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reading
Activity
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(Let’s come to reading activity. We
will continue reading skill on how to read
for the main idea. First read the whole passage and get
its general idea, and then finish the comprehension exercises.
Most of the comprehension questions are related to your understanding
of the main idea of each paragraph.
Before we deal with the passage itself, we'd like to study
some words in this reading activity. )
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Skill: Reading Comprehension Skill
I
─ Reading for the Main Idea (Part II) |
When you are reading paragraphs for the main idea, try to
force yourself to read a bit faster than usual. By doing so,
you will find it easier to concentrate on ideas and the relationships
between ideas. The slow reader usually cares too much about
individual words and thus may actually comprehend less than
the quick reader.
In reading paragraphs, you will inevitably come across some
words you don't understand. Don't waste too much time worrying
about them. Just continue your reading. The most important thing
is to understand the material as a whole and one or two unknown
words won't make much difference. |
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Words to Know
veteran n. 老兵；退伍军人
unable a. 不能的
loss n. 丧失
yearly a. 每年的，—年一度的
disappear vi. 不见，消失
finally ad. 最后
refusal n. 拒绝
submit vi. 屈服；听从，听任
persist vi. 坚持
afterward ad. 以后，后来
workman n. 工人，工匠
proof n. 证据；证明
apologize vi. 道歉
starve vi. 挨饿 |
recover vt. 重新获得，恢复
survive vt. 幸免于，从……中逃生
poverty n. 贫困
host n. 主人
arise vi. 出现，发生
companion n. 同伴
imply vt. 暗示，含有……的意思
focus vi. 使聚焦；使集中
criminal n. 罪犯
incident n. 事件
dirt n. 尘，土
innocent a. 清白的；无罪的
conclude vt.
结束；最后说
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The
Lost Gold Piece
See
translation
After the First World War, a small group of veterans
returned to their village in France (1) Most
of them managed to get
along quite well, but one ─ Francois Lebeau,
who had been gassed and never recovered his strength
─ was unable to work regularly.
In time (终于) he became poverty-stricken.
Yet he was too proud to accept charity (施舍) from
the people in the village.
1. What is the main idea of this paragraph?
a. Several soldiers survived the First World War
and returned to their home village
b. Most of the veterans from the First World War
returned to their native place and could
work and live well.
c. Francois Lebeau, a survivor of the First World
War, suffered from the loss of ability to
work and thus lived in poverty.
d. Francois Lebeau was such a proud person that
he would not live on charity,
Once each year the veterans held a reunion dinner.
(2) On one of these occasions they met in the
home of Jules Grandin, who had made a good deal
of money and had grown fat and pompous (爱炫耀的). Grandin produced a curiosity（古董）─ a large coin on whose age, rarity and value
he dwelt (详述) at
some length. Each man examined it with interest
as it passed around the long table. All, however,
had drunk wine freely and the room resounded with
noisy talk, so that the gold piece was soon forgotten.
Later, when Grandin remembered it and asked for
it, the coin was missing.
2. Which statement best expresses the main idea?
a. A yearly reunion dinner was held in the home
of Jules Grandin, a rich and showy
person.
b. All veterans had a good time at the yearly reunion
dinner held in the spacious home
of Jules Grandin.
c. Jules Grandin, the rich and self-important host,
showed the guests a valuable gold
coin at a yearly reunion dinner.
d. At a yearly reunion dinner, Jules Grandin the
host showed the guests a valuable gold
piece and then the coin suddenly disappeared.
Instantly there arose a hubbub
of questions and denials. Finally the village
attorney(律师) suggested everyone be searched, to
which all agreed ─ except Lebeau. His companions looked at him
with surprise.
“You refuse, then?” asked Grandin.
Lebeau flushed. “Yes, he said, “I cannot allow
it.”
“Do you realize,” asked the owner of the gold
piece, “what your refusal implies?”
“I did not steal the gold piece, and I will not
submit to a search,” Lebeau
answered.
3. Complete the following statement:
A general search was suggested and agreed to, but
Lebeau ___________.
One by one, the rest of the group turned out their
pockets. When the coin failed to appear, attention
was focused once more
on poor Lebeau.
“Surely you will not persist
in your refusal?” the attorney demanded.
Lebeau made no reply. Grandin stalked(高视阔步地)out
of the room in anger. (3) No one addressed another
word to Lebeau and, amid the pitying stares of his
friends, he walked out with the
hangdog (自觉有罪 ) air of a prisoner and returned
to his home.
4. Which statement indicates the main idea
of this part?When Lebeau still refused to be searched,
_________________
a. the host Grandin left the room angrily and contemptuously.
b. all those present were certain that it was Lebeau
who stole the gold coin.
c. no one spoke to Lebeau though most of them felt
pity for him.
d. he had to leave humbly like a real criminal.
From that day, Lebeau was a disgraced man. People
averted their eyes when they met him. (4) He
grew poorer, and when his wife died
not long afterward no one knew or cared whether
it was from want or shame.
5. Complete the following statement:
After this event, Lebeau was held
in contempt and his wife ______________.
A few years later, when the incident had become
almost legendary (传奇似的), Grandin made some alterations
(变动) in his house. A workman found the gold coin,
buried in dirt between planks (板条) of the floor
in the room where the reunion had been held. (5)
Pompous though he was, Graridin was a just man
and now that he had proof that Lebeau was innocent
he was quick to make amends（赔罪）. Hurrying
to Lebeau’s humble home, he told him of the amazing
discovery of the coin and apologized for having
suspected him.
6. Fill in the blanks with suitable words to complete
the statement:
A few years later, the coin ________ as suddenly
as it had disappeared, and Lebeau ______________.
“But,” he concluded, “you knew that the gold piece
was not on your person ─ why did you not allow yourself
to be searched?”
Lebeau, Shabby (衣衫褴褛的), old before his time,
looked at Grandin blankly (无表情地). “Because I was
a thief,” he said brokenly. “For weeks my family
and I had not had enough to eat ─
and my pockets were full of food that I had taken
from the table to carry home to my wife and starving
children.”
7. Answer the question:
Why did Lebeau not allow himself to be searched?
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