Ⅰ. 阅读理解
It turns out Robert McCulloch is the moron in question, and he wasn’t quite the moron I thought he was. His 2. 45 million dollar investment in the 130-year-old bridge—which the British government was selling because it was about to fall into the Thames—ended up being the investment of a lifetime. You see McCulloch was a real businessman, among other things, and his money paid off big. He turned Lake Havasu into one of the most visited tourist attractions in Arizona.
It took nine long years to take down the bridge, ship it brick by brick to the middle of nowhere, and build it up again. When it finally did open up in 1971, it was a huge deal covered by the international press.
The bridge is now a popular tourist attraction, and there’s even a mini “English Village” at the foot of the bridge with souvenirs and real British food so you can have a good old time.
Nowadays Lake Havasu is a busy town with a population of about 56, 000 citizens and another 2. 5 million visitors each year. Most of that is during spring break when the town overflows with energetic boys and girls. Even MTV and the Girls Gone Wild people get in on the action. All thanks to that little bridge.
I don’t know about you, but I’m saving my pennies. When the French get sick of that Eiffel Tower, I’ll be the first to put money on it. It’ll look great in my backyard.
【文章大意】本文是一篇说明文。著名的伦敦桥被英国政府出售后从英国移建到美国, 使得哈瓦苏湖城(Lake Havasu City)由一个无名小镇成为旅游胜地, 这一切都是因为一位目光远大的商人——Robert McCulloch。
1. The underlined word “moron” in the first paragraph means “______”.
A. a brave person B. a foolish person
C. a famous person D. a strange person
【解析】选B。词义猜测题。根据画线词后信息“would take a perfectly good, perfectly famous bridge and move it halfway around the world to some no-name town”可知, 作者认为把一座状况完好的, 著名的桥拆下穿过半个世界的路途移建到某个不知名的小城镇是愚蠢的人做的事, 故B项与画线词同义。
2. What was Lake Havasu City like before 1962?
A. It was a good place for investment.
B. It was known for its English Village.
C. It was a small town with no tourism.
D. It had a population of 56, 000 citizens.
【解析】选C。细节理解题。根据第一段最后两句可知, 1962年之前, 哈瓦苏湖城是个没有任何旅游业的小镇, 故选C项。
3. Why did the British government put the London Bridge up for sale?
A. It polluted the Thames.
B. It was no longer popular.
C. It was going to fall down.
D. It could bring them the needed money.
【解析】选C。细节理解题。根据第二段第二句中的“which the British government was selling because it was about to fall into the Thames”可知, 因为桥即将坍塌落入泰晤士河, 所以政府要卖掉它, 故选C项。
4. In the last paragraph, the author tries to be ______.
A. polite B. friendly
C. practical D. humorous
【解析】选D。推理判断题。作者在最后一段中指出, 当法国人厌倦了埃菲尔铁塔时, 他会第一个出钱购买, 把埃菲尔铁塔放在自己家的后院。由此可知, 作者是以幽默的语言结束文章的, 故选D项。
(2020·石家庄高一检测)
The first time I heard the actual London Bridge was in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. I thought it was a joke. A stupid joke at that. I mean, what sort of moron would take a perfectly good, perfectly famous bridge and move it halfway around the world to some no-name town in northwest Arizona? Back in 1962 when all this started, Lake Havasu City was nothing. A couple of shops, a couple of homes, and no tourism at all.It turns out Robert McCulloch is the moron in question, and he wasn’t quite the moron I thought he was. His 2. 45 million dollar investment in the 130-year-old bridge—which the British government was selling because it was about to fall into the Thames—ended up being the investment of a lifetime. You see McCulloch was a real businessman, among other things, and his money paid off big. He turned Lake Havasu into one of the most visited tourist attractions in Arizona.
It took nine long years to take down the bridge, ship it brick by brick to the middle of nowhere, and build it up again. When it finally did open up in 1971, it was a huge deal covered by the international press.
The bridge is now a popular tourist attraction, and there’s even a mini “English Village” at the foot of the bridge with souvenirs and real British food so you can have a good old time.
Nowadays Lake Havasu is a busy town with a population of about 56, 000 citizens and another 2. 5 million visitors each year. Most of that is during spring break when the town overflows with energetic boys and girls. Even MTV and the Girls Gone Wild people get in on the action. All thanks to that little bridge.
I don’t know about you, but I’m saving my pennies. When the French get sick of that Eiffel Tower, I’ll be the first to put money on it. It’ll look great in my backyard.
【文章大意】本文是一篇说明文。著名的伦敦桥被英国政府出售后从英国移建到美国, 使得哈瓦苏湖城(Lake Havasu City)由一个无名小镇成为旅游胜地, 这一切都是因为一位目光远大的商人——Robert McCulloch。
1. The underlined word “moron” in the first paragraph means “______”.
A. a brave person B. a foolish person
C. a famous person D. a strange person
【解析】选B。词义猜测题。根据画线词后信息“would take a perfectly good, perfectly famous bridge and move it halfway around the world to some no-name town”可知, 作者认为把一座状况完好的, 著名的桥拆下穿过半个世界的路途移建到某个不知名的小城镇是愚蠢的人做的事, 故B项与画线词同义。
2. What was Lake Havasu City like before 1962?
A. It was a good place for investment.
B. It was known for its English Village.
C. It was a small town with no tourism.
D. It had a population of 56, 000 citizens.
【解析】选C。细节理解题。根据第一段最后两句可知, 1962年之前, 哈瓦苏湖城是个没有任何旅游业的小镇, 故选C项。
3. Why did the British government put the London Bridge up for sale?
A. It polluted the Thames.
B. It was no longer popular.
C. It was going to fall down.
D. It could bring them the needed money.
【解析】选C。细节理解题。根据第二段第二句中的“which the British government was selling because it was about to fall into the Thames”可知, 因为桥即将坍塌落入泰晤士河, 所以政府要卖掉它, 故选C项。
4. In the last paragraph, the author tries to be ______.
A. polite B. friendly
C. practical D. humorous
【解析】选D。推理判断题。作者在最后一段中指出, 当法国人厌倦了埃菲尔铁塔时, 他会第一个出钱购买, 把埃菲尔铁塔放在自己家的后院。由此可知, 作者是以幽默的语言结束文章的, 故选D项。
