A radio report caught my attention the other day，as it spoke straight to my heart：Cadets（学员） at the US Naval Academy are now required to revisit and potentially revive the ancient skill of steering a ship by the stars.
By the stars-imagine that：looking up at the sky，not down at a screen，so many years after the heavens' critical role in guiding mariners has fallen by the wayside，first replaced by radio waves，then by modern GPS.Much is gained-but something also lost-in such progress，I think.
It reminded me of my love of 18th and 19th century seafaring tales （reading them is one of my coping mechanisms for uneventful life in the landlocked Midwest），when sailors had only celestial maps for navigation and still miraculously managed to sail the planet's vast oceans and even circumnavigate the globe.
Recent cyber security concerns have triggered renewed interest in backup navigational strategies such as stargazing，and simple hand-held technologies like the sextant，so often mentioned in Richard Henry Dana's Two Years Before the Mast，a tale that chronicles a mid-19th-century merchant ship's endlessly adventurous voyage from Boston to California and back.
I wouldn't wish the harsh conditions of that trip on modern sailors，but I am all for anything that help people find their compass bearings and travel routes without high-tech and often mindless guidance
"Is that north or south of here？"I've asked motel clerks and gas station attendants about a particular address I'm seeking in my GPS-less travels.
"Well，it's that way，" comes the most frequent reply，accompanied by a pointed finger，and I realize that north，south，east，and west are not familiar coordinates to many people.
To be fair，I haven't always been used to compass points either.In fact，it was not until I was a young adult，lying on a float in my parents' pool on a late summer's visit home，and watching the sun set below the roofline，that I first realized that my childhood home faced due west.I was shocked that I'd been oblivious to this simple fact，especially since I'd begun to be schooled in geology and in compass work.But like so many，I'd grown up thinking and navigating using other coordinates，based on familiar streets，rights and lefts，and reference points such as my school，the homes of friends，the nearest playground，and the local shopping plaza
I've long since become accustomed to finding my bearings on travels in unfamiliar territory by the sun's position.And now I'd love to sit in on a class at the academy to learn to navigate by the moon and stars.It's a skill I'll probably never need to draw upon.Yet it feels good to know how it would connect me，in a new and profound way，to the historical trace of human experience on this planet.
As for modern sailors，it might just bring them safely home one day，if all else fails.
（1）What kind of role do 18 and 19 th century seafaring tales play in the author's life？ AA
A．Enriching his dull inland life.
B．Triggering his concern for cyber security
C．Arousing his interest in modern navigational strategies
D．Strengthening his resolve to revive an ancient skill
（2）The author mentions his experience of seeking an address （Para.6 & 7）to illustrate CC.
A．the importance of modern technology such as GPS in travels
B．that it's essential to learn geography and compass work well at school
C．that many people don't navigate in terms of coordinates such as north and south
D．the convenience of navigating based on familiar streets，rights and lefts and reference points
（3）The underlined phrase "oblivious to"（Para.8）is closest in meaning to DD.
A．obvious to
B．familiar with
C．unconcerned about
D．unaware of
（4）Why does the author plan to learn to navigate by the moon and stars？ CC
A．Because he expects to experience the harsh conditions on the voyage in the past.
B．Because he is required to revisit this ancient skill as a cadet at the U.S.Naval Academy.
C．Because the skill can make him feel connected to the historical heritage of human beings.
D．Because the skill can bring sailors home，safe and sound，if modern technology fails.
【考点】记叙文．
【答案】A；C；D；C
【解答】
【点评】
声明：本试题解析著作权属菁优网所有，未经书面同意，不得复制发布。
发布：2024/4/20 14:35:0组卷：5引用：1难度：0.5
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1．Roald Dahl was a spy，an ace fighter pilot，a chocolate historian and a medical inventor.He was also the author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory，Matilda，The BFG，and a treasury of original，evergreen，and beloved children's books.He remains for many the world's No.1 storyteller.
Born in Llandaff，Wales，on 13th September 1916 to Norwegian parents，Harald Dahl and Sofie Magdalene Hesselberg，Dahl was named after Roald Amundsen，the Norwegian who had been the first man to reach the South Pole just four years earlier.A heroic start in life.
Wanting the best for her only son，his mother sent him to a boarding school - Repton，a renowned British public school.With schooldays happily behind him，Dahl's lust for travel took him first to Canada，then to East Africa，where he worked for an oil company until the outbreak of World War Ⅱ.He enlisted in the Royal Air Force at 23 years old.In 1953 Roald Dahl married the American actress，Patricia Neal，with whom he had five children.
There followed a burst of literary energy as his endless creativity led to one wonder after another：in 1961 James and the Giant Peach was published in the US，followed by Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.Fantastic Mr.Fox was published in 1970，the year before the film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory was released.The rest of the decade saw the publication of many other classics，including Danny the Champion of the World，The Enormous Crocodile，and My Uncle Oswald.
Roald Dahl died on 23 November 1990，aged 74.He was buried in the parish church of St.Peter and St.Paul in Great Missende - the Buckinghamshire village where today The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre continues his extraordinary mission to amaze，thrill and inspire generations of children and their parents.
（1）What do you know about Ronald Dahl？
A．He was born in Norway.
B．He was talented in many fields.
C．His mother worked in a school.
D．His father reached the South Pole.
（2）What does the underlined word "lust" in Paragraph 3 mean？
A．Vain hope.
B．Special care.
C．Strong desire.
D．Main concern.
（3）How is Paragraph 4 mainly developed？
A．By giving examples.
B．By analyzing causes.
C．By presenting figures.
D．By making comparisons.
（4）Which words can best describe the children's books penned by Ronald Dahl？
A．Amazing and humorous.
B．Educational and serious.
C．Imaginative and scary.
D．Fascinating and encouraging.发布：2025/1/30 8:0:1组卷：3引用：2难度：0.5 -
2．On Thursday，many people were remembering the American writer Theodore Seuss Geisel -better known as "Dr Seuss"．
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On Thursday，the hashtags（话题标签）#DrSeuss and #WorldBookDay were two of the top trending topics on Twitter．
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（1）What can we infer from the passage？
A．De Seuss'books have been influential in Children's reading．
B．Dr Seuss was best remembered because of his book The Lorax．
C．Books with colorful pictures and fun rhymes are attractive to people．
D．Dr Seuss，Roald Dahl，J．K．Rowling lived in the same age．
（2）Who is remembered on World book and Copyright Day？
A．Roald Dahl．
B．Maurice Sendak．
C．Miguel de Cervantes．
D．J．K．Rowling．
（3）What can be the best title of the passage？
A．The Life of Dr Seuss
B．Children's Books Written by Dr Seuss
C．Trending Topics on Twitter
D．Dr Seuss Honored on World Book Day发布：2025/1/30 8:0:1组卷：6引用：1难度：0.5 -
3．When Laura wanted to go into the garden by the back door，it was blocked by servants．
Something had happened．
"What's the matter？What's happened？"
"There's been a horrible accident/ said the cook． "A man killed．"
"A man killed!Where？How？When？"
"Know those little cottages just below here，Miss？" Know them？Of course，Laura knew them． "Well，there's a young guy living there，name of Scott，a carter His horse shied （受惊）at a traction-engine，and he was thrown out on the back of his head．Killed．"
"Dead!" Laura stared at the cook．
"Dead when they picked him up，" said the cook． 'Just now they were taking the body home．He's left a wife and five little ones．"
"Jose，come here．" Laura caught her sister's sleeve and dragged her through the kitchen into the garden．There she paused． "Jose!" she said，horrified， ''however are we going to stop everything？'
"Stop everything，Laura!" cried Jose in astonishment． "What do you mean？"
"Stop the garden party，of course．Why did Jose pretend？"
But Jose was still more amazed． "Stop the garden party？My dear Laura，don't be so absurd．Of course we can't do anything of the kind．Nobody expects us to．Don't be so extravagant．"
"But we can't possibly have a garden party with a man dead just outside the front gate．"
That really was extravagant．Those little cottages，those miserable houses，had no right to be in that rich neighbourhood in the first place．When Laura and Jose were little they were even forbidden to set foot there because of the rude language and of what they might see．It was dirty and disgusting．
"And just think of what the band would sound like to that poor woman，" said Laura．
"Oh，Laura!" Jose began to be seriously annoyed，"If you're going to stop a band playing every time some one has an accident，you'll lead a very difficult life，I'm every bit as sorry about it as you．But you won't bring a drunken workman back to life by being sentimental（多愁善感的）．"
"Drunk!Who said he was drunk？" Laura turned angrily on Jose， "I'm going straight up to tell mother．"
"Do，dear，" said Jose，gently．
"Mother，can I come into your mom？" Laura turned the big glass door-knob．
"Of course，child．Why，what's the matter？What's given you such a colour？" And Mrs．Sheridan turned round from her dressing-table．She was trying on a new hat．
"Mother，a man's been killed，" began Laura．
"Not in the garden？" interrupted her mother．
"No，no!"
"Oh，what a fright you gave me!" Mrs．Sheridan sighed with relief and took off the big hat and held it on her knees．
"But listen，mother，" said Laura，Breathless，half-choking，she told the dreadful story． "Of course，we can't have our party，can we？" she begged． "The band and everybody arriving．And the poor family would hear us，mother；they're nearly neighbours!"
"Oh，Laura's astonishment her mother behaved just like Jose；it was harder to bear because she seemed amused．She refused to take Laura seriously．"
"But，my dear child，use your common sense．If some one had died there normally 一 and I can't understand how they keep alive in those little holes 一 we should still be having our party，shouldn't we？"
Laura had to say "yes" to that，but she felt it was all wrong．
"Mother，isn't it terribly heartless of us？" she asked．
"Darling!" Mrs．Sheridan got up and came over to her，carrying the hat． "My child!" said her mother， "the hat is yours．It's made for you．Wow!Look at yourself!And she held up her hand-mirror．
"But，mother，" Laura began again．She couldn't look at herself；she turned aside．
This time Mrs．Sheridan lost patience just as Jose had done．
"You are being very absurd，Laura，" she said coldly． "People like that don't expect sacrifices from us．And it's not very sympathetic to spoil everybody's enjoyment as you're doing now，"
"I don't understand，'' murmured Laura．Then，quite by chance，she saw this charming girl in the mirror，in the beautiful hat．Never had she imagined she could look like that．Is mother right？she thought．And now she hoped her mother was right．Am I being extravagant？Perhaps．Just for a moment she had another glimpse of that poor woman and those little children，and the body being carried into the house．But it all seemed blurred，unreal，like a picture in the newspaper．I'll remember it again after the party's over，she decided．And somehow that seemed quite the best plan …
（1）Laura suggested stopping everything because．
A．something bad had happened in the garden
B．her neighbours were experiencing great grief
C．the servants blocked the back door of the garden
D．she wanted to provide material help for the poor family
（2）What does the last paragraph mainly tell us？
A．Laura was trying to submit herself to her family．
B．The news of the carter's death finally hit the headlines．
C．Laura hoped mother was right in choosing that hat for her．
D．A poor man's death was little more than an unimportant thing．
（3）What will most probably happen following this story？
A．Laura came up with a best plan to solve all this．
B．Laura managed to persuade her mother and sister．
C．The party just continued as planned in the garden．
D．The poor widow came over to scold the band．
（4）Which of the following can best describe Laura？
A．Sentimental and persistent．
B．Optimistic and easy-going．
C．Considerate and sympathetic．
D．Hardworking and open-minded．
（5）What does the underlined word "extravagant" probably mean？
A．Too sensible．
B．Not practical
C．Too upright．
D．Not sympathetic．
（6）Which of the following can be the best title of the story？
A．The garden party．
B．The quarrel．
C．The rich and the poor．
D．The death of a neighbour．发布：2025/1/30 8:0:1组卷：15引用：1难度：0.7
