Question

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 sensed that I was talking to a book liar.

And it seems that my friend is not the only one. Approximately 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 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 astonished that 58 percent said they had never done so).

64. 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.

65. 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.

66. By lying about reading, a person hopes to      .

A. control the conversation

B. appear knowledgeable

C. learn about the book

D. make more friends

67. What is the author’s attitude to 58%of readers?

A. Favorable.

B. Uncaring

C. Doubtful

D. Friendly

Answer 1

【语篇解读】　本文属于描述性的记叙文。作者通过与朋友聊天引出本文的话题book liar，列举了大家谎称读了实际未读的书目，以及大家喜欢的一些作家，并阐述了人们撒谎的最常见的理由。

段落	关键词、句	大意推测
第一部分（Para. 1）	happen to me,agree with, went on to talk, have no idea,book liar	引出话题：我碰巧遇到一件事；同意我的看法；继续谈论；不知道；谎称看书的人
第二部分（Para. 2-3）	list ten books,various authors,some other interesting information	世界读书日的报告给出的信息：列举了十种书，不同的作者，其他一些有趣的信息
第三部分（Para. 4）	why they lied,impress someone	撒谎者最普遍的理由：为什么撒谎；给人留下深刻的印象
第三部分（Para. 5）	forty-two percent,admitted,astonished,had never done	作者的态度：42%；承认；惊讶；从未做过

【解析】

64.A．细节理解题。难度：较易。题干关键词为book liar，定位在第一段。根据he then went on to talk about Mr Obama in a way which suggested he had no idea of his background at all.（然后他继续以一种能暗示出他对奥巴马背景一无所知的方式继续谈论Mr Obama），可知作者跟他的朋友深谈时发现朋友的说话方式暗示出朋友其实并没有读过这本书，他对奥巴马的背景一点都不知晓。

65.B．判断推理题。难度：较难。本题的关键词是guilty secret，定位第二三段。根据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样，我很高兴地说，我读过排在第一位的George Orwell’s1984.）由此可知，作者读过George Orwell’s1984这本书，而百分之四十二的人却没读过。

66.B．细节理解题。难度：较易。本题的关键词lying about reading,定位在第四段。Asked why they lied,the most common reason was to impress someone they were speaking to.（当被问及为什么撒谎的时候，最普遍的理由是想给正在说话的人留下深刻的印象。）人们之所以选择撒谎是想让对方觉得自己知识渊博，从而给对方一个好的印象。因此B选项“显得有知识”为正确答案。

67.C．推理判断题。难度：较易。本题的关键词是58%，定位第五段最后一句。And am astonished that 58 percent said they had never done so（我很惊讶58%的人说他们从来没这么做过。）表明作者态度的词是astonished。选项中与此词意义相近的答案就是选项C了。

【难句学习】

A friend I was talking to agreed with me that it was, in his words,“a brilliantly written book”

翻译：我正在交谈的一位朋友同意我的看法，用他的话说，这是一本很精彩的书籍。

分析：本句的主干是A friend agreed with me，that引导的从句做动词词组agree with的宾语从句；I was talking to是省略关联词who或者that的定语从句，先行词是A friend。