Once upon a time there was a precious sword. Now, this sword belonged to a great King, and for as long as anyone could remember, the King spent all his time in his place, enjoying its shows and competitions with other swords. One day a great dispute（争端）arouse between this King and the King of a neighbouring country. It ended with both declaring war.
The sword was greatly excited at the prospect of taking part in its first real battle. It would show everyone how truly brave and special it was, and would become well-known throughout the kingdom. On the way to the front line, the sword imagined itself the winner of many battles. However, when it arrived, the first battle had already broken out, and the sword got to see the results of the war. What it saw had nothing in common with what the sword had imagined. No elegant shining knights, successful, with their weapons shining in the sunlight. Instead, all the sword saw was broken weapons, and a large crowd of hungry and thirsty men. There was hardly any food left. Everything was covered in dirt and disgusting smell. Many were half dead and scattered on the ground, bleeding from multiple wounds.
Seeing this, the sword realized it liked neither wars nor battles. It decided it preferred to live in peace and spend its time taking part in tournaments and competitions. So, on the night before what was going to be the big final battle, the sword tried to find a way to prevent it from taking place. After a while, the sword started to vibrate（颤抖）. First it gave out a low buzz, and then this gradually got louder, until it became an annoying metallic noise. The swords and armour（盔甲）of the soldiers asked the King’s sword what it was doing. It told them, “I don’t want there to be a battle tomorrow. I don’t like war.”
One answered, “No one likes it, but what can we do?”
“Make yourself vibrate, just like what I’m doing,” said the King’s sword. “If we make enough noise, no one will sleep.”
So the weapons started vibrating, and the noise became deafening. It was so loud that it reached the enemy camp, and the weapons there, which were equally sick of war, joined the protest.
The next morning, when the battle should have begun, not a single soldier was ready to fight. No one had managed to get even a wink of sleep, not even the King or the Generals. So they spent the whole day catching up on sleep. During the evening they started to wake up, and decided to put off the battle until the next day.
However, the weapons, led by the King’s sword, spent the night repeating their peace song, and again no soldier could rest. The battle had to be postponed yet again, and this carried on for the next seven days. On the evening of the seventh day, the Kings of the two armies met to see what they could do about the situation. Both were very angry at their previous disputes, but after being together for a while they started to discuss their sleepless nights, the surprise on their soldiers’ faces, the confusion between day and night, and the amusing situations all this had created. It wasn’t long before both were laughing, like friends, at these little stories. Fortunately, they forgot their old disputes and they put an end to the war, each returning to their own land with
the double joy.
小题1: From the first paragraph, we can infer that _________.
| A．the great King was fond of his precious sword |
| B．a disagreement led to a war between Kings |
| C．the two Kings were once good friends before the war |
| D．the precious sword was used to entertain the great King |
小题2: What is the best word to describe the mood of the sword when it heard about the war?
| A．Worried | B．Fearful | C．Eager | D．peaceful |
小题3: When did the sword change its attitude to war?
| A．When it fought at the first battle |
| B．After it realized that it was not powerful |
| C．When it was on the way to the front line |
| D．After it saw the terrible results of the first battle |
小题4: What is the right order of the following events?
a. The noise was loud enough to reach the other side
b. The battle had to be postponed because the soldiers in both armies lacked sleep.
c. It let out continuous low noise
d. It persuaded other swords to join in.
e. All the weapons in both side confused day with night
| A．a, b, c, d, e | B．b, a, c, e, d |
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本试题 “Once upon a time there was a precious sword. Now, this sword belonged to a great King, and for as long as anyone could remember, the King spent all...” 主要考查您对 人物传记类阅读
故事类阅读
等考点的理解。关于这些考点您可以点击下面的选项卡查看详细档案。
人物传记类文章的文体特征：
人物传记是记叙文体的一种，主要描写某人的生平事迹、趣闻轶事、生活背景、个性特征、成长奋斗历程等，包含记叙文的时间、地点、人物、事件等要素。其特点是以时间的先后或事件的发展为主线，空间或逻辑线索贯穿文章始终，脉络清楚，可读性较强。
人物传记类文章的阅读策略和解题技巧：
1、把握文体特征，注意写作手法如前文所述，人物传记是记叙文体的一种，因此在阅读时要把握好时间、地点、人物和事件这四大要素。
其次，还应该注意人物传记类文章的结构多按时间顺序排列，一般采用倒叙的写作手法，有时也采用插叙和补叙等手段。弄清楚人物传记类文章的特征和写作手法，能帮助考生在阅读和回答问题时做到高效省时、准确无误。
2、抓住题干关键词，采用寻读的方法查找细节描述事实细节题是人物传记类文章的主要题型，一般常见以下几种类型：
(1)对号入座题：
这种题的答案一般在原文中可以直接找到，只要读懂文章，掌握文章中的事实，如时间、地点、事件等细节问题，就能选对正确答案。
(2)词义转换题：
这种题常常是原文有关词语和句子的转换，而不能在原文中直接找到。它要求考生能理解原文中某个短语或句子的含义，从而找到与答案意思相同的词语和句子。
(3)是非题：
该题型俗称“三缺一”题型，即题目四个选项中有三个符合文章内容，剩下一个不符合。题干多为：Which of the following isTRUE?或者三个不符合文章内容，剩下一个符合，题干多为：Which of the following…isNOTtrue?或All the following are true EXCEPT
(4)排序题：
这种题要求考生根据动作发生的先后顺序和句子之间的逻辑关系，找出事件发生的正确顺序。可采用“首尾定位法”，即先找出第一个动作和最后一个动作，迅速缩小选择范围，从而快速选出正确答案。
(5)指代理解题：
一般是在人物或事物关系比较复杂的情况下使用的一种题型，所以理清人物及事物之间的逻辑关系是关键所在。可采用“逻辑关系梳理法”，使人物或事件关系清晰条理。不管题型如何，在做事实细节题时，可采用比较实用的方法一有目的的阅读。在阅读时，首先看题目要求我们理解什么细节，找出关键词，然后以此为线索，运用寻读的技巧迅速在文章里找出相应的段落、句子或短语。认真比较选项和文中细节的区别，在正确理解细节的前提下，确定最佳答案。这样一来，既提高了阅读的速度，又能确保答案的准确率。同时，建议阅读文章时把与答案相符的句子或短语用红线标示出来，标号注上是哪一题答案的相关句子，这样在检查时就不必重新阅读整篇文章了。
3、抽丝剥茧，推理判断深层含义推理判断题主要提问那些未曾在文中说明，但已特别暗示的内容，考查考生对文章的准确理解和判断。人物传记类文章常见的推理判断题型为：
(1)细节推断题：
要求考生根据语篇关系，推断具体细节，如时间、地点、人物关系、人物身份、事件等。一般可根据短文提供的信息，或者借助生活常识进行推理判断。
(2)因果推断题：
要求考生根据已知结果推测导致结果的可能原因。考生要准确掌握文章的内涵，理解文章的真正含义。
(3)人物性格、作者态度及观点判断题：
人物传记类文章中有些是考查考生对作者的主导思想、被描写人物的语气、言语中流露的情绪、性格倾向和作者或文中人物态度、观点等方面的理解题。推理判断题要求在理解原文表面文字信息的基础上做出一定推论和判断，从而得到文章的隐含意义和深层意义。解答此类题时，要注意：
(1)吃透文章的字面意思，从字里行间捕捉有用的提示和线索，这是推理的前提和基础。
(2)对文字的表面信息进俐宅掘加工，由表及里，由浅入深。从具体到抽象，从特殊到一般，通过分析、综合、判断等进行符合逻辑的推理。不能就事论事，断章取义，以偏概全。
(3)基于文章内容，以文章提供的事实和线索为依据，立足已知，推断未知。不能主观臆想，凭空想象，随意揣测，更不能以自己的观点代替作者的观点。
(4)把握句、段之间的逻辑关系，了解语篇的结构。要体会文章的基调，揣摸作者的态度，摸准逻辑发展的方向，悟出作者的弦外之音。
(5)注意文中所用词句的感情色彩，是讽刺性的，批评性的，赞成性的，还是反对性的，以便推测作者的观点和态度。
故事类阅读概念：
这类文章一般描述的是某一件具体事情的发生发展或结局，有人物、时间、地点和事件。命题往往从故事的情节、人物或事件的之间的关系、作者的态度及意图、故事前因和后果的推测等方面着手，考查学生对细节的辨认能力以及推理判断能力。
故事类阅读应试技巧：
1、抓住文章的6个要素：
阅读时要学会从事情本身的发展去理解故事情节而不要只看事件在文中出现的先后顺序。因此，无论是顺叙还是倒叙，阅读此类文章时，必须要找到它结构中的5个W（when, where, who, why, what）和1个H（how），不过不是每篇都会完整地交待六个要素。毫无疑问，寻出这些元素是能够正确快速解题的一个先决条件。
2、注意作者的议论和抒情：
高考英语阅读理解故事类文章常伴随着作者思想情感的流露和表达，因此议论和抒情往往夹杂其中。行文时或按事情发生发展的先后时间进行或按事情发生发展的地点来转换，也可能按事情发展的阶段来布局。在引出话题，讲完一件事情后，作者往往会表达个人感悟或提出建议等。这些体现作者观点或思想的语句在阅读时可以划线，它们往往体现文章中心或者写作意图，属于必考点，所以要仔细体会。
3、结合前两点归纳文章中心，把握作者态度：
故事类文章是通过记叙一件事来表达中心思想的，它是文章的灵魂。归纳文章中心思想时，尤其要分析文章的结尾，因为很多文章卒章显志，用简短的议论、抒情揭示文章中心；文章中议论抒情的句子往往与中心密切相关；也有的文章需要在结合概括各段大意的基础上归纳中心。另外，叙述一件事必有其目的，或阐明某一观点，或赞美某种品德，或抨击某种陋习，这就要求我们在阅读时，通过对细节（第1点中的六要素）的理解，把握作者的态度。
4、有章有据进行解题判断：
分析文章，归纳主题，属于分析、概括、综合的表述能力的考查。切忌脱离文章，架空分析，一定让分析在文章中有依据。
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