Question

The light from the campfire brightened the darkness, but it could not prevent the damp cold of Dennis’s Swamp (沼澤地) creeping into their bones. It was a strange place. Martin and Tom wished that they had not accepted Jack’s dare. They liked camping, but not near this swamp.

“So,” Martin asked as they sat watching the hot coals. “How did this place get its name?”

“Are you sure you want to hear it ? It’s a scary story,” warned Jack.

“Of course!” cried out Tom. “If there were anything to be scared of, you wouldn’t have chosen this place!”

“Ok, but don’t say I didn’t warn you,” said Jack, and he began this tale.

“Way back in time, a man called Dennis tried to start a farm here. He built that cottage over there to live in. In those days, the area looked quite different ---- it was covered with tall trees and the swamp was a crystal-clear river. After three hard years, Dennis had cleared several fields and planted crops. He was so proud of his success that he refused to listen to advice.

“‘You are clearing too much land,’ warned one old man. ‘ The land is a living thing. It will hit back at you if you abuse it. ’

“‘Silly fool,’ said Dennis to himself. ‘If I clear more land, I can grow more crops. I’ll become wealthier. He’s just jealous!’”

“Dennis continued to chop down trees. Small animals that relied on them for food and shelter were destroyed. He was so eager to expand his farm that he did not notice the river flowing slowly towards his door. He did not notice salt seeping to the surface of the land. He did not notice swamp plants choking all the native plants.”

“What happened?” Martin asked. It was growing colder. He trembled, twisting his body closer to the fire.

“The land hit back ---- just as the old man warned,” Jack shrugged. “Dennis disappeared. Old folks around here believe that swamp plants moved up from the river and dragged him underwater. His body was never found.”

“What a stupid story,” laughed Tom. “Plants can’t …” Before he had finished speaking, he screamed and fainted (暈倒). The other two boys jumped up with fright, staring at Tom. Suddenly, they burst out laughing. Some green swamp ivy (常春藤) had covered Tom’s face. It was a while before Tom could appreciate the joke.

1.The underlined word “dare” in Paragraph 1 is closed in meaning to ________.

A．courage          B．assistance         C．instruction         D．challenge

2.Why did Jack tell Tom and Martin the story?

A．To frighten them.

B．To satisfy their curiosity.

C．To warn them of the danger of the place.

D．To persuade them to camp in the swamp.

3.Why did Dennis ignore the warning of the old man?

A．The old man envied him.                  B．The old man was foolish

C．He was too busy to listen to others.          D．He was greedy for more crops.

4.Why did Tom scream and faint?

A．He saw Dennis’s shadow                 B．He was scared by a plant

C．His friends played a joke on him.            D．The weather became extremely cold.

5.What lesson can we learn from the story of Dennis?

A．Grasp all, lose all

B．No sweat, no sweet.

C．It is no use crying over spilt milk

D．He who makes no mistakes makes nothing.

 

Answer 1

【答案】

1.D

2.B

3.D

4.B

5.A

【解析】

【文章大意】在黑沉沉的夜晚，三個朋友Martin，Tom and Jack來到了一片陰濕恐怖的沼澤地。篝火旁聊起了它名字的緣由。故事的主人公Dennis貪婪成性，亂砍亂伐。開墾地樹沒了，動物走了，變成了一塊沼澤地。他受到大地的報應——被沼澤植物拖入水中而亡。聽后，Tom暈了！他臉上竟然爬滿了常春藤。一個著實恐怖的笑話！

1.詞義推測題 陰濕寒冷的沼澤地，又顯得十分怪誕。Martin and Tom后悔來到了這里，確是個挑戰！寧愿不試這個膽量。dare [ dε? ] n. a challenge to do something dangerous or foolhardy。如：He only entered the competition for a dare. 他只是因為受人激將才參加競賽。courage n. a quality of spirit that enables you to face danger of pain without showing fear. 勇氣，信心如：She showed remarkable courage when she heard the bad news.她聽到這壞消息時, 表現出非凡的勇氣。在文中不強調勇氣之意。所以A項不選。

2.推理判斷題 第二段中，Martin和Jack對話里談到是否聽這個恐怖故事時有一句話： “If there were anything to be scared of, you wouldn’t have chosen this place!” 。意為“若沒一點恐怖味，那早不要選這個地方！”。話里透露出一股獵奇心。

3.細節理解題聽完老人的警告，Dennis反應是said … to himself. “‘Silly fool …‘If I clear more land, I can grow more crops. I’ll become wealthier. He’s just jealous!’” Dennis要開墾更多的土地，種更多的作物，自個兒就越富有。顯然是一種不惜生態環境的貪婪。

4.細節理解題傳說中…believe that swamp plants moved up from the river and dragged him underwater. His body was never found.” 沼澤植物從水中爬上來，把Dennis拖入水里而亡；Tom聽完故事后，“Some green swamp ivy (常春藤) had covered Tom’s face. ”，這么一聯想，不怕才怪呢！

5.大意理解題  Grasp all, lose all欲盡得，必盡失No sweat, no sweet 不勞則無獲It is no use crying over spilt milk覆水難收He who makes no mistakes makes nothing. 想不犯錯誤，就一事無成。沼澤地名稱由來的故事講的是主人公Dennis貪婪成性，受到大地的報應——被沼澤植物拖入水中而亡。那只有Grasp all, lose all（欲盡得，必盡失）一言可以概括。