SAT阅读模拟练习八

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　　1 The Ring at Casterbridge was merely the local name of one of the finest Roman amphitheatres, if not the very finest remaining in Britain. Casterbridge announced old Rome in every street, alley, 5 and precinct. It looked Roman, bespoke the art of Rome, concealed dead men of Rome. It was impossible to dig more than a foot or two deep about the town fields and gardens without coming upon some tall soldier or other of the Empire, who had laid there in his silent unobtrusive rest for a space of fifteen 10 hundred years. He was mostly found lying on his side, in an oval scoop in the chalk, like a chicken in its shell; his knees drawn up to his chest; sometimes with the remains of his spear against his arm; a brooch of bronze on his breast or forehead; an urn at his knees, a jar at his throat, a bottle at his mouth; and mystified 15 conjecture pouring down upon him from the eyes of Casterbridge street boys, who had turned a moment to gaze at the familiar spectacle as they passed by. Imaginative inhabitants, who would have felt an unpleasantness at the discovery of a comparatively modern 20 skeleton in their gardens, were quite unmoved by these hoary shapes. They had lived so long ago, their time was so unlike the present, their hopes and motives were so widely removed from ours, that between them and the living there seemed to stretch a gulf too wide for even a spirit to pass. 25 The Amphitheatre was a huge circular enclosure, with a notch at opposite extremities of its diameter north and south. It was to Casterbridge what the ruined Coliseum is to modern Rome, and was nearly of the same magnitude. The dusk of evening was the proper hour at which a true impression of this 30 suggestive place could he received. Standing in the middle of the arena at that time there by degrees became apparent its real vastness, which a cursory view from the summit at noon-day was apt to obscure. Melancholy, impressive, lonely, yet accessible from every part of the town, the historic circle was the frequent 35 spot for appointments of a furtive kind. Intrigues were arranged there; tentative meetings were there experimented after divisions and feuds. But one kind of appointment - in itself the most common of any - seldom had place in the Amphitheatre: that of happy lovers. 40 Why, seeing that it was pre-eminently an airy, accessible, and sequestered spot for interviews, the cheerfullest form of those occurrences never took kindly to the soil of the ruin, would he a curious inquiry. Perhaps it was because its associations had about them something sinister. Its history proved that. Apart 45 from the sanguinary nature of the games originally played therein, such incidents attached to its past as these: that for scores of years the town-gallows had stood at one corner; that in 1705 a woman who had murdered her husband was half-strangled and then burnt there in the presence of ten thousand spectators. 50 Tradition reports that at a certain stage of the burning her heart burst and leapt out of her body, to the terror of them all, and that not one of those ten thousand people ever cared particularly for hot roast after that. In addition to these old tragedies, pugilistic encounters almost to the death had come off down to recent dates 55 in that secluded arena, entirely invisible to the outside world save by climbing to the top of the enclosure, which few townspeople in the daily round of their lives ever took the trouble to do. So that, though close to the turnpike-road, crimes might be perpetrated there unseen at mid-day. 60 Some boys had latterly tried to impart gaiety to the ruin by using the central arena as a cricket-ground. But the game usually languished for the aforesaid .reason - the dismal privacy which the earthen circle enforced, shutting out every appreciative passer's vision, every commendatory remark from outsiders - 65 everything, except the sky; and to play at games in such circumstances was like acting to an empty house. Possibly, too, the boys were timid, for some old people said that at certain moments in the summer time, in broad daylight, persons sitting with a book or dozing in the arena had, on lifting their eyes, 70 beheld the slopes lined with a gazing legion of Hadrian's soldiery as if watching the gladiatorial combat; and had heard the roar of their excited voices; that the scene would remain but a moment, like a lightning flash, and then disappear. Henchard had chosen this spot as being the safest from 75 observation which he could think of for meeting his long-lost wife, and at the same time as one easily to be found by a stranger after nightfall. As Mayor of the town, with a reputation to keep up, he could not invite her to come to his house till some definite course had been decided on.

　　1. The amphitheatre is described as a ‘suggestive’(line 30) place because

　　A. its real size could not be appreciated at a glance.

　　B. it was full of historical associations

　　C. mysterious meetings took place there

　　D. it was lonely yet accessible

　　E. it was best appreciated in the evening.

　　2. The word ‘hoary’ (line 20) is closest in meaning to

　　A. unimaginative

　　B. buried

　　C. curled up

　　D. mummified

　　E. ancient

　　3. The ‘curious enquiry’(line 43) refers to finding out

　　A. why happy lovers never met there

　　B. why interviews never took place there

　　C. what historical events took place there

　　D. how the amphitheatre came to have sinister associations

　　E. why the amphitheatre lay in ruins

　　4. The word ‘round’ (line 57) most nearly means

　　A. route

　　B. routine

　　C. meanderings

　　D. circle

　　E. journey

　　5. The boys had given up cricket in the Amphitheatre in part because

　　A. it was too dark

　　B. crimes commonly took place there

　　C. there were no spectators or passers-by to applaud their efforts

　　D. they were afraid of being caught

　　E. it was too exposed to the weather

　　6. The author’s primary purpose is to

　　A. justify his opinion of the Ring

　　B. attempt to account for the atmosphere of a place

　　C. chronicle the development of the Amphitheatre

　　D. describe the location of a Roman relic

　　E. explain the uses to which historical sites are put

　　7. The attitude of the local residents to the unearthed remains of dead Romans was one of

　　A. total apathy

　　B. confusion and unease

　　C. trepidation

　　D. momentary interest

　　E. revulsion

　　8. The incident of the woman who was burnt is mentioned in order to

　　A. horrify the reader

　　B. illustrate one reason for the unsavoury reputation of the place

　　C. show the bloodthirsty nature of former occupants

　　D. add realistic details to an imaginary plot

　　E. show the magnitude of the gulf between the past and the present

　　9. All of the following are said to have taken place at the Ring except

　　A. ghostly apparitions

　　B. boxing matches

　　C. hangings

　　D. secret assignations

　　E. theatrical performances

　　10. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that Henchard

　　A. is afraid of his wife

　　B. has something to hide from the townspeople

　　C. is a stranger to the Ring

　　D. is about to commit a crime

　　E. is an infamous resident of Casterbridge

　　11. The ring was ‘safest from observation’ (lines 74-75) because

　　A. no one inside could be seen from outside the arena

　　B. it was far from the main road

　　C. people found it a pleasant place only in Summer

　　D. no one except lovers ever went there after dark

　　E. it was too inaccessible

　　12. It appears that in general the attitude of Casterbridge residents to the Roman past suggests that they

　　A. appreciated the art of the Romans

　　B. feared the ghosts of the buried Roman soldiers

　　C. felt far removed from the concerns of the Romans

　　D. were awe-struck by their civilization

　　E. were proud of their heritage

　　1.Correct Answer: B

　　Explanation:

　　The word ‘suggestive’ implies that it suggested things, or evoked ideas. This ties in with the use of the word ‘associations’ (line 43). The author goes on to describes several historical associations that the place has. Hence, answer B.

　　2.Correct Answer: E

　　Explanation:

　　On looking back we find that the word ‘old’ or ‘ancient’ would best replace ‘hoary’.

　　3.Correct Answer: A

　　Explanation:

　　The curious enquiry refers to finding out why ‘the cheerfullest of these occurrences’ did not take place in the amphitheatre. The cheerfullest occurrence referred to is the meeting of happy lovers.

　　4.Correct Answer: B

　　Explanation:

　　The daily ‘round’ refers to the normal course of life. Hence ‘routine’.

　　5.Correct Answer: C

　　Explanation:

　　The next sentence clearly states that the earthen circle shut out passers-by so that no appreciative words would reach the boys. Hence, answer C, which paraphrases appreciative words as ‘applaud’.

　　6.Correct Answer: B

　　Explanation:

　　This extract is obviously the introduction to a story. At the end of the extract we learn that Henchard had chosen this isolated spot to meet his wife. So the main point is to describe the atmosphere of the place for the meeting.

　　7.Correct Answer: D

　　Explanation:

　　The people of Casterbridge ‘turned a moment to gaze at the familiar spectacle as they passed by' (line 16). They looked at the remains, but only in passing, hence answer D.

　　8.Correct Answer: B

　　Explanation:

　　This incident is one ‘sinister’ event that took place there. The author is using this (and the others) to support his claim that the place has sinister associations. This is closest to the idea that the place had an ‘unsavory reputation’. (Unsavory = unpleasant)

　　9.Correct Answer: E

　　Explanation:

　　Ghostly apparitions (line 70), boxing matches (pugilistic encounters, line 53), hangings (line 47), and secret assignations (line 35) are all mentioned. The author does not make reference to theatrical performances, hence E is the right answer.

　　10.Correct Answer: B

　　Explanation:

　　The last sentence tells us that he has something to hide. (He had a reputation to protect, and did not want anyone to see her at his house.)

　　11.Correct Answer: A

　　Explanation:

　　Lines 55-59 tell us that the place is a "secluded arena, entirely visible to the outside world....". This confirms that it was safest from observation because no one could be seen from outside.

　　12.Correct Answer: C

　　Explanation:

　　Paragraph three best indicates the attitude of the residents to the Roman past. They were ‘unmoved’ (line 20), and found them ‘widely removed’ from the present. This is best conveyed by answer C.

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