阅读理解精选100篇---社会文化类
考研英语阅读理解精读100篇unit15
It was a brief, shining moment in Egypt's history--a time of epochal change presided over by a Pharaoh named Akhenaten and his beautiful wife Nefertiti. During his 17-year reign the old gods were cast aside, monotheism was introduced, and the arts liberated from their stifling rigidity. Even Egypt's capital was moved to a new city along the Nile called Akhetaten (modern Amarna). But like Camelot, it was short-lived, and its legacy was buried in the desert sands.
Now Akhenaten's 3,400-year-old world has been brilliantly recalled in an exhibit titled "Pharaohs of the Sun: Akhenaten, Nefertiti, Tutankhamen," which opens this week at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts. Part of the city's eight-month tribute to ancient Egypt (operas, ballet and an IMAX film), it is a unique assemblage of more than 250 objects from Egypt's 18th dynasty, some of which have languished unseen in storerooms and private collections for decades. They range from larger-than-life statues of Akhenaten to exquisitely sculpted reliefs and dazzling jewelry to such poignant reminders of everyday life as a perfectly preserved child's sandal.
The exhibit illuminates a murky period in Egyptian history that curator Rita Freed describes as having "all the elements of a soap opera." When Amenhotep IV, as he was originally called, ascended the throne in 1353 B.C., Egypt was a flourishing empire, at peace with its neighbors. Yet there were troubling signs. His father Amenhotep III had already challenged the powerful priesthood by proclaiming the sun god Aten as foremost among Egyptian deities and himself as his living incarnation.
His son shook things up even more, not only changing his name to honor the new god (Akhenaten means "one who serves Aten") but also banishing the older gods, especially the priestly favorite Amen. Some scholars believe Akhenaten's monotheism, a historic first, inspired the Hebrew prophets, but it had the more immediate effect of freeing Egypt's artists. They could now portray the Pharaoh and the voluptuous Nefertiti (who may have shared the throne with him) in a far more casual, realistic way. Akhenaten's cone-shaped head, elongated face, fingers and toes, pot belly and flaring hips have led some scholars to suggest that he had hydrocephalus or Marfan's syndrome.
He was certainly a revolutionary, propelled either by madness or by great vision. Still, his changes did not endure. After his death, his son-in-law (and perhaps son) Tutankhamen moved the political and religious capitals back to Memphis and Thebes respectively and reinstated the old gods. Egyptian art returned to its classic, ritualized style. And like Camelot, Akhenaten's once bustling capital became only a mythic memory. "Pharaohs of the Sun" will remain in Boston until February, then travel to Los Angeles, Chicago and Leiden, the Netherlands.
注（1）：本文选自Time；11/22/99, p78；
注（2）：本文习题命题模仿对象2004年真题text 4；
1. Which of the following event did not happen during Akhenaten’s reign over Egypt?
[A] He banished the older gods.
[B] People had to worship one god--- the sun god Aten.
[C] Egyptian artists suffered from a more casual, realistic way of portraying.
[D] He built a new capital along the Nile.
2. We can learn from the text that in Boston, many activities are held as tribute to ancient
Egypt except ________.
[A] pageant
[B] ballet
[C] operas
[D] movie
3. The views of Akhenaten and his father on the sun god Aten are _____.
[A] opposite
[B] controversial
[C] complementary
[D] similar
4. Tutankhamen, according to the text, probably ________.
[A] moved the political capital back to Thebes
[B] gave the older gods back their previous position
[C] might had got some disease that made his face longer than the healthy people
[D] moved the religious capital back to Memphis
5. What can we learn about the exhibit on ancient Egypt’s 18th dynasty?
[A] It mainly consists of statues of the pharaohs of that time.
[B] It will last for eight months in Boston.
[C] It is very enlightening for people to know that period.
[D] The objects on the exhibit used to be stored in private collection.
答案：CADBC
篇章剖析
本篇文章以正在波士顿举办的一场展览为引子，采用叙述的写法，带领读者重温了3400年前古埃及一段辉煌的历史。第一段简介了太阳神法老统治时期埃及社会发生的变化，接着在第二段中说明波士顿正在举办古埃及周，其中包括一场展览，第三、四段详细说明两任法老所做的变革，最后一段说变革持续时间不长。
词汇注释
epochal: [5epCkEl] adj. 划时代的
monotheism: [5mCnEuWi:izEm] n. 一神论
languish: [5lAN^wiF] v. 持续不前；毫无进展
poignant: [5pCinEnt] adj. 深刻的；伤感的
murky: [5mE:ki]] adj. 昏暗的；不明朗的
curator: [kjuE5reitE] n.（美术馆）馆长
incarnation: [7inkB:5neiFEn] n. 化身
banish: [5bAniF] v. 抛弃；废除
voluptuous: [vE5lQptJEs] adj. 妖冶的；性感的
hydrocephalus: [7haidrEu5sefElEs] n. 脑积水
Camelot: [5kAmilCt] 传说中的地名，在英格兰西南部，阿瑟和他的武士们曾居住于此
难句突破
1. Part of the city’s eight-month tribute to ancient Egypt (operas, ballet and an IMAX film), it is a unique assemblage of more than 250 objects from Egypt’s 18th dynasty, some of which have languished unseen in storerooms and private collections for decades.( Line 3, Paragraph 2)
主体句式：it is a unique assemblage…
结构分析：这是一个包含同位语和定语从句的长简单句。其中 “Part of the city’s…”是主语it（指展览）的同位语，定语从句 “some of which have ….”修饰名词 objects。
句子译文：这次展览只是波士顿为期8个月的致意古埃及活动中的一部分（其它形式还有歌剧、芭蕾、一部IMAX电影）。这次独特的展览展出了埃及第18个王朝的250多件物品，其中有些物品几十年来一直深藏于博物馆或为私人所藏而不得面世。
2. They range from large-than-life statues of Akhenaten to exquisitely sculpted reliefs and dazzling jewelry to such poignant reminders of everyday life as a perfectly preserved child’s sandal.
主体句式： They range from … to … and … to such … as …
句子分析：其中最后一个to接的是“such…as”短语。
句子译文：展品包罗万象，既有阿肯纳坦比真人还大的雕像，做工精致的浮雕，又有令人眼花缭乱的珠宝首饰，甚至还有日常生活起居用品，比如一只保存完好的童鞋。
题目分析
1．答案是C， 属事实细节题。第一段提到“liberated from their stifling rigidity”，解放了埃及艺术, 第四段提到“They could portray … in a far more casual, realistic way”, 使艺术家可以更真实随意的画像，而不是束缚他们。
2. 答案是A, 属事实细节题。第二段提到庆祝形式有operas, ballet 和an IMAX film, 未提pageant。
3．答案是D，属判断推理题。从第三、四段可以看出他们都只推崇太阳神。
4. 答案是B, 属事实细节题。从最后一段“Tutankhamen moved the political and religious capitals back to Memphis and Thebes respectively and reinstated the old gods.”可以看出。注意respectively的意思是“分别”。另外，得脑积水的是Akhenaten.
5. 答案是C，属事实细节题。从第二段可知展品的具体情况。从最后一句可知展览持续到明年二月份。
参考译文
这是埃及历史上短暂辉煌的时期，是法老阿肯纳坦和他美丽的妻子奈菲提提统治下发生划时代变革的时期。在他17年的统治期间，以往的多神论被摒弃，一神论被引入，艺术也从令人窒息的一成不变中解脱出来，甚至埃及的首都也迁到尼罗河边的新城市阿肯纳坦（现阿玛纳）。不过同卡蒙洛的结局一样，这个时期持续时间不长，其遗迹也淹没于漫漫黄沙。
现在，3400年前阿肯纳坦时代的辉煌将在波士顿美术馆被人们重温。这儿正举办“太阳神法老：阿肯纳坦、奈菲提提、塔坦卡门”展览。这次展览只是波士顿为期8个月的致意古埃及活动中的一部分（其它形式还有歌剧、芭蕾、一部IMAX电影）。这次独特的展览展出了埃及第18个王朝的250多件物品，其中有些物品几十年来一直深藏于博物馆或为私人所藏而不得面世。展品包罗万象，既有阿肯纳坦比真人还大的雕像，做工精致的浮雕，又有令人眼花缭乱的珠宝首饰，甚至还有日常生活起居用品，比如一只保存完好的童鞋。
这次展览向世人展示了埃及历史上一段不为人所熟知的时期，一段被馆长瑞塔·弗瑞称为拥有“肥皂剧全部要素”的时期。当阿蒙赫特普四世——阿肯纳坦本来叫这名字——公元1353年上台执政时，埃及国运昌盛，同邻国友好相处。但也有征兆表明要出乱子。他的父亲阿蒙赫特普三世已经质疑势力强大的教会。他宣称太阳神阿坦是埃及诸神中最具威力的神灵。他本人则是太阳神的转世化身。
他儿子做的更甚。他不仅把自己的名字改为阿肯纳坦（意为阿坦的仆人）以表示对太阳神的敬意，而且不许人们崇拜以往的神灵，特别是教会的至爱阿门神。有些学者认为阿肯纳坦倡导的一神论——历史上前无古人的做法——启发了希伯来先知，但它对埃及的艺术发展则有更为直接的影响。它解放了埃及艺术家。现在他们可以更为真实随意的描画法老和妖艳性感的奈菲提提（或许曾和阿肯纳坦共同执政）。阿肯纳坦的头圆锥形，脸、手指和脚趾较常人略长，大腹便便，臀部肥大，这使得某些学者认为他曾得过脑积水。
不管他的所作所为是疯狂所致还是由于远见卓识，他都称得上一位变革者。但这变革却没能持久。在他死后，他的女婿（或许也是儿子）塔坦卡门把政治中心移回孟斐斯，宗教中心移回底比斯。那些被摒弃的旧神重新归位，埃及艺术又回到拘泥呆板的古典风格。正如卡蒙洛一样，阿肯纳坦时曾经繁华熙攘的首都现在只是神话中的记忆罢了。“太阳神法老”展览在波士顿持续到二月份，然后在前往洛杉玑、芝加哥、荷兰的雷登市。
考研英语阅读理解精读100篇unit16
Amy High is decked out in the traditional pink dress and golden stole of ancient Rome. She bursts into a third-grade classroom and greets her students: "Salvete, omnes!" (Hello, everyone!) The kids respond in kind, and soon they are studying derivatives. "How many people are in a duet?" High asks. All the kids know the answer, and when she asks how they know, a boy responds, "Because duo is 'two' in Latin." High replies, "Plaudite!" and the 14 kids erupt in applause. They learn the Latin root later, or side, and construct such English words as bilateral and quadrilateral. "Latin's going to open up so many doors for you," High says. "You're going to be able to figure out the meaning of words you've never seen before."
High teaches at Providence Elementary School in Fairfax City, Va., which has a lot riding on the success of her efforts. As part of Virginia's high-stakes testing program, schools that don't boost their scores by the year 2007 could lose state funding. So Fairfax City, just 18 miles southwest of the White House, has upgraded its two crumbling elementary schools with new high-tech television studios, computer labs and one very old feature--mandatory Latin.
Here lies one of the more counterintuitive developments of the standardized-testing movement: Though some critics complain that teachers are forced to dumb down their lessons and "teach to the test," some schools are offering more challenging course work as a way of engaging students. In the past three years, scores of elementary schools in high-stakes testing states such as Texas, Virginia and Massachusetts have added Latin programs. Says Allen Griffith, a member of the Fairfax City school board: "If we're trying to improve English skills, teaching Latin is an awfully effective, proved method."
This is not your father's Latin, which was taught to elite college-bound high schoolers and drilled into them through memorization. Its tedium and perceived irrelevance almost drove Latin from public schools. Today's growth in elementary school Latin has been spurred by new, interactive oral curriculums, enlivened by lessons in Roman mythology and culture. "One thing that makes it engaging for kids is the goofy fun of investigating these guys in togas," says Marion Polsky, author of First Latin: A Language Discovery Program, the textbook used in Fairfax City.
Latin enthusiasts believe that if young students learn word roots, they will be able to decipher unfamiliar words. (By some estimates, 65% of all English words have Latin roots.) Latin is an almost purely phonetic language. There are no silent letters, and each letter represents a single sound. That makes it useful in teaching reading. And once kids master the grammatical structure of Latin--which is simple, logical and consistent--they will more easily grasp the many grammatical exceptions in English.
注（1）：本文选自Time；12/11/2000, p61；
注（2）：本文习题命题模仿对象2002年真题text 4；
1. From the first Paragraph we learn that _____.
[A] the students show little interest in learning Latin
[B] the students say hello to their teacher in Latin
[C] Amy High teaches the students to read Bible in Latin
[D] learning English is unnecessary if you have perfectly mastered Latin
2. Which of the following statements is not true according to the text?
[A] The testing program is crucial to the schools.
[B] Latin is compulsory to the elementary schools students in Fairfax City.
[C] Providence Elementary School will not get state funding this year.
[D] Fairfax City government had done a lot to equip its elementary schools.
3. According to Allen Griffith, Latin _______.
[A] has little to do with English
[B] is very helpful to one’s learning English
[C] will replace English in the near future
[D] should be taught to kids even when they are in elementary school
4. Which of the following best defines the word “plaudite”?
[A] Great.
[B] Sorry.
[C] Class is over.
[D] Sad.
5. One reason for Latin enthusiasts to support young students’ learning Latin is _______.
[A] Latin has a longer history than English
[B] Latin has less word roots
[C] every letter in English word represent a single sound
[D] it is easier to grasp Latin grammar
答案：BCBAD
篇章剖析
本篇文章以一堂生动的小学拉丁语课开始，通过实际例子和专家的看法，得出学拉丁语可以帮助学好英语的结论。第二段指出某些州的小学为了继续得到州政府的财政支持，不得不在小学增添拉丁语。第三段讲虽然有人批评这种考察学校的制度，但强制学拉丁语的学校考试成绩确实提高了很多。第四段指出现在和过去学习拉丁语的不同点。最后一段列出支持学拉丁语的原因。
词汇注释
deck: [dek] v. 装饰，点缀
stole: [stEul] n. 披肩
high-stake adj. 高风险的
mandatory: [5mAndEtEri] adj. 强制的，命令的
dumb down 简单化
goofy: [5^u:fi] adj. 好玩的
toga: [5tEu^E] n. （古罗马男子穿的）宽松长袍
decipher: [di5saifE] v. 解释
难句突破
So Fairfax City, just 18 miles southwest of the White house, has upgraded its two crumbling elementary schools with new high-tech television studios, computer labs and one very old feature--- mandatory Latin.
主体句式：Fairfax City has upgraded its elementary schools…
结构分析：这是一个包含同位语的简单句。句子主干是“Fairfax City… has upgraded its …schools with….”
句子译文：所以白宫西南方18英里的费凡思市更新了两所破落小学的设备，新添了高科技的视听室，电脑试验室，还有非常老套的一招——强制学习拉丁语。
题目分析
1．答案是B, 属事实细节题。从第一段可看出学生对拉丁语很感兴趣。”in kind” 的意思是“同样的”。
2．答案是C，属事实细节题。细读第二段可发现所有细节。“high-stake” 指“高风险的”，有可能失去很多，也有可能得到很多； “mandatory”指“强制的，命令的”。
3．答案是B，属推理判断题。从“If we’re trying to improve English skills, teaching Latin is an awfully effective, proved method.” 可以清楚知道他的看法。
4．答案是A，属猜测意义题。从“…the 14 kids erupt in applause” 可以看出他答对了，老师应该是表扬他。
5．答案是D，属归纳推理题。从最后一段可知，大多数英语单词都有拉丁词根，拉丁语中的每个字母都发音，拉丁语法更简单，有逻辑。
参考译文
艾米·海身着古罗马传统的粉色外套，金色披肩，冲进三年级教室和学生打招呼: “Salvete, omnes!” （大家好！）学生们也用同样的语言向她问好，然后他们开始学习派生词。“Duet指几个人？”海问道。孩子们都知道答案, 海问他们怎么知道。一个男孩答到：“因为拉丁语duo意思是‘两个’”。“真棒！”海说道。14个孩子使劲鼓掌。他们又学了拉丁词根later（意思是“边”），并且组成了英语单词bilateral（双边的）和 quadrilateral（四边的）。“拉丁语会为你们打开许多扇门”， 海说，“即使你碰到从未见过的词，你也能猜出它的意思。”
海在弗吉尼亚州费尔法克斯市的天佑小学任教。由于她的努力，这所学校学生成绩有了很大改观。弗吉尼亚州制订了对学校而言生死攸关的测试计划，其中一条是任何2007年成绩不能提高的学校将得不到州政府的资助。所以白宫西南方18英里的费尔法克斯市更新了两所破落小学的设备，新添了高科技的视听室，电脑试验室，还有非常老套的一招——强制学习拉丁语。
标准化考试运动违背本能的一面即在于此：虽然有批评家抱怨老师被迫简化所讲课程以求人人都能听懂，“只为考试而教学”，可有些学校却讲授更难的课程来吸引学生。过去三年里，一些对州内学校实行生死评价的州，比如得克萨斯州、弗吉尼亚州、马萨诸塞州，他们的小学总评里已经把拉丁语包括在内。费尔法克斯市一位学校董事艾伦·格瑞费思说，“要想提高英语水平，学习拉丁语是一种被证明非常奏效的方法。”
这当然不是你父辈那时的拉丁语。那时学拉丁语的都是想上大学、学习拔尖的高中生，通过死记硬背、反复操练来学习。学起来枯燥乏味，学的人又觉得学了也没多大意义，搞的公立学校几乎都不开拉丁语课了。现在开拉丁语课的小学又多起来，主要是由于新颖互动着重口语的授课模式以及精彩的罗马神话及文化吸引着学生。“孩子们觉得调查那些穿长袍的人有无穷的乐趣，这一点使他们对拉丁语着迷。”莫伦·鲍斯基说。他是目前费尔法克斯市使用的拉丁语教科书《第一拉丁语：语言探索项目》的作者。
热衷学习拉丁语的人认为，如果学生学会词根，认识生词就不成问题。（据估计，65%的英语单词包含拉丁词根。）拉丁语几乎是纯粹的语音语言，即单词中没有不发音的字母，每个字母都有固定的发音。这在教学生阅读时很有用。而且，一旦孩子们掌握了拉丁语的语法结构——简单，有逻辑，前后一致，在学习英语的语法就容易多了。
