英语八级快速阅读理解试题及答案解析

英语八级快速阅读理解试题及答案解析

TEXT C

In

Barcelona

the

Catalonians

call

them

castells,

but

these

aren't

stereotypical

castles

in

Spain.

These castles are made up of human beings, not stone. The people who perform this agile feat of

acrobatics are called castellers, and to see their towers take shape is to observe a marvel of human

cooperation.

First

the

castellers

form

what

looks

like

a

gigantic

rugby

scrummage.

They

are

the

foundation

blocks of the castle. Behind them, other people press together, forming outward-radiating ramparts

of

inward-pushing

muscle:

flying

buttresses

for

the

castle.

Then

sturdy

but

lighter

castellers

scramble over the backs of those at the bottom and stand, barefoot, on their shoulders

—

then still

others, each time adding a higher

These

human towers can rise higher than small apartment buildings: nine “stories”, 35 feet into the

air.

Then,

just

When

it

seems

this

tower

of

humanity

can't

defy

gravity

any

longer,

a

little

kid

emerges from the crowd and climbs straight up to the top. Arms extended, the child grins while

waving to the cheering crowd far below.

Dressed

in

their

traditional

costumes,

the

castellers

seem

to

epitomize

an

easier

time,

before

Barcelona became a world metropolis arid the Mediterranean's most dynamic city. But when you

observe-them tip close, in their street clothes, at practice, you see there's nothing easy about what

the castellers do - and that they are not merely reenacting an ancient ritual.

None of the castellers can-give a logical answer as to why they love doing this. But Victor Luna,

16,

touches

me

on

the

shoulder

and

says

in

English:

do

it

because

it's

beautiful.

We

do

it

because we are Catalan.

Barcelona’s

mother

tongue

is

Catalan,

and

to

understand

Barcelona,

you

must

understand

two

words of Catalan: seny and rauxa. Seny pretty much translates as common sense, or the ability to

make money, arrange things, and get things done. Rauxa is reminiscent of our words “raucous”

and “ruckus”.

What makes the castellers revealing of the city is that they embody rauxa and seny. The idea of a

human

castle

is

rauxa

—

it

defies

common

sense

—

but

to

watch

one

going

up

is

to

see

seny

in

action. Success is based on everyone working together to achieve a shared goal.

The

success

of

Carlos

Tusquets'

bank,

Fibanc,

shows

seny

at

work

in

everyday

life.

The

bank

started

as

a

family

concern

and

now

employs

hundreds.

Tusquets

said

it

exemplifies

how

the

economy in Barcelona is different.

Entrepreneurial

seny

demonstrates

why

Barcelona

and

Catalonia

—

the

ancient

region

of

which

Barcelona

is

the capital

—

are

distinct

from

the

rest

of

Spain

yet

essential

to

Spain's

emergence,

after

centuries

of

repression,

as

a

prosperous,

democratic

European

country.

Catalonia,

with

Barcelona

as

its

dynamo,

has

turned

into

an

economic

powerhouse.

Making

up

6

percent

of

Spain’s

territory,

with

a

sixth

of

its

people,

it

accounts

for

nearly

a

quarter

of

Spain's

produc tion

—

everything

from

textiles

to

computers

—

even

though

the

rest

of

Spain

has

been

enjoying its own economic miracle.

Hand in hand with seny goes rauxa, and there's no better place to see rauxa in action than on the

Ramblas, the venerable, tree-shaded boulevard that, in gentle stages, leads you from the centre of

Barcelona down to the port. There are two narrow lanes each way for cars and motorbikes,

but it’s

the wide centre walkway that makes the Ramblas a front-row seat for Barcelona's longest running

theatrical event. Plastic armchairs are set out on the sidewalk. Sit in one of them, and an attendant

will

come

and

charge

you

a

small

fee.

Performance

artists

throng

the

Ramblas

—

stilt

walkers,

witches

caked

in

charcoal

dust,

Elvis

impersonators.

But

the

real

stars

are

the

old

women

and

happily

playing

children,

millionaires

on

motorbikes,

and

pimps

and

women

who,

upon

closer

inspection, prove not to be.

Aficionados (Fans) of Barcelona love to compare notes: “Last night there was a man standing on

the

balcony

of

his

hotel

room,”

Mariana

Bertagnolli,

an

Italian

photographer,

told

me.

balcony was on the second floor. He was naked, and he was talking into a cell phone.

There

you

have

it,

Barcelona's

essence.

The

man

is

naked

(rauxa),

but

he

is

talking

into

a

cell

phone (seny).

21.

From the description in the passage, we learn that

A. all Catalonians can perform castells.

B. castells require performers to stand on each other.

C. people perform castells in different formations.

D. in castells people have to push and pull each other.

22.

According to the passage, the4mplication of the performance is that

A. the Catalonians are insensible and noisy people.

B. the Catalonians show more sense than is expected.

C. the Catalonians display paradoxical characteristics.

D. the Catalonians think highly of team work.

23.

The passage cites the following examples EXCEPT __________ to show seny at work.

A. development of a bank

B. dynamic role in economy

C. contribution to national economy

D. comparison with other regions

24.

In the last but two paragraph, the Ramblas is described as “a front

-

row seat for Barcelona’s

longest running theatrical event”. Wha

t does it mean?

A. On the Ramblas people can see a greater variety of performances.

B. The Ramblas provides many front seats for the performances.

C. The Ramblas is preferred as an important venue for the events.

D. Theatrical performers like to perform on the Ramblas.

25. What is the main impression of the scenes on the Ramblas?

A. It is bizarre and Outlandish.

B. It is of average quality.

C. It is conventional and quiet.

D. It is of professional standard.

TEXT D

The law firm Patrick worked for before he died filed for bankruptcy protection a

year after his

funeral.

After

his

death,

the

firm's

letterhead

properly

included

him:

Patrick

S.

Lanigan,

1954-1992. He was listed up in the right-hand corner, just above the paralegals. Then the rumors

got

started

and

wouldn't

stop.

Before

long,

everyone

believed

he

had

taken

the

money

and

disappeared. After three months, no one on the Gulf Coast believed that he was dead. His name

came off the letterhead as the debts piled up.

The remaining partners in the law firm were still together, attached unwillingly at the hip by the

bondage of mortgages and the bank notes, back when they were rolling and on the verge of serious

wealth. They had been joint defendants in several unwinnable lawsuits; thus the bankruptcy. Since

Patrick's departure, they had tried every possible way to divorce one another, but nothing would

work. Two were raging alcoholics who drank at the office behind locked doors, but nevertogether.

The other two were in recovery, still teetering on the brink of sobriety.

He took their money. Their millions. Money they had already spent long before it arrived, as only

lawyers can do. Money for their richly renovated office building in downtown Biloxi. Money for

new homes, yachts, condos in the Caribbean. The money was on the way, approved, the papers

signed,

orders

entered;

they

could

see

it,

almost

touch

it

when

their

dead < /p>

partner

—

Patrick

—

snatched it at the last possible second.

He was dead. They buried him on February 11, 1992. They had consoled the widow and put his

rotten name on their handsome letterhead. Yet six weeks later, he somehow stole their money.

They had brawled over who was to blame. Charles Bogan, the firm's senior partner and its iron

hand, had insisted the money be wired from its source into a new account offshore, and this made

sense after some discussion. It was ninety million bucks, a third of which the firm would keep, and

it would be impossible to hide that kind of money in Biloxi, population fifty thousand. Someone at

the bank would talk. Soon everyone would know. All four vowed secrecy, even as they made plans

to

display

as

much

of

their

new

wealth

as

possible.

There

had

even

been

talk

of

a

firm

jet,

a

six-seater.

So

Bogan

took

his

share

of

the

blame.

At

forty- nine,

he

was

the

oldest

of

the

four,

and,

at

the

moment, the most stable. He was also responsible for hiring Patrick nine years earlier, and for this

he had received no small amount of grief.

Doug Vitrano, the litigator, had made the fateful decision to recommend Patrick as the fifth partner.

The other three had agreed, and when Patrick Lanigan was added to the firm name, he had access

to virtually every file in the office. Bogan, Rapley, Vitrano, Havarac, and Lanigan, Attorneys and

Counselors-at-Law.

A

large

ad

in

the

yellow

pages

claimed

in

Offshore

Injuries.

Specialists or not, like most firms they would take almost anything if the fees were lucrative. Lots

of secretaries and paralegals. Big overhead, and the strongest political connections on the Coast.

They were all in their mid- to late forties. Havarac had been raised by his father on a shrimp boat.

His hands were still proudly calloused, and he dreamed of choking Patrick until his neck snapped.

Rapley was severely depressed and seldom left his home, where he wrote briefs in a dark office in

the attic.

26.

What happened to the four remaining lawyers after Patrick's disappearance?

A. They all wanted to divorce their wives.

B. They were all heavily involved in debts.

C. They were all recovering from drinking.

D. They had bought new homes, yachts, etc.

27.

Which of the following statements contains a metaphor?

A. His name came off the letterhead as the debts piled up.

B. …they could see it, almost touch it when their dead partner...

C. …, attached unwillingly at the h

ip by the bondage of mortgages...

D. …, and for this he had received no small amount of grief.

28.

According to the passage, what is the main cause of Patrick stealing the money?