Question

It is widely known that any English conversation begins with The Weather. Such a fixation with the weather finds expression in Dr.Johnson’s famous comment that “When two English meet, their first talk is of weather.” Though Johnson’s observation is as accurate now as it was over two hundred years ago, most commentators fail to come up with a convincing explanation for this English weather-speak.

Bill Bryson, for ezample, concludes that,as the English weather is not at all exciting,the obsession with it can hardly be understood. He argues that”To an outsider,the most striking thing about the English weather is that there is not very much of it.” Simply, the reason is that the unusual and unpredictable weather is almost unknown in the British Isles.

Jeremy Paxman, however, disagrees with Bryson, arguing that the English weather is by nature attractive. Bryson is wrong, he says,because the English preference for the weather has nothing to do with the natural phenomena.”The interest is less in the phenomena themselves, but in uncertainty.” According to him, the weather in England is very changeable and uncertain and it attracts the English as well as the outsider.

Bryson and Paxman stand for common misconceptions about the weather-speak among the English. Both commentators, somehow, are missing the point. The English weather conversation is not really about the weather at all. English weather-speak is a system of signs ,which is developed to help the speakers overcome the natural reserve and actually talk to each other. Everyone knows conversations starting with weather-speak are not requests for weather data. Rather, they are routine greetings,conversation starters or the blank”fillers”, In other words, English weather-speak is a means of social bonding.

1.The author mentions Dr.Johnson’s comment to show that________.

A.most commentators agree with Dr.Johnson

B.Dr.Johnson is famous for his weather observation

C.the comment was accurate two hundred years ago

D.English conversations usually start with the weather

2.What doe s the underlined word”obsession” most probably refer to?

A.A social trend.        B.An emotional state.

C.A historical concept.     D.An unknown phenomenon.

3.According to the passage,Jeremy Paxman believes that________.

A.Bill Bryson has little knowledge of the weather

B.there is nothing special about the English weather

C.the English weather attracts people to the British Isles

D.English people talk about the weather for its unccrtainty

4.What is the author’s main purpose of writing the passage?

A.To explain what English weather-speak is about.

B.To analyse misconceptions about the English weather.

C.To find fault with both Bill Bryson and Jeremy Paxman.

D.To convince people that the English weather is changeable.

Answer

1.D

2.B

3.D

4.A

【解析】

试题分析: 本文是一篇关于文化习俗的文章。众所周知，英国人见面打招呼都是喜欢谈论天气。为什么英国人喜欢以天气为谈论话题呢？在本文中作者深层分析了其文化根源。这种日常问候的方式即是一种社会纽带。

1.推理判断题。文章首段提出It is widely known that any English conversation begins with The Weather.（众所周知，任何英语交流都是以天气开头。）紧接着就以Dr.Johnson的话来举例说明，由此判断作者提到Dr.Johnson 的话是为了说明英国人这种社会习俗，故选D。

2.猜测词义。根据第二段中Bill Bryson, for example, concludes that, as the English weather is not at all exciting（例如，Bill Bryson认为由于英国的天气一点都不会让人兴奋）, 和the obsession with it can hardly be understood……很难让人理解,判断obsession是与前面内容相反的意思，故答案选B。

3.推理判断题。根据第三段“The interest is less in the phenomena themselves, but in uncertainty.” According to him, the weather in England is very changeable and uncertain and it attracts the English as well as the outsider.可知Jeremy Paxman的观点是：英国人喜欢谈论天气的原因是由于英国天气的多变和不确定性。故选C。

4..主旨大意题。本文从英国人见面打招呼以谈论天气引入中心，分析了为什么英国人喜欢以天气为谈论话题，然后介绍了两个常见的错误观点，继而深层分析了其文化根源，故选A。

考点：考查社会文化类短文阅读