19．I once met a well-known botanist at a dinner party．I had never talked with a botanist before，and I found him fascinating．I sat there absorbed and listened while he spoke of unusual plants and his experiments （he even told me astonishing facts about the simple potato）．I had a small indoor garden of my own---and he was good enough to tell me how to solve some of my problems．
As I said，we were at a dinner party．There must have been a dozen other guests，but I broke an important rule of politeness．I ignored everyone else and talked for hours to the botanist．
Midnight came，I said good night to everyone and departed．The botanist then turned to our host and said many nice things about me，including that I was a"most interesting conversationalist．"
An interesting conversationalist？I had said hardly anything at all．I couldn't have said anything if I had wanted to without changing the subject，for I didn't know any more about plants than I knew about sharks．But I had done this one thing：I had listened carefully．I listened because I was really interested．And he felt it．Naturally that pleased him．That kind of listening is one of the the best ways to show respect to others，and it makes them feel great too．"Few human beings，"wrote Jack Woodford in Strangers in Love，"can resist the sweet effect ofrapt attention．"I went even further than that．I was"sincere in my admiration and generous in my praise．"
I told him that I had been hugely entertained and instructed．I had．I told him I wished I had his knowledge．I told him that I should love to wander the fields with him．What's more，it was all true．
And so I had him thinking of me as a good conversationalist when，in reality，I had been merely a good listener and had encouraged him to talk．
26．From Paragraph 1，we can learn that the writerB
A．was deeply moved by the botanist's talk
B．was amazed by what he was hearing
C．was not in a comfortable situation
D．behaved politely and properly
27．Which of the following does the writer describe as a rule of politeness at dinner parties？D
A．Avoiding discussions about politics and religion．
B．Listening carefully to what another guest says．
C．Arriving and leaving at the appropriate time．
D．Giving attention to all those in attendance．
28．The underlined expression"rapt attention"in Paragraph 4 is closest in meaning toB
A．full understanding
B．strong interest
C．great uncertainty
D．little curiosity
29．According to the writer，which of the following is an important characteristic of a good conversationalist？A
A．Listening attentively and encouraging the other side to continue．
B．Encouraging he other side by sharing his/her own opinions．
C．Promising a future meeting for more communication．
D．Expressing respect by nodding his/her head．
30．What is the purpose of the passage？C
A．To prove the writer is an interesting conversationalist．
B．To share an interesting experience at a dinner party．
C．To explain what makes a good conversationalist．
D．To show that botanists can be really talkative．
分析 本文通过偶遇一个植物学家以及和其交谈的例子说明一个健谈的人应具备的品质：要关注参会的人、注意倾听他们的见解、表现出对别人话题感兴趣等．
解答 26-30 BDBAC
26．B．细节理解题．由第一段中的"and I found him very interesting．I sat there absorbed and listened while he spoke of unusual plants and his experiments （he even told me astonishing facts about the simple potato）"可知，作者对于植物学家所说的感到很惊奇．故选B．
27．D．推理判断题．由第二段中的"but I broke an important rule of politeness．I ignored everyone else and talked for hours to the botanist．"可知，作者认为，忽略其他人，只和植物学家谈话是不礼貌的．也就是说关注参加家宴的所有人是有礼貌的行为．故选D．
28．B．词义猜测题．根据第四段中的"I listened because I was really interested．And he felt it．Naturally that pleased him．"可知，rapt attention的意思与strong interest相近．故选B．
29．A．推理判断题．根据最后一段"And so I had him thinking of me as a good conversationalist when，in reality，I had only been a good listener and had encouraged him to talk．"可知，选择A项．
30．C．写作意图题．作者通过偶遇一个植物学家以及和其交谈的例子说明一个健谈的人应具备的品质．因此C项正确．
点评 本文属于故事类文章阅读，解答此类题目要认真阅读，迅速抓住故事的主题和核心部分，了解故事发展的线索和脉络，根据题干的不同要求进行细致的分析，比如推理判断题，要通读文章，抓住文中的具体细节，针对每个选项所描述的内容进行仔细揣摩，认真推敲，排除其他选项；选出与文意相吻合的选项．
