英美文化阅读理解专项：素材积累

24.FridayandtheThirteenth星期五和13

Friday-theThirteenthhaslongbeenconsideredextremelyunluckybecauseithassomebadassociationswhichcamefrommythologytaleoftheBible,andthecustomsandhabits.AccordingtotheBible,theLordGodcreatedthefirstman,Adam.ThenhetookaribfromAdam'sbodyandoutofitcreatedthefirstwoman,Eve.ItwassaidthatAdamwascreatedonaFridayanditwasonFridaythatAdamandEveatetheforbiddenfruit,andonaFridaytheydied.FridaywasalsothecommondayinEnglandforexecutingcriminals,forwhichitwassometimesknownasHangingDay.

FromtheoldNorsemythpeoplegottheideathat13peoplesittingatatabletohaveadinnerwasunlucky.AndthissuperstitionwasconfirmedbythelastsupperofChristandhisdisciples.BibletellsusthatChristsatdownwithhis12disciples,whichmadeupthenumber13,atthelastsupperwhenJudas,oneofthe12disciples,soldhismasterforthirtypiecesofsilver.ChristwaskilledbynailingonthecrossthefollowingdayonaFriday.(193words)

◆Helper:association联系mythology[mi'θɔlədʒi]神话Bible['baibl]圣经Adam['ædəm]亚当rib肋骨Eve[i:v]夏娃forbiddenfruit禁果execute['eksikju:t]处死HangingDay绞刑日Norsemyth[miθ]挪威神话superstition[sju:pə'stiʃən]迷信disciple[di'saipl]门徒◆Exercises:从所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中选出最佳答案。1.PeoplethinkFridayandtheThirteenthareunluckydaysbecause______.A.theBiblepersuadesthemtothinksoB.theydrawtheconclusionfromcountlessfactsC.theybelieveintheBibleandhavesomebadassociationsD.Christwarnedpeopleofthedaysbeforehedied2.Thefigure13wasfirstconsideredunlucky______.A.beforethelastsupperhappenedB.afterthelastsupperhappenedC.fromthe16thcenturyD.afterChristwaskilled3.Fromthepassageweknowpeoplethinkit______thatAdamandEveatetheforbiddenfruit.A.reasonableB.goodC.badD.natural◆BriefIntroduction:

星期五和13历来被认为是非常不吉利的日子，这是从神话、圣经故事、风俗习惯产生的一些不好的联想而来的。据圣经上讲，上帝创造了第一个男人--亚当。然后，上帝从亚当身上取下一根肋骨又造了一个女人-夏娃。据说，亚当是在星期五被造出来的，他和夏娃吃禁果也在星期五，他俩死的日子也是星期五。

英国从前常常在星期五处死罪犯、因此星期五有时也叫"绞刑日"。

从挪威神话中，人们产生一种想法：13个人坐在一起聚餐是不吉利的。这种迷信被耶稣和其12个门徒的最后的晚餐加以证实。圣经上说，在最后的晚餐上，耶稣和他的12个门徒坐在一起，正好是13人。他的门徒之一-----犹大，为了三十个银币而出卖了自己的老师。第二天，耶稣便被钉死在十字架上，这天碰巧是星期五。◆KeysandExplanations:1-3CAC1.选C。从第一段ithassomebadassociationswhichcamefrommythologytaleoftheBible,andthecustomsandhabits.可知，这是人们从神话、圣经故事、风俗习惯产生的一些不好的联想而来的。2.选A。从最后一段AndthissuperstitionwasconfirmedbythelastsupperofChristandhisdisciples.可知，最后的晚餐只是使人们更加相信原来认为13不吉利这种观念。在这之前这种观念就已存在了。3.选C。从文章所描述的来看，星期五之所以被认为不吉利是因为在这一天发生了一些不吉利的事，因此偷食禁果应该是不好的事情，他们也因此失去了乐园。25.Beefeaters卫兵(伦敦塔的守卫人)TheYeomanWardersareaveryselectgroupofmilitaryguards,whoaretheceremonialguardiansoftheTowerofLondon.Theyarenicknamed‘TheBeefeaters’,whichprobablyoriginatesfromtheirfoodrationofmeat,backinthe15thcentury.TheYeomanWardershaveexistedsince1485.Originally,theBeefeatersjobwastoguardtheprisonerskeptintheTowerandtheCrownJewels–thevaluablecollectionofroyaljewelleryandregaliawhichincludesthecrownswornbythemonarchattheircoronation.However,thesedaystheTowerofLondonisatouristattraction,notaworkingprison,andtheBeefeatersaretourguidesandatouristattractionthemselves.InordertobecomeaYeomanWarder,apersonmusthaveretiredafterservingatleast22yearsinthearmedforces.Theymustalsohaveachievedvariousmilitarymedals.TheBeefeatersliveinaccommodationinsidetheTower.Theywearaspecialnavyandreduniformwhichisvaluedatover£1000(15,000RMB),andhaveanotherdressuniformvaluedatover£3000(45,000RMB)forspecialeventsinvolvingtheKingorQueen.On3rdSeptember,thefirstfemaleBeefeatertookupherduties.MoiraCameronbeatfivemalecandidatesforthejob,whichwasawardedonmerit.TheChiefYeomanWarderJohnKeohanesaidthatthisappointmentreflectedtheimportantroleofwomeninthearmedforcesthesedays.Moirasaidthatshewasusedtoworkinginamale-orientatedenvironmentafterher22yearsintheforces.However,sheadmittedthattheuniformlargepocketsareperfectforcarryingalipstickandmirror!Aspartofhertrainingforthejob,shewilllearnallabouttheTowerofLondon’s900-yearhistory.ShedescribedbecomingaBeefeateras“agreatprivilege”and“awonderfuljob”.(294words)◆Helper:select精选的ceremonial[seri'məunjəl]庆典的 guardians监护,守卫originates起源于 ration配给 regalia[ri'geiljə(如王冠等)王位的标志monarch['mɔnək]帝王,君主coronation[kɔrə'neiʃ(ə)]n加冕(仪式) warder监狱看守accommodation住宿，住处candidates候选人,报考者awardedonmerit择优录取male-orientated以男性为主的privilege['privilidʒ]特权◆BriefIntroduction:伦敦塔的守卫人都是从部队护卫队精挑出来的，是伦敦塔的礼兵。他们有着“吃牛肉者”的绰号，很可能来源于15世纪时的肉类定量配给。最初，伦敦塔卫兵的工作是看守犯人和王冠上的宝石---包括君主在加冕礼上戴的王冠等非常值钱的镶嵌有宝石和象征王位的东西。现在的伦敦塔的卫兵是作为导游或者本身就作为吸引游客的人。要成为伦敦塔卫兵，必须在军队服役至少22年后退役，而且要获得各种各样的军章。伦敦塔的卫兵住宿在伦敦塔，他们穿着昂贵的特制海军蓝和红色的制服。9月3日，历史上第一位女性伦敦塔卫兵上岗了，莫伊拉在择优录取的过程中击败五位男性选手得到这份工作。卫队长说这次对莫伊拉的任用体现了当今女性在军队中的重要地位。莫伊拉说她在军队22年后，习惯于在以男性为主的环境下工作，她承认制服的大口袋装口红和镜子很合适。她认为成为伦敦塔卫兵是特别待遇，是一种特权，是一份极好的的工作。◆Exercises:1.FromthetextweknowtheBeefeatersusedto__________.A.eatonlybeefinsteadofotherfoodB.showtouristsaroundtheLondonTowerC.watchoverprisonerssoastopreventescapeorviolenceD.wearcrownsintheTower2.TheTowerofLondonisnowusedas_________.A.aprisonB.apalaceC.atouristattractionD.afoodstore3.ThefactthatMoiraCameronworksasaBeefeatershowsthat________.A.womenarecleverthanmenB.FewerandfewermenwanttobeguardsC.womenguardsareneededinLondonTowerD.womenplayamoreandmoreroleinthearmy4.Theunderlinedsentence“However,sheadmittedthattheuniformlargepocketsareperfectforcarryingalipstickandmirror!”indicatesthat__________.A.theuniformhaslargepocketsB.sheisafemaleafterallsoshealsolovesbeautyC.shedoesn’tliketheuniformatallexceptitslargepocketsD.asaguardianoftheTowerofLondonshehastocarryalipstickandmirror5.WhoismorelikelytoworkasaguardianoftheTowerofLondonthisyear?A.Peter:Hehasachievedmanymilitarymedalsandretiredafterservingthearmyfor24years.B.Mary:Sheisservinginthearmy.Shejoinedthearmy22yearsagoandtwoyearslatershewillleavethearmy.C.Smith:Hegetsvariousmedalsandhewillretirefromthearmy.D.Rose:Sheis22yearsoldandisservingthearmy.Shealsogetsvariousmedals◆KeysandExplanations:1.选C。细节理解题。根据第二段的第一句Originally,theBeefeatersjobwastoguardtheprisonerskeptintheTower…可以看出C正确。D项本身错误，国王才能戴王冠；A说法太绝对，B是现在做的事情。2.选C。细节理解题。根据第三段的首句thesedaystheTowerofLondonisatouristattraction,notaworkingprison知道伦敦塔现在已经成为游览胜地。3.选D。根据第六段最后一句TheChiefYeomanWarderJohnKeohane所说的话知道妇女在武装力量中所起的作用越来越大。通过文章中所说的择优录用和她击败男对手得出B错误，但是不能就此推出女子比男子聪明，排除A。并没有证据表明伦敦塔需要一位女性做卫兵，排除C。4.选B。推理判断题。该段前面说明她已经习惯于在以男性为主的地方工作，但是对于服装的大口袋她首先想到的是装口红和镜子很合适，这说明她和所有的女性一样爱美，这也是女人的天性，故选B。C、D本身不符合文章的意思，错误；D符合文章是意思，是事实情况，但是并不是她所说话的真实意义，是表面意思，注意indicate的意思是“暗示”。5.选A。细节理解题。实际本题也属于理解应用题，根据第四段可以看出要作为伦敦塔的典狱官需要符合下列条件：1）在军队服役至少22年后退役2）要获得各样的勋章。Mary还在服役，Smith没有提供参军的时间，Rose的年龄才22，显然服役时间不够，因此只有A符合题意。26.Taxes,TaxesandMoreTaxes美国的税收Americansoftensaythatthereareonlytwothingsapersoncanbesureofinlife;deathandtaxes.Americansdonothaveacorneronthe"death"market,butmanypeoplefeelthattheUnitedStatesleadstheworldwiththeworsttaxes.Taxesconsistofthemoneywhichpeoplepaytosupporttheirgovernment.TherearegenerallythreelevelsofgovernmentintheUnitedStates:federal,state,andcity;therefore,therearethreetypesoftaxes.Salariedpeoplewhoearnmorethanafewthousanddollarsmustpayacertainpercentageoftheirsalariestothefederalgovernment.Thepercentagevariesfrompersontoperson.Itdependsontheirsalaries.Thefederalgovernmenthasagraduatedincometax,thatis,thepercentageofthetax(14to70percent)increasesasaperson'sincomeincreases.WiththehighcostoftaxespeoplearenotveryhappyonApril15,whenthefederaltaxesaredue.Thesecondtaxisforthestategovernment:NewYork,California,NorthDakota,oranyoftheotherforty-sevenstates.Somestateshaveanincometaxsimilartothatofthefederalgovernment.Ofcourse,thepercentageforthestatetaxislower.Otherstateshaveasalestax,whichisapercentagechargedtoanyitemwhichyoubuyinthatstate.Forexample,apersonmightwanttobuyapacketofcigarettesfortwenty-fivecents.Ifthereisasalestaxofeightpercentinthatstate,thenthecostofthecigarettesistwenty-sevencents.Thisfigureincludesthesalestax.Somestatesuseincometaxinadditiontosalestaxtoraisetheirrevenues.Thestatetaxlawsarediverseandconfusing.Thethirdtaxisforthecity.Thistaxcomesintwoforms:propertytax(peoplewhoownahomehavetopaytaxesonit)andexcisetax,whichischargedoncarsinacity.Thecitiesusethesefundsforeducation,policeandfiredepartments,publicworksandmunicipalbuildings.SinceAmericanspaysuchhightaxes,theyoftenfeelthattheyareworkingonedayeachweekjusttopaytheirtaxes.Peoplealwayscomplainabouttaxes.Theyoftenprotestthatthegovernmentusestheirtaxdollarsinthewrongway.Theysaythatitspendstoomuchonuselessandimpracticalprograms.AlthoughAmericanshavedifferentviewsonmanyissues,theytendtoagreeononesubject:taxesaretoohigh.（426words）◆Helper:federal联邦percentage百分数graduatetax累进税due应付的；到期的charge收费item产品revenue['revinju:]收入diverse多样的confusing使人糊涂的propertytax财产税excise[ek'saiz]tax国内货物税fund[fʌnd]资金municipal[mju(:)'nisipəl]市政的haveacorneronthemarket垄断（某种商品的市场）◆BriefIntroduction:美国人常说有两件事情是确定的，一个是死亡，另一个是税收。在“死亡”上美国没有垄断，但是许多人认为美国用它最糟糕的税收领跑着世界。税收就是人们上缴给政府的那部分钱。美国通常分成联邦、州和城市三级，那么税收也就有三种。支领薪水人的收入达到几千就要向联邦交一定比例的税收，联邦税是累进税，就是薪水越高交的比例也就越高。4月15日是交联邦税的期限。州税收与联邦税比起来要少，有的州有销售税，有的有收入所得税。州税是多样的。城市税有两种形式，财产税和国内货物税。由于要交这么高的税收，美国人常常感到他们每星期有一天是为交税而工作的，人们也总是抱怨税收。常会抗议政府乱用纳税人的钱。尽管他们在许多问题上意见不一致，但是对于税收太高这一点上倾向是一致的。◆Exercises:从所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中选出最佳答案。1.Howdoyouunderstandthesentence"Americansdonothaveacorneronthe'death'market"? A.ItmeansthatAmericans,justlikeallotherpeople,mustdie. B.ItmeansthatAmericansdonothaveasecretplacetokeepfromdeathintheirlife. C.ItmeansthatAmericansarenotgoodatdoingbu