Question

Ireland has had a very difficult history. The problems started in the 16th century when English rulers fried to conquer (征服) Ireland. For hundreds of years, the Irish people fought against the English. Finally, in 1921, the British government was forced to give independence to the south of Ireland. The result is that today there are two “Irelands”. Northern Ireland, in the north, is part of the United Kingdom. The republic of Ireland, in the south, is an independent country.

In the 1840s ,the main crop, potatoes was affected by disease and about 750, 000 people died of hunger. This, and a shortage (短缺) of work, forced many people to leave Ireland and live in the USA, the UK, Australia and Canada. As a result of these problems, the population fell from 8.2 million in 1841 to 6.6 million in 1851.

For many years, the majority of Irish people earned their living as farmers. Today, many people still work on the land but more and more people are moving to the cities to work in factories and offices. Life in the cities is very different from life in the countryside, where things move at a quieter and slower pace.

The Irish are famous for being warm-hearted and friendly, Oscar Wilde, a famous Irish writer, once said that the Irish were “the greatest talkers since the Greeks”. Since independence, Ireland has revived (复兴) its own culture of music, language, literature and singing. Different areas have different styles of old Irish songs which are sung without instruments. Other kinds of Irish music use many different instruments such as the violin, whistles, etc.

1.What does the author tell us in Paragraph 1?

A. How the Irish fought against the English.

B. How Ireland gained independence.

C. How two “Irelands” came into being.

D. How English rulers tried to conquer Ireland.

2.The last paragraph is mainly about____.

A. the Irish character                B. Irish culture

C. Irish musical instruments          D. a famous Irish writer

3.We learn from the text that in Ireland _____.

A. different kinds of old Irish songs are all sung with instruments

B. people are moving to the cities for lack of work in the countryside

C. it is harder to make a living as a farmer than as a factory worker

D. food shortages in the 1840s led to a decline in population

4.What can be the best title for the text?

A. Life in Ireland

B. Ireland, Past and Present

C. A Very Difficult History

D. The Independence of Ireland

 

Answer 1

【答案】

 

1.C

2.B

3.D

4.B

【解析】

试题分析：本文从地理状况、人口发展、经济情况以及社会生活等方面介绍了爱尔兰共和国，让我们对这个美丽的国家有更进一步的了解。

1.推断题：通读第一段可知，本段介绍了爱尔兰共和国（The Republic of Ireland），及北爱尔兰(Northern Ireland)的由来，故选C。

2.推断题：文章末段从爱尔兰民族习性、音乐、语言及文学等方面介绍了爱尔兰民族文化，故B项正确。A、C、D各项虽都提及，但都是细节，只有B项囊括了全部，故选B。

3.细节题：通读第二段可知，十九世纪四十年代，由于主要农作物土豆受病害影响及本国工作机会缺乏，大量爱尔兰人移往其它国家，使爱尔兰人口下降，故D项正确。B项中人们移往城市并非是由于农村缺少工作机会；C项在文章中并没有对比城市和乡村生活的难易；A项错误在于all，并非全部的爱尔兰歌谣都使用乐器。故选D。

4.总结题：通读全文可知，本文从地理状况、人口发展、经济情况以及社会生活等方面介绍了爱尔兰共和国的过去及现在，故B项最为全面，故选B。

考点：考查地理历史类阅读