18．There's a small town in the central part of England called Gotham．Some say it's a town of fools．Others say all the villagers are wise．Let me tell you about the people of Gotham so you can decide for yourself．
Long ago，England was ruled by a cruel king named John．One day，the people of Gotham heard that King John and his men would soon be riding through their town．This worried the villagers，for they knew the greedy king would demand food and accommodation for his men．
What's more，if he saw anything to his liking，he would surely take it．
A town meeting was called．After much discussion，the townspeople decided to cut down a number of huge trees to block the roads leading into Gotham．When King John and his men reached the outskirts of the village，they could not pass．Angry，King John ordered his men to go into the town and punish the villagers．
When the king's officers finally made their way over the trees，they found a village of fools．
Some say that was because the people of Gotham had a plan-they had decided to act like fools since they had never heard of anyone being punished for being a noodlehead．Others say that's just the way they were．
In the village，the king's men encountered a man riding a donkey．The man was bent over because he carried a huge bag of grain on his own shoulders．He looked exhausted．One of the king's men approached him and asked，"Why，in heaven's name，are you carrying that bag？Why don't you just put it behind you on your donkey's back？"
"You see，"replied the man from Gotham，"my donkey is feeling poor today．It's bad enough that she has to carry me，so I decided to lighten her burden by carrying the bag myself．"
The king's men said，"But sir，don't you see that if you're riding on top of the donkey，she's still carrying the weight of the bag？"
The man didn't reply．He just looked at the king's men as if they were crazy and went on his way．
The king's officers giggled at the foolishness of the man．Before long，they passed a pond where they found a number of villagers in the midst of a great argument．Two of them were holding a big eel．"Quiet down，"commanded one of the king's men．"What's the problem here？"
One of the villagers stepped forward and said，"Last year we took all the extra fish we caught and put them in this pond so they would multiply．But this year when we came back，all we caught was this one huge eel．Obviously it has eaten all of our fish!Since then，we have argued long and hard over how to punish this bad eel．But we have finally agreed on the perfect punishment．We are just about to drown the eel in this very pond!"The king's officers couldn't
believe their ears．Drown an eel whose home is in the water？These men were sillier than the first man they met!
Before long，they reached the center of the village，where they were in for another surprise．
There they found the rest of the townspeople building a towering stone wall．When the soldiers inquired what was going on，one of the villagers replied，"Every spring a cuckoo comes to live in our village．It always brings warm weather．When it leaves，the cold weather returns．Last year we decided that if we could get the cuckoo to stay here all year，we would always have warm weather．We built this stone wall，but it obviously wasn't high enough because the bird flew away．This year we're determined to build it so high that the cuckoo can't escape．"
The king's officers had heard enough．They couldn't bring themselves to punish such stupid people．They returned to King John and told him all about the fools of Gotham．Whether it's fair or not，the people of Gotham have been known as fools ever since．
What do you think？Were the villagers of Gotham wise or foolish？
41．This story is most likeB．
A．a(chǎn) news article B．a(chǎn) folktale
C．realistic fiction D．historical fiction
42．The story is set inD．
A．A city B．A forest
C．A royal palace D．A small village
43．Why do the townspeople cut down the trees？B
A．To make room for their crops．
B．To block the roads to the village．
C．To create a gift for the king's men．
D．To build accommodation for the king's men．
44．The townspeople are worried about the king's visit because he willC．
A．laugh at them B．cut down their trees
C．take anything he wants D．want to move to their town
45．Based on the story，why might the townspeople be considered wise？A
A．They trick the king's men into thinking they are fools．
B．They think ahead by putting their extra fish into a pond．
C．They make sure their donkeys are healthy enough to work．
D．They realize the importance of warm weather to their crops．
分析 本文是一篇民間故事，傳言哥譚鎮(zhèn)的人都是傻子，有人卻認(rèn)為那兒的村民都很聰明．故事源于在暴君King John的統(tǒng)治時(shí)期，哥譚鎮(zhèn)的人們假裝愚蠢來(lái)躲過(guò)國(guó)王的懲罰．
解答 41．B 推理判斷題．根據(jù)第二段Long ago，England was ruled by a cruel king named John．One day，the people of Gotham heard that King John and his men would soon be riding through their town．可知這是篇民間故事，故選B．
42．D 細(xì)節(jié)理解題．根據(jù)第三段When King John and his men reached the outskirts of the village，they could not pass．可知故事發(fā)生在一個(gè)村莊里，選D．
43．B 細(xì)節(jié)理解題．根據(jù)第三段 After much discussion，the townspeople decided to cut down a number of huge trees to block the roads leading into Gotham．可知村民們想砍伐一些樹(shù)木用來(lái)堵住村子的入口，故選B．
44．C 細(xì)節(jié)理解題．根據(jù)第二段What'more，if he saw anything to his liking，he would surely take it．可知國(guó)王會(huì)看到他想要的東西就會(huì)直接搶走，故選C．
45．A 推理判斷題．文章末段提到They couldn't bring themselves to punish such stupid people．They returned to King John and told him all about the fools of Gotham..由此判斷村民們是假裝愚蠢來(lái)欺騙國(guó)王的下屬，故選B．
點(diǎn)評(píng) 本文講述了一個(gè)國(guó)王的暴虐行為，以及人們想辦法躲避的故事，題目涉及多道細(xì)節(jié)理解題，做題時(shí)結(jié)合原文和題目有針對(duì)性的找出相關(guān)語(yǔ)句進(jìn)行仔細(xì)分析，結(jié)合選項(xiàng)選出正確選項(xiàng)．推理判斷題也是要在抓住關(guān)鍵句子的基礎(chǔ)上合理的分析才能得出答案，切忌胡亂猜測(cè)，一定要做到有理有據(jù)．
