① In what way are men different from animals?
A Men can understand things quickly.
B Men can learn.
C Men have learned language.
D Men have brains.
[答案] C.
② Scientists now know ______
A how children learn to speak
B why apes can learn a few words
C men's brain helps him to learn to speak
D what happens when men speak
[答案] C.
③ What is the topic the writer wants to talk about?
A ape's language
B men's brain and language
C human brain
D animals' learning
[答案] B.
以上只是做阅读练习中的一般分析，要取得优异成绩，还有赖于扎实的阅读基础和语言能力，以及平时的技巧训练和刻苦练习。要坚持每天至少读三四篇文章，以逐步提高自己的英语水平。
(二) 例题解析
通读下面短文，掌握其大意。然后从短文后各题所给的四个选项中选择最佳的一项。
Once there was a clever farmer Though he was poor， he decided one day to take the king a roast goose (烤鹅) as a present He had not had ____ 1 ____to cat that day， and soon the ____ 2 ____ of the roast goose became too much for him as (当……时) he ____ 3 ____ it to the king， so he ate one of its legsWhen he came before the king and gave him the goose， the king ____ 4 ____ saw that it had only one legNow， the king ____ 5 ____ was born with one bad leg， so he had never been able to ____ 6 ____ properly (正常地) When he saw the goose with only one leg， he thought the farmer had ____ 7 ____ this to laugh at him Of course he was very ____ 8 ____ The farmer was told that if anybody laughed at the king， he would be ____ 9____ at once"Where is ____ 10 ____ leg of the goose?" the king asked" All the geese (goose 的复数) in this ____ 11 ____ of the country have one leg only， " the farmer answered"Do you think I'm a fool(傻子)?" the king shouted"____ 12 ____ ，" said the farmer， "if you look out of the window， you will see geese with one leg by the ____ 13____ "The king looked， and there the geese were ____ 14 ____ on one leg beside the water The king at once told one of his men to ____ 15 ____ them with a big stick， and of course， they ____ 16 ____ their other legs and ran away"There， " said the king " You were lying(说谎) That ____ 17 ____ that the geese here have two legs， like all other ____ 18 ____ in the country""But it doesn't show anything，" answered the farmer， "if your men threw a big stick like that at me， I would grow two ____19 ____ legs myself to help me to run away ____ 20 ____ "
1 A less B all C little D much
2 A head B neck C smell D temperature
3 A returned B carried C sent D handed
4 A at once B at last C by then D on time
5 A once B really C himself D yet
6 A come B walk C see D eat
7 A kept B done C made D found
8 A sorry B worried C sad D angry
9 A helped B killed C saved D covered
10 A other B another C that D the other
11 A city B village C farm D part
12 A Certainly not B Of course C That's nothing D Never mind
13 A hole B forest C lake D house
14 A swimming B resting C flying D lying
15 A fill B lock C hit D keep
16 A sent up B put down C did with D moved away
17 A shows B talks C sees D knows
18 A geese B animals C legs D farmers
19 A slower B faster C less D more
20 A more slowly B more carefully C faster D earlier
[答案] 1 D 2 C 3 B 4 A 5 C
6 B 7 B 8 D 9 B 10 D
11 D 12 A 13 C 14 B 15 C
16 B 17 A 18 A 19 D 20 C
其中1选 much是应能从文章字里行间中猜到的，它应为much food to eat 而将food 省略。2要知道 smell 可以作系动词，但也可以作名词，而4则为多个短语的词语辨析：at once 立刻， at last 最终， by then 到那时为止，on time 准时。所以应为at once 7则要熟悉英语的习惯用法，即干这件事要用do，而不用make 10之所以要用D则是因为鹅有两只腿，由于只剩一只而问另一只哪里去了，要用特指的定冠词。而 other 则为泛指的形容词，一般指复数， another虽然也指单数，但也应用于泛指的情况。而11题因其后有 of the country， 是在乡村的这个部分，所以只能用part country 是不可数名词作"乡村"讲，作为可数名词则作"国家"讲。而作"乡村"讲时，前面的定冠词不可少。19则是要通读全文才知道鹅一只腿站立体息，而一被哄赶则放下另一只腿跑走了，人是两条腿站着，当被哄赶时那应是再长出两条腿奔跑着逃走。由此可见中考的难题越来越不在语法项，而在阅读和完形上用以选拔高质量的学生。
We were going to play a team from a country school They didn't come until the game time arrived They looked ____ 1 ____ than we had thought They were wearing dirty blue jeans (仔裤) and looked like farm boys We even thought that they had never seen a basketball beforeWe all sat down We felt that we didn't ____ 2 ____ any practice (训练) against a team like thatIt was already so late that no ____ 3 ____ could be given to them for a warmupThe game beganOne of our boys ____ 4 ____ the ball and he shot (掷) a long pass to our forward (前锋) From out of nowhere a boy in a dirty Tshirt ____ 5____ the pass and with a beautiful form (姿势) he shot and got two points (分)They ____ 6 ____ usThen they got another ____ 7____ of points in a minuteSoon it was all over The country team ____ 8____ usWe certainly learned that even though a team is good， there is usually another ____ 9 ____ a little better But the important lesson learned was: One can't tell a man， or a team， by the ____10 ____
1 A stronger B younger C worse D less
2 A get B try C use D need
3 A basket B space C ball D time
4 A got B played C missed D carried
5 A caught B changed C started D stopped
6 A surprised B kept C broke D hit
7 A half B pair C group D double
8 A won B saved C beat D joined
9 A just B already C about D almost
10 A Tshirts B clothes C places D points
[答案] 1 C 2 D 3 D 4 A 5 D
6 A 7 B 8 C 9 A 10 B
[析] 在1题中可以看出stronger， younger worse， less 四个选项全可以选，语法是正确的。从文章开始到这里并看不出其原因为什么要选择C，这时只能将其选择空出往后面看，所以提醒考生要注意的是千万不要一一对完形填空作出选择，有很多情况 是后面的情景决定了前面的选择。当看到 We even thought that they had never seen a basketball before 和 We felt that we didn't need (2) any practice against a team like that 则就肯定会得到第一个空的选项决不是比我们强壮，也不可能是少，更不可能是年轻、而是球技不佳，比我们差得很远。而5题是要仔细考虑才能得到正确的结论。这四个动词都可以用在篮球运动中，但要注意的是，其后面的名词是pass，在这里应译为"长传"。而这个长传这里决不是开始，而是被截住了。所以这里应用stopped。 即"拦截了一个长传。"而 caught 的宾语应换为ball球就对了。B 选项为"改变"，用于这里就不合题意了。而7项虽然很多人都知道篮球规则，投一球按两分计算，但这里应选哪个词则拿不准了，主要在B选项与D选项之间发生了问题。不知double的真实意义是"加倍，翻一翻"之意，还是"一对，一双，两倍"之意。其困难点还有9项，它的选择应为 just，这是由全文所决定的。它的意思是不论一个队多么好，总会有一个队会比你强出一点儿，哪怕是仅仅一点点。这也就是完形填空不易拿满分之处。这里要提醒大家的是：语言是十分灵活的，要经常不断地学习思考才会有所进步。
Peter was a small boy He lived with his parents in a small house near some hills The people there were all poorOne night it was very dry and windyWhen everybody was asleep， Peter suddenly heard some noise It came out from the kitchen (厨房) He got up and walked to the kitchen He found that the wood beside the stove (火炉) was burning There was no water tap (水龙头) in the house， so he could not put out (扑灭) the fire He shouted loudly to wake up everyone in the house Then he ran out of his house and knocked on the doors of many houses to wake the people up They all left their houses quicklyAt last the fire was put out by the firemen Many houses were burnt But nobody was hurt in the fire
1 Peter lived with his ______
A sisters B brothers C uncles D parents
2 One night he found that ______ beside the stove was burning
A the table B the wood C the door D the window
3______ ， so he could not put out the fire
A Everybody was asleep B He couldn't shout loudly
C The kitchen was very big D There was no water tap in the house
4 Peter knocked on the doors of many houses ______z
A to wake the people up B to get some water
C to find his classmates D to visit them
5______ hurt in the fire
A People in other houses were B Peter's parents were
C Nobody was D Peter was
[答案] 1 D 2 B 3 D 4 A 5 C
[析] 本题属于表层理解阅读考查题目，因为完成其答案所需要的信息基本上可以直接从文章中获取，并不太多的需要推理和对环境，习俗的分析与了解。例如1题可直接从文章中 He lived with his parents in a small…中获取。2 题则可以从 He found that the wood beside the stove was buring 获取答案。3 题几乎是文章中的原句， There was no water tap in the house 所以得分率会很高。4 题也可从文章中：Then he ran out of his house and knocked on the doors of many houses to wake the people up 直接找出答案。5题的答案则可以从文章中最后一句获得，如： But nobody was hurt in the fire。 这样的阅读题目，是属于表层理解题目，也就是为了那些获取毕业成绩的分数所设计的。其目的在于对普通同学给予适当的分以求达到毕业之目的。这样的题目虽然容易，但还是要小心为好，不要粗心大意，以免不必要的丢分。
"You're just in time， Joe We're going to play cowboys (牛仔) and Indians， and you can be the Indians， " one of my cousins (堂兄弟) said"How many Indians?" I asked"Oh， about a thousand，" he answered， and before I could say no， I was pushed out into the night and became a thousand Indians Two minutes later I was running in the fields with a group of cowboys behind The shouts of "After them Let's catch the killers!" and other such TVplay language came into my ears as I ran round a corner and hurried into my Grandpa's car"We've got him, boys Let's go and catch him!"But no one wanted to come to get me All of my cousins except one were always very friendly with me It was quiet outside And I went out of the car to have a lookJust then I heard a shout， "Bring the rope (绳子)， and we can burn him""Only Indians burn people Cowboys …，" I stopped just in time I had almost said， "Cowboys hang (绞死) people"I was tied to a tree， and the cowboys were looking for some wood when my dear mother called， "We're leaving now""Untie me，" I shouted "We're going""Why did Bobby want matches (火柴)?" Mum asked when we were in the car "He was asking Dad whether he had any""Oh， he was just going to matches? MATCHES? Are you sure he wanted matches?"Mother was quite sure， and I didn't say any more
1 How many children played the Indians?
A One thousand. B One hundred. C One group. D One.
2 Why did Joe's cousin say that Joe was just in time? Because ______
A there were not enough children for the game
B the game was just going to start
C none of his cousins wanted to be the Indians
D they were waiting for Joe
3 Joe didn't say "Cowboys hang people" out because ______
A he was tied to a tree
B that would make things worse
C he was caught by the cowboys
D that would make the cowboys angry
4 Which of the following is TRUE?
A One of Joe's cousins was looking for matches.
B Dad didn't want to give the children any matches.
C Bobby wanted to get some matches from his father.
D Mum didn't think children should play with matches.
5 The name of the story should be "______ "
A Joe and his cousins
B Who knows what danger is waiting there
C CowboysandIndians is a favourite children's game
D How cowboys and Indians fought in the past
[答案] 1 D 2 C 3 B 4 A 5 B
[析] 本文在阅读过程中会感到难度，而其问题与选项的设计更为困难。其难点不仅在于要阅读好文章，而且要对问题和问题中的选择项作深入仔细地阅读。如1题的问句之意是有多少个孩子在游戏中扮演印第安人。而文章中又有"How many Indians?" I asked 当作者问到有多少印第安人时，其答语为" about a thousand" 这对于看不懂全文，而只认识个别单词的人就是一种很强的误导作用。因题目中问的是 How many，而文章中的数字是 a thousand 但如果认真往下看
