Question

【題目】 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 brilliantly (精彩地) 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 realized that I was talking to a book liar.

And it seems that my friend is not the only one. About two thirds of people have lied about reading a book which they haven’t. In the World Book Day’s “Report on Guilty 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 (承認)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 surprised that 58 percent said they had never done so).

【1】What does the underlined word “l(fā)iar” in the first paragraph mean according to the context?

A.A bookwormB.A man who tells lies

C.A man who hates readingD.A man who has many books

【2】How did the author find his friend a book liar?

A.By judging his manner of speaking.B.By looking into his background.

C.By mentioning a famous name.D.By discussing the book itself.

【3】Which of the following is a “guilty secret” according to the World Book Day report?

A.Charles Dickens is very low on the top-ten list.

B.42% of people pretended to have read 1984.

C.The author admitted having read 9 books.

D.Dreams From My Father is hardly read.

【4】By lying about reading, a person hopes to ________.

A.control the conversationB.appear knowledgeable

C.learn about the bookD.make more friends

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】B

【2】D

【3】B

【4】B

【解析】

短文大意：本文是一篇記敘文，作者通過與朋友聊天引出本文的話題book liar書騙子，列舉了大家謊稱讀了而實際未讀的書目，以及大家喜歡的一些作家，并闡述了人們喜歡撒謊的最常見的理由。

【1】題意：根據(jù)上下文，第一段中帶下劃線的“l(fā)iar”是什么意思？考查詞義理解。根據(jù)下文And it seems that my friend is not the only one. About two thirds of people have lied about reading a book which they haven’t. 有三分之二的人謊稱自己讀了一本他們沒有讀過的書，可知他的朋友是個說謊的人A man who tells lies，故選B。

【2】題意：作者是如何發(fā)現(xiàn)他的朋友是個說謊的人?考查細節(jié)理解。根據(jù)第一段A friend I was talking to agreed with me that it was, in his words, “a brilliantly (精彩地) 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 realized that I was talking to a book liar.可知作者跟他的朋友深談有關奧巴馬的那本書時，發(fā)現(xiàn)朋友對奧巴馬的背景一無所知，這暗示出朋友其實并沒有讀過這本書，故選D。

【3】題意：根據(jù)世界讀書日的報告，下列哪個是“罪惡的秘密”?考查細節(jié)判斷。根據(jù)第二段But I am pleased to say that, unlike 42 percent of people, I have read the book at number one, George Orwell’s1984.（不像百分之四十二的人那樣，我很高興地說，我讀過排在第一位的喬治·奧威爾的《1984》）可知，百分之四十二的人沒有讀過喬治·奧威爾的《1984》；聯(lián)系“Report on Guilty Secrets”，可知42% of people pretended to have read 1984.符合“罪惡的秘密”，故選B。

【4】題意：通過在閱讀上撒謊，一個人希望顯得有知識。考查細節(jié)推斷。根據(jù)Asked why they lied, the most common reason was to “impress” someone they were speaking to.可知人們在閱讀上撒謊最普遍的理由是想給正在說話的人留下深刻的印象，appear knowledgeable符合這個目的，故選B。