北京專版2020中考英語復習方案第三篇提分題型專練回答問題04親情故事+打噴嚏風俗+詞典歷史試題

PAGEPAGE1回答問題(四)親情故事+打噴嚏風俗+詞典歷史A[2019·門頭溝期末]Everyyearonmybirthday,fromthetimeIturned12,awhitegardenia(梔子花)wassenttomyhouse.Nocardcamewithit.Callstotheflowershopswerenothelpfulatall.AfterawhileIstoppedtryingtodiscoverthesender’snameandwasjustverypleasedwiththebeautifulwhiteflowerinsoftpinkpaper.ButIneverstoppedimaginingwhothegivermightbe.Someofmyhappiestmomentswerespentdaydreamingaboutthesender.Mymotherencouragedthisimagining.She’daskmeiftherewassomeoneforwhomIhaddoneaspecialkindness.PerhapsitwastheoldmanwhomIlookedafterwhenhewasill.Asagirl,Ihadmorefunimaginingthatitmightbeaboy.Onemonthbeforemygraduation,myfatherdied.Ifeltverysadanddidn’twanttogotothecominggraduationdanceatall.AndIdidn’tcarewhetherIhadanewdressornot.Butmymother,inherownsadness,wouldnotletmemissanyofthosethings.Shewantedherchildrentofeellovedandlovable.Intruth,mymotherwantedherchildrentoseethemselvesmuchlikethegardenia—lovely,strongandperfectwithperhapsabitofmystery.MymotherdiedtendaysafterIgotmarried.Iwas22.Thatwastheyearthegardeniastoppedcoming.1.Whatcolorwastheflowersthewriterreceived?

2.Howdidthewriterfeelwhenshedaydreamedaboutthegiver?

3.Whydidn’tthewriterwanttogotothegraduationdance?

4.Howoldwasthewriterwhenshegotmarried?

5.Whosenttheflowerstothewritereveryyearonherbirthday?

B[2019·懷柔一模]SuperstitionaboutSneezingIt’saWesterncustomtosay“blessyou”aftersomeonesneezes.“Achoo!”“Blessyou.”ThisisacommonexchangeinEnglish-speakingcountries.Whenyouhearsomeoneelsesneeze,itispolitetosay“blessyou”,towhichtheyshouldreplywith“thankyou”.Butwheredoesthisoddcustomcomefrom?Infact,itdatesbacktomedieval(中世紀的)Europe,specifically,thetimeofthebubonicplague(黑死病).Theplaguekillednearlyone-thirdofEurope’spopulationwithinthreeyears(1347—1350).Thefirstsymptomofthebubonicplaguewassneezing.Atthattime,peoplebelievedthatifyousneezed,yoursoulmightleaveyourbody.Peopledidn’tknowhowtocurethebubonicplague.Theyweresimplyencouragedtosay“Godblessyou”anddoothersuperstitious(迷信的)things,hopingthesoulwouldgobackintothebody.Andovertime,“Godblessyou”wasshortenedto“blessyou”.Ofcourse,inmoderntimes,weknowthatsneezinghasnothingtodowiththesouloranyothersuperstitiousthing.Butjustlikesomanyothercustomsfromthepast,saying“blessyou”hasstayedwithusforhundredsofyears.Butyoumaybewondering—whatifsomeonesneezesmorethanonce?Well,youdon’thavetokeepsaying“blessyou”.Infact,ifsomeonesneezesmorethantwice,orsneezesespeciallyloudly,youmaywanttoaskthemifthey’reOK,oriftheywouldlikeatissue(紙巾).Thenagain,youdon’treallyneedtosayanythingatall.Peoplewon’tthinkyou’rerudeifyouforgettosay“blessyou”.Buttheywillalsoappreciateitifyoudo.1.Wheredoestheoddcustom“blessyou”comefrom?

2.Whatwasthefirstsymptomofthebubonicplague?

3.Didpeopleknowhowtocurethebubonicplagueinthepast?

4.Howlonghas“blessyou”stayedwithus?

5.Whatshouldyoudoifsomeonesneezesmorethantwice?

C[2019·石景山二模]Englishdictionarieswhichwerewrittenbefore18thcenturyhadonlywordswhichwerenotcommon,orwordswhichweredifficulttospell.Then,in1755,Dr.SamuelJohnson,agreatEnglishwriter,wroteafamousdictionary.Thisdictionarycontainedcommonwordsaswellasunusualones.Italsoshowedhowwordsshouldbeusedinsentences.In1858,agroupofpeoplewhostudylanguagestartedtowriteTheOxfordEnglishDictionary(OED).TheywantedtolistallthewordsoftheEnglishlanguage.Theyevenincludedwordswhichwerenotusedanymore.Theyalsowrotesentencesthatshowthemeaningsofwords.Theyalsodescribedthehistoryofwords,sayingwhenwordswerefirstusedinEnglish,andwhichlanguagestheycamefrom.TheOEDtellsus,forexample,that“algebra”comesfromArabicandwasfirstusedinEnglishinthe16thcentury.Thedictionarytookhundredsofpeopleoverseventyyearstocomplete.Ithasbeenimprovedmanytimes,asthenumberofwordsusedinEnglishhasincreased.Themorerecentdictionarygivesthemeaningsofoveronemillionwords.Itisputintotwenty-onebooks:eachoneisoveronethousandpageslong.AlthoughAmericansspeakEnglish,theyusesomewordsthatarenotusedinBritishEnglish,forexample,theseasonanEnglishpersoncalls“autumn”,iscalled“fall”byanAmerican.ThefirstdictionaryofAmericanEnglishwaspublishedbyNoahWebsterin1828.Healsodecidedtospellsomewordsinasimplerway.Forexample,hewrote“colour”as“color”,“centre”as“center”,and“plough”as“plow”.ThesespellingsarestillusedinAmericatoday.Since1828,Webster’sDictionaryofAmericanEnglishhasbeenimprovedandmadebiggermanytimes.Agooddictionaryisaveryimportanttoolforeveryreader.ManymodernEnglishdictionariesarenowavailable.Theygivedifferentkindsofinformation.Itisveryimportanttochoosethebestdictionaryforyourneedsandtouseitoften.1.WhowasDr.SamuelJohnson?

2.WhendidpeoplebegintowritetheOED?

3.HowlongdidtheOEDtaketocomplete?