D。

【4】細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)文章最后一句話“They are always waiting for someone — you, perhaps — to improve them”可知，作者希望有讀者能夠來(lái)完善這些百科全書不足的地方，故選B。