2．Charles Dickens'novel A Tale of Two Cities is set in the years before and during the French Revolution （1789-1799）．During its course，French revolutionaries brought down the empire and established a republic of free and equal citizens．
In reading the work，one sees that Dickens distorted some details of the French Revolution．At the beginning，Dickens notes that，in 1775，France was busy spending money．This mention of France's spending touches briefly on what is perhaps the major cause of the French Revolution．Before the revolution，the government often borrowed money because it spent more than it raised in taxes．The increased spending and borrowing made many people's blood boil，yet Dickens focused instead on the nobility's oppression and exploitation of the working class，including peasants，as the causes of the revolution．
The Marquis，one of the book's characters，ill-treats and kills many people．Thus，he represents the nobles who mistreat the lower classes．One reviewer criticized this picture as an unfair representation of French society in the mid-1700s．The reviewer pointed out that the government would have punished nobles who mistreated or murdered．Nobles may have been guilty of other evils，however，such as not feeding the starving masses after bad weather ruined crops in 1789．
Dickens'account of the storming of the Bastille fails to mention that the gang that stormed the prison was looking for bullets and bombs to use in defense against a possible attack by the king's troops．Dickens does include some accurate details，however，such as the crowd's finding only seven prisoners and freeing them and the pack's executing （处决） the prison administrator and sticking his head on a post．The scene that the women knit （编织） as they watch the executions may seem to be an odd detail，but actually many women did knit stockings for the war effort as they watched the killing machine at work．
Dickens'descriptions of the steady stream of sentenced people into prison and the carts taking them to their deaths give readers some idea of the frequency with which officials jailed and executed people during the Rule of Terror，which lasted about a year．During the Terror，the government jailed about 250 thousand people，tried （审判） and killed about 17 thousand，and executed about 12 thousand without a trial．Those executed included people who opposed the revolution，people who offended the revolutionaries，and even some revolutionaries．About 15percent were members of the ministry or nobility．
88．What does the word"distorted"in Paragraph 2most probably mean？D
A．Discussed．B．Revealed．C．Provided．D．Twisted．
89．Which of the following statements is true according to the passage？C
A．A wild crowd rushed into the Bastille to fight with the royal soldiers．
B．The nobles'mistreating and killing people is the main cause of the revolution．
C．About thirty thousand people lost their lives in the course of the Rule of Terror．
D．Women were forced to work for the war supplies while watching people killed．
90．What can be inferred from the passage？B
A．Dickens was once among the revolutionaries storming the Bastille．
B．There was an extreme disorder and horror during the revolution．
C．Nobles of those days in France were loaded with heavy social responsibilities．
D．Classic literary works may serve as history textbooks to a great degree．
91．Which of the following might be the best title of the passage？D
A．The Collapse of the French Empire
B．Unknown Facts during the Rule of Terror
C．Dickens'Description of the French Revolution
D．A Critical View on A Tale of Two Cities．
分析 本文属于说明文阅读，作者通过这篇文章主要向我们描述了狄更斯的双城记这本书．
解答 88．D．词意猜测题．根据第二段Before the revolution，the government often borrowed money because it spent more than it raised in taxes可知，对于法国革命的原因，狄更斯提到是由于法国政府入不敷出，引起了人们的公愤，然而之后他把革命的原因集中在贵族对工人阶级和农民的压迫和剥削之上，由此可推断狄更斯扭曲了法国革命的一些细节．故答案为D．
89．C．细节理解题．根据"During the Terror，the government jailed（拘留）about 250 thousand people，tried（审判）and killed about 17thousand，and executed about 12 thousand without a trial．"可知这个时期有大约3万人被杀．故答案为C．
90．B．推理判断题．文中Dickens does include some accurate details，however，such as the crowd's finding only seven prisoners and freeing them and the pack's executing （处决） the prison administrator and sticking his head on a post提到了法国人民攻占巴士底狱，杀死那里的管理者．还提到了政府审批和未经审批杀死很多人．可知在法国革命期间充满了恐慌和动荡．故答案为B．
91．D．主旨大意题．根据第一段Charles Dickens'novel A Tale of Two Cities is set in the years before and during the French Revolution可知本文批判地为我们介绍了狄更斯的双城记这本书．故答案为D．
点评 考察学生的细节理解和推理判断能力，做细节理解题时一定要找到文章中的原句，和题干进行比较，再做出正确的选择．在做推理判断题不要以个人的主观想象代替文章的事实，要根据文章事实进行合乎逻辑的推理判断．
