Question

It happened to me recently. I was telling someone how much I had enjoyed reading Barack Obama’s Dreams From My Father and how it had changed my views of our President. A friend I was talking to agreed with me that it was, in his words, “a brilliantly（精彩地）written book”. However, he then went on to talk about Mr Obama in a way which suggested he had no idea of his background at all. I sensed that I was talking to a book liar.

And it seems that my friend is not the only one. Approximately two thirds of people have lied about reading a book which they haven’t. In the World Book Day’s “Report on Guilty Secrets”, Dreams From My Father is at number 9.The report lists ten books, and various authors, which people have lied about reading, and as I’m not one to lie too often (I’d hate to be caught out), I’ll admit here and now that I haven’t read the entire top ten. But I am pleased to say that, unlike 42 percent of people, I have read the book at number one, George Orwell’s 1984.I think it’s really brilliant.

The World Book Day report also has some other interesting information in it. It says that many people lie about having read Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Fyodor Dostoevsky (I haven’t read him, but haven’t lied about it either ) and Herman Melville.

Asked why they lied, the most common reason was to “impress” someone they were speaking to. This could be tricky if the conversation became more in­ depth!

But when asked which authors they actually enjoy, people named J. K. Rowling, John Grisham, Sophie Kinsella (ah, the big sellers, in other words). Forty­two percent of people asked admitted they turned to the back of the book to read the end before finishing the story (I’ll come clean: I do this and am astonished that 58 percent said they had never done so).

1.How did the author find his friend a book liar?

A. By judging his manner of speaking.

B. By looking into his background.

C. By mentioning a famous name.

D. By discussing the book itself.

2.Which of the following is a “guilty secret” according to the World Book Day report?

A. Charles Dickens is very low on the top­ten list.

B. 42% of people pretended to have read 1984.

C. The author admitted having read 9 books.

D. Dreams From My Father is hardly read.

3.By lying about reading, a person hopes to ________.

A. control the conversation B. appear knowledgeable

C. learn about the book D. make more friends

4.What is the author’s attitude to 58% of readers?

A. Favorable. B. Uncaring.

C. Doubtful. D. Friendly.

Answer 1

1.D

2.B

3.B

4.C

【解析】

試題分析：這篇文章主要講述了作者發(fā)現(xiàn)一個(gè)朋友撒謊說(shuō)讀過(guò)Barack Obama的 Dreams From My Father，有2/3的人曾撒謊說(shuō)讀過(guò)某本書(shū)。撒謊人數(shù)之多而主要原因是想要給別人留下好印象。

1.推理判斷題：根據(jù)文章第一段However, he then went on to talk about Mr. Obama in a way which suggested he had no idea of his background at all.然后他繼續(xù)以一種能暗示出他對(duì)奧巴馬背景一無(wú)所知的方式繼續(xù)談?wù)搳W巴馬，可知作者跟他的朋友談?wù)撚嘘P(guān)奧巴馬的那本書(shū)時(shí)，發(fā)現(xiàn)朋友對(duì)奧巴馬的背景一無(wú)所知，這暗示出朋友其實(shí)并沒(méi)有讀過(guò)這本書(shū)，朋友對(duì)此書(shū)的深入討論暴露了他對(duì)奧巴馬背景的無(wú)知，故選D。

2.細(xì)節(jié)理解題：根據(jù)文章第二段But I am pleased to say that, unlike 42 percent of people, I have read the book at number one, George Orwell’s 1984.I think it’s really brilliant.可知，不像百分之四十二的人那樣，我很高興地說(shuō)，我讀過(guò)排在第一位的George Orwell’s 1984。由此可知，作者讀過(guò)這本書(shū)，而百分之四十二的人卻沒(méi)讀過(guò)。故選B。

3.推理判斷題：根據(jù)文章第四段“當(dāng)被問(wèn)及為什么撒謊的時(shí)候，最普遍的理由是想給正在說(shuō)話的人留下深刻的印象”可知，人們之所以選擇撒謊是想讓對(duì)方覺(jué)得自己知識(shí)淵博，從而給對(duì)方留下一個(gè)好的印象，故B正確。

4.作者態(tài)度題：根據(jù)第五段話最后一句“我很驚訝58%的人說(shuō)他們從來(lái)沒(méi)這么做過(guò)”，表明作者態(tài)度的詞是astonished，所以是懷疑態(tài)度。故選C。

考點(diǎn)：科學(xué)研究類(lèi)文章