2018年浙江卷

第二部分 阅读理解(共两节，满分35分)

第一节(共10小题;每小题2.5分，满分25分)

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题纸上将该项涂黑。

A

In 1812, the year Charles Dickens was born, there were66 novels published inBritain.People had been writing novels for a century—most experts date the first novel toRobinson Crusoe in 1719—but nobody wanted to do it professionally. The steam-powered printingpress was still in its early stages; the literacy(识字) rate in England was under 50%. Manyworks of fiction appeared without the names of the authors, often withsomething like “By a lady.”Novels, for the most part, were looked upon as silly, immoral, or justplain bad.

In 1870, when Dickens died, the worldmourned him as its first professional writer and publisher, famous and beloved,who had led an explosion in both the publication of novels and their readershipand whose characters — from Oliver Twist to Tiny Tim— were held up as moral touchstones.Today Dickens’ greatness is unchallenged. Removing him from the pantheon(名人堂) of English literaturewould make about as much sense as the Louvre selling off the Mona Lisa.

How did Dickens get to the top? For allthe feelings readers attach to stories, literature is a numbers game, and thetest of time is extremely difficult to pass. Some 60,000 novels were published duringthe Victorian age, from 1837 to1901; today a casual reader might be able toname a half-dozen of them. It’s partly true that Dickens’ style of writingattracted audiences

from all walksof life. It’s partly that his writings rode a wave of social, political andscientific progress. But it’s also that he rewrote the culture of literatureand put himself at the center. No one will ever know what mix of talent,ambition, energy and luck made Dickens such a singular writer. But as the 200thanniversary of his birth approaches, it is possible — and important for our ownculture—to understand how he madehimself a lasting one.

21. Which ofthe following best describes British novels in the 18th century?

A. They weredifficult to understand. B. They werepopular among the rich.

C. They wereseen as nearly worthless. D. They werewritten mostly by women.

22. Dickens iscompared with the Mona Lisa in the text to stress________.

A. hisreputation inFrance B.his interest in modern art

C. his successin publication D.his importance in literature

23. What isthe author’s purpose in writing the text?

A. To remembera great writer. B. Tointroduce an English novel.

C. Toencourage studies on culture.D. Topromote values of the Victorian age.

答案解析：

21. C。根据第一段第三句“Novels, for the most part, were looked upon as silly, immoral, or just plain bad.”可知，在18世纪，大多数小说被认为是愚蠢、不道德的，或者说是毫无价值的。因此，C选项“它们被视为几乎毫无价值”与原文描述相符。

22. D。根据第二段最后一句“Today Dickens’ greatness is unchallenged. Removing him from the pantheon of English literature would make about as much sense as the Louvre selling off the Mona Lisa.”可知，狄更斯的伟大是不可挑战的，将他移出英国文学的名人堂，就像卢浮宫卖掉《蒙娜丽莎》一样没有意义。这里将狄更斯与《蒙娜丽莎》进行比较，是为了强调他在文学中的重要性。因此，D选项“他在文学中的重要性”是正确的。

23. A。根据最后一段最后一句“But as the 200th anniversary of his birth approaches, it is possible — and important for our own culture — to understand how he made himself a lasting one.”可知，作者写这篇文章的目的是为了纪念这位伟大的作家，并探讨他是如何成为一个永恒的作家的。因此，A选项“纪念一位伟大的作家”是正确的。