Ⅰ.閱讀理解

　　(2014·江西省重點中學(xué)盟校第一次聯(lián)考)

　　Autumn means different things to different people. “It all depends on your personality.” said British naturalist Richard Mabey. “Personality shapes your view of the season，” he said. “You may see it as a fading­away, a packing­up(結(jié)束), or as a time of packing in another sense — the excited gathering of resources before a long journey.”

　　If this is true, perhaps it tells us a little about, for instance, Thomas Hood, the 19th Century English poet. About November, he wrote:

　　No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease

　　No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees

　　November!

　　On the other hand, another English poet John Keats, already sensing he was seriously ill, was inspired by a late September day to pen one of the most famous poems in the English language, To Autumn. He wrote to a friend afterwards that there was something comforting and healing about it.

　　According to Richard Mabey, Keats has the biological evidence on his side. Autumn is not a time of slowing down, but a time of new beginnings and great movements of creatures. For example, just at the moment that Keats's “gathering swallows” (in To Autumn) are departing for Africa, millions of creatures are fleeing from the frozen north like Iceland, Greenland and Russia to winter along the east and south coasts of Britain. According to scientists, before falling, the leaves transfer their chlorophyll(葉綠素) and carbohydrates into the woody parts of the tree for safe­keeping over winter. What remains are the natural antioxidants(防老劑) in the leaves: the yellow and orange carotenoids(類胡蘿卜素), and another protective chemical specially produced for autumn, the bright­red anthocyanin(花青素). High color is not a signal of deterioration(退化) and decline, but of detox(排毒的) ability and good health.

　　A century after Keats, the American poet Loren Eiseley wrote in his journal: “Suppose we saw ourselves burning like maples in a golden autumn. And that we could break up like autumn leaves...dropping their substance like chlorophyll. Would not our attitude towards death be different?”

　　文章大意：以秋天為主題，引用不同詩人寫到的有關(guān)秋天的詩，即反映不同人對于秋天有不同見解，又升華出秋天落葉的真理和積極意義。

　　1. From Thomas Hood's poem, we may infer that ________.

　　A.he suffered a lot from cold November

　　B.he missed the shining summer days very much

　　C.he had a negative attitude towards autumn

　　D.he enjoyed butterflies and bees very much

　　答案：C　根據(jù)Thomas Hood的詩歌：No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease, No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees, November!一切都是從消極的一面來描寫的。

　　2. In autumn, leaves turn yellow before falling because ______.

　　A.they can't bear the freezing

　　B.they can't get enough water from the wood part

　　C. chlorophyll and carbohydrates have been lost through leaves

　　D. chlorophyll and carbohydrates have come back to the wood part

　　答案：D　根據(jù)文章第四段可知。

　　3. From the passage we can learn that________.

　　A.autumn has different faces in different people's eyes

　　B.John Keats was a good biologist as well as a poet

　　C.all creatures move from the cold north to Britain for winter

　　D.the three poets were only known for their poems about autumn

　　答案：A　根據(jù)文中幾位詩人的詩歌可以看到對于秋天不同的理解，因此選A。

　　4.Which word can best describe Loren Eiseley's attitude towards autumn?

　　A.Fearful.　　　　　　 B.Optimistic.

　　C.Doubtful. D.Realistic.

　　答案：B　根據(jù)文章最后一段，詩人的詩歌以及倒數(shù)第二段的內(nèi)容可知，他表達(dá)的是一種樂觀積極的態(tài)度。

　　5. What does the underlined sentence mean?

　　A. Man can never live long, just as leaves must leave the tree annually.

　　B.Man is different from autumn leaves, which will come again the next spring.

　　C.Man should have a positive attitude towards death, quite different from autumn leaves.

　　D.Man should treat death calmly, just like autumn leaves fall to the ground.

　　答案：D　根據(jù)文章最后一段，可推斷出畫線句的含義為：我們應(yīng)該冷靜地對待死亡，就象秋天的落葉要歸根一樣。