2014年職稱英語考試?yán)砉ゎ怋級閱讀理解C

　　The English Weather

　　"Other countries have a climate; in England we have weather". This statement, often made by Englishmen to describe the strange weather conditions of their country, is both revealing and true. It is revealing, because in it we see the Englishman insisting once again that what happens in England is not the same as what happens elsewhere; its truth can be proved by any foreigner who stays in the country for longer than a few days.

　　In no country other than England, it has been said, can one experience four seasons in the course of a single day! Day may break as a warm spring morning; an hour or so later black clouds may have appeared from nowhere and the rain may be pouring down. At midday it may be really winter with the temperature down by about eight degrees or more centigrade (攝氏度). And then, in the late afternoon the sky will clear, the sun will begin to shine, and for an hour or two before darkness falls, it will be summer.

　　In England one can experience almost every kind of weather except the most extreme. (Some foreigners seem to be under the impression that for ten months of the year the country is covered by a dense blanket of fog; this is not true.) The problem is that we never can be sure when the different types of weather will occur. Not only do we get several different sorts of weather in one day, but we may very well get a spell (持續(xù)的一段時間) of winter in summer and a spell of summer in winter.

　　The uncertainty about the weather has had a definite effect upon the Englishman's character; it tends to make him cautious (小心謹(jǐn)慎的), for example. The foreigner may laugh when he sees the Englishman setting forth on a brilliantly sunny morning wearing a raincoat and carrying an umbrella, but he may well regret his laughter later in the day!

　　And, of course, the weather's variety provides a constant topic of conversation. Even the most taciturn (沉默寡言的) of Englishmen is always prepared to discuss the weather. And, though he sometimes complains bitterly of it, he would not, even if he could, exchange it for the more predictable climate of other lands.

　　36 "Other countries have a climate; in England we have weather". This statement suggests that

　　A　other countries do not have fine weather.

　　B　you cannot experience four seasons in a year in England.

　　C　the weather in England often changes and is therefore unique.

　　D　the weather in England never changes.

　　37 A special feature of the weather in England is that

　　A　you can experience four seasons every day throughout the year.

　　B　it does not have four seasons as other countries do.

　　C　winter there is the coldest in the world.

　　D　you may experience different types of weather in a single day.

　　38 What makes the Englishman cautious, according to the passages?

　　A　The foreigner, slaughter.

　　B　The cold weather in winter.

　　C　The uncertainty about the weather.

　　D　The predictable climate.

　　39 Which of the following statements is NOT true of the weather in England?

　　A　England is covered by heavy fog for ten months of the year.

　　B　It tends to make the Englishman cautious.

　　C　One cannot be sure when the different types of weather will occur.

　　D　You may have a spell of winter in summer.

　　40 The word "lands" in the last sentence could best be replaced by

　　A "soil".

　　B "earth".

　　C "countries".

　　D "parts".

　　答案：

　　36. C　　37. D　　38. C　　39. A　　40. C

　　36.C the weather in England often changes and is therefore unique. 其它國家擁有氣候;英格蘭擁有天氣。這里指的是大多數(shù)國家有氣候的變化，而英格蘭有的只是天氣的變化。英格蘭的天氣變化是在世界有名的。四個選項中只有C選項最符合選項的大意。

　　37. D　you may experience different types of weather in a single day.第一段中：In no country other than England, it has been said, can one experience four seasons in the course of a single day!告訴我們在一天中，你可能會經(jīng)歷四種天氣。與選項中的不同的天氣類型相一致。

　　38. C　The uncertainty about the weather.第四段中：The uncertainty about the weather has had a definite effect upon the Englishman's character; it tends to make him cautious (小心謹(jǐn)慎的), for example.

　　39. A　England is covered by heavy fog for ten months of the year.第三段中：Some foreigners seem to be under the impression that for ten months of the year the country is covered by a dense blanket of fog; this is not true.

　　40. C "countries".全文都在談英格蘭與其他國家的天氣變化的對比。所以推測這里指的是國家。