Question

Is it possible that the sinking of the Titanic was caused by a ghost? A lot of the story below is true… but did it really happen quite like this?

Our story begins not in the icy cold waters of the North Atlantic, but rather thousands of miles away in Egypt. It is here, perhaps, that we can find the start of the mystery of the Titanic, in the year 1910, in the great city of Cairo. One day, a famous professor of Egyptian history called Douglas Murray was staying in Cairo, when he was contacted by an American adventurer.

The American had something unusual to offer Murray, something that was certain to thrill him: a beautiful ancient Egyptian mummy case, containing the mummy of an Egyptian queen. It was over 3000 years old, but in beautiful condition — gold, with bright paintings on it. Murray was delighted with both the object and the asking price. He gave the man a cheque immediately.

The cheque was never cashed. That evening the American adventurer died. For his part, Murray arranged to have the treasure sent back to Britain. However, it was not long before he learnt more about the beautiful mummy case: On the walls of the tomb in which it had been discovered, there were messages which warned of terrible consequences to anyone who broke into the tomb. Murray was disbelieving of these warnings until a few days later, when a gun he was holding exploded in his hand, shattering his arm. The arm had to be cut off.

After the accident, Murray decided to return to his homeland. On the return journey, two of his companions died mysteriously, and two servants who had handled the mummy also passed away. The now-terrified Murray decided he would get rid of the cursed case as soon as he arrived in London. A lady he knew named Janet Jones said she would like it, so he gave it to her. Shortly afterwards, Jones’ mother died, and she herself caught a strange disease. She tried returning the mummy, but naturally Murray refused it. In the end, it was presented to the British Museum.

Even in the museum, the mummy apparently continued to cause strange events. A museum photographer died shortly after taking pictures of the new exhibit; and a manager also died for no apparent reason. In the end, the British Museum decided to get rid of the mummy too. They sold it to a collector in New York.

At the start of April 1912, arrangements for the transfer were complete, and the mummy began the journey to its new home. But the New Yorker never received the mummy or its case. For when the Titanic sank, one of the objects in its strong room was the mummy case. Or so they say.

1.In Paragraph 5, the underlined word “cursed” is closest in meaning to ________.

A. forgottenB. uncommonC. unluckyD. expensive

2.In what order did the following events occur?

a. The case was given to the British Museum.

b. Janet Jones caught a mysterious illness.

c. Murray’s arm was cut off.

d. The mummy case was sold to an American.

e. A man who took a picture of the case died.

f. Warnings were written on the tomb’s walls.

A. f, c, b, a, e, dB. c, f, b, a, e, d

C. d, f, b, c, a, eD. f, a, c, b, e, d

3.According to the passage, where is the Egyptian mummy now?

A. At the British Museum.B. In New York.

C. In Egypt.D. Under the sea.

4.What’s the main purpose of this passage?

A. To introduce an important historical event to readers.

B. To entertain readers with a story of mystery.

C. To warn readers about the dangers of mummies’ curses.

D. To inform readers about the true cause of the Titanic’s sinking.

Answer

1.C

2.A

3.D

4.B

【解析】

试题分析：本文主要通过分析与古埃及的木乃伊接触过的人的神秘死亡，来猜测泰坦尼克号的沉没是否与埃及的木乃伊有关。

1. 词义猜测题。第四、五段讲述了与他同行的人员的相继死亡与失踪，因此可推知，该词意为“不祥的”，故选C。

2. 细节理解题。根据文章内容可知，美国人探险家把木乃伊卖给了Murray；之前探险者在坟墓中看到了墙上的警告；接下来Murray的同伴们相继死去与失踪；Murray回到英国后将木乃伊卖给了Janet Jones，但是之后Janet Jones得了一种奇怪的疾病，她想归还给Murray，却遭到了拒绝，所以木乃伊被送到了大英博物馆；但是不幸的事情又发生了，给它拍照的摄影师也死了；最后木乃伊被卖给了纽约的一位收藏家，可是对方并没有得到它。故答案选A。

3. 细节理解题。根据文章最后一段可知，最后一次转卖是英国博物馆卖给纽约博物馆，但是对方没有得到，有人说它放在泰坦尼克号上，但泰坦尼克号已经沉没，所以它在海底，故选D。

4. 推理判断题。文章通过分析与古埃及的木乃伊接触过的人的神秘死亡，来猜测泰坦尼克号的沉没是否与埃及的木乃伊有关。作者是想通过神秘故事来娱乐读者，故选B。

考点：考查故事类短文阅读。

【名师点睛】

做好细节理解题的几点建议：

细节理解题属直接解答性问题，是阅读理解题中最简单的一种，多数属中低难度的题。但高考所占的比例大，应特别引起注意。事实和细节题的命题特点是：对文章或某一段落中的一些特定细节或文章重要事实的理解，一般包括直接理解题和语义转化题。直接理解题能在原文直接找到答案，而语义转化题则需要将题目信息与原文信息加工或整理后才能得出结论。

做细节理解题具体方法与步骤如下：

①略读材料，大概了解原文，掌握中心或主旨；

②按文章的体裁，作者写作的组织模式及有关的信息词。如for example, first, second…等预测应该到何处寻找自己所需要的事实；

③将自己精力放在寻找你所需要的细节上。快速通篇跳读，全文扫视，找到细节出处，待找到含细节句子时，放慢速度，仔细核对比较内容，直至找到答案。如第25小题根据文章内容可知，美国人探险家把木乃伊卖给了Murray；之前探险者在坟墓中看到了墙上的警告；接下来Murray的同伴们相继死去与失踪；Murray回到英国后将木乃伊卖给了Janet Jones，但是之后Janet Jones得了一种奇怪的疾病，她想归还给Murray，却遭到了拒绝，所以木乃伊被送到了大英博物馆；但是不幸的事情又发生了，给它拍照的摄影师也死了；最后木乃伊被卖给了纽约的一位收藏家，可是对方并没有得到它，因此石沉大海。可知答案选A.26小题根据文章内容可知，最后一次转卖是英国博物馆卖给纽约博物馆，但是对方没有得到，有人说它放在泰坦尼克号上，但泰坦尼克号已经沉没，所以它在海底，故选D。