1、Unit 16 单元主题语篇训练ALets begin with the story: King Hiero contracts the ancient Greek polymath Archimedes (阿基米德) to detect fraud in the manufacture of a golden crown.Archimedes accepts the challenge and, during a subsequent trip to the public baths, realizes that the more his body sinks into the water,
2、 the more water is displaced making the displaced water an exact measure of his volume.Realizing he has hit upon a method to determine whether the Kings crown was made of gold or silver, the young Greek leaps out of the bath and rushes home naked crying “Eureka! Eureka！” Or, translated：“Ive found it
3、! Ive found it！”Too bad, however, Archimedes probably never uttered the phrase in that way.First and foremost, Archimedes himself never wrote about this episode, although he spent plenty of time detailing the laws of buoyancy (浮力)The oldest authority for the nakedArchimedes eureka story is Vitruvius
4、, a Roman writer, who included the tale in his introduction to his ninth book of architecture.“Vitruvius may have gotten it wrong，” says Chris Schmitt, a mathematician at the University of Berlin and a selfdescribed Archimedes fan.“The method attributed to Archimedes in the story works in theory so
5、it sounds right, but when you actually try it, you find that the real world gets in the way.”In fact, Schmitt is one of a long line of scientists, including Galileo, who have read the account and thought, “That cant be right.” As Galileo wrote, Archimedes could have achieved a far more precise resul
6、t using his own law of buoyancy and an accurate scale.In fact, the surface tension of water can make the volume of a light object like a crown immeasurable.“There may be some truth to it，” Schmitt adds.“Archimedes did measure the volume of things but the eureka moment was maybe due to his original d
7、iscovery concerning buoyance, not to sitting in the bathtub and then running through the streets naked.”Much like Newtons apple, the exclamation persists because of the enduring power of the story: a golden crown, a life in the balance, a naked mathematician.The_suspect_foundations_of_the_eureka_mom
8、ent_take_nothing_away_from_the_words_ability_to_uniquely_and_concisely_convey_the_flash_of_inspiration.语篇解读：本文是一篇议论文。文章主要论证了阿基米德灵感迸发故事的可信度。1According to the first paragraph, how would Archimedes measure the volume of the crown?AHe would weigh himself with and without the crown.BHe would weigh the cr
9、own first and then put it into water.CHe would go to the public baths wearing the crown on his head.DHe would sink the crown into water and measure the water displaced.解析：选D细节理解题。根据第一段第二句可知，阿基米德会将王冠沉入水中，通过测排出的水的重量来测量皇冠的重量。故选D。2What did Galileo probably think of the nakedArchimedes eureka story?AHe b
10、elieved the word “eureka” was said in another situation.BHe suspected Archimedes didnt run through the street naked.CHe doubted Archimedes carried out the experiment independently.DHe thought Archimedes would not have used the method described.解析：选D细节理解题。根据倒数第二段第二句可知，阿基米德本可以利用他自己的浮力定律和精确的比例尺得到更精确的结果
11、。因此，伽利略认为阿基米德不会使用所描述的方法。故选D。3What can be inferred from the underlined sentence in the last paragraph?AThe word “eureka” is still widely used today.BThe word “eureka” is now a formal scientific term.CMost people accept the authenticity of the original story.DPeople are still inspired by the achieveme
12、nts of Archimedes.解析：选A句意理解题。根据最后一段第一句可知，这个感叹词之所以能持续存在，是因为这个故事有一种经久不衰的力量。由此可以推断出画线句子表示“eureka”这个词至今仍被广泛使用。故选A。4What is the purpose of this text?ATo introduce the famous scientist Archimedes.BTo examine the credibility of the eureka story.CTo explain how the word “eureka” was created.DTo urge people
13、not to use the word “eureka” anymore.解析：选B写作目的题。结合文章主要内容为论证历史上阿基米德灵感迸发故事的可信度可知，本文的目的是检验eureka故事的可信度。故选B。BAuthor Walter Dean Myers died at the age of 76 after a brief illness. Walter Dean Myers was the author of more than 100 books for children and young adults and received many top awards.The prolif
14、ic author was loved for his vivid description of the lives of African American children, and for writing books for young people that covered different subjects. “Myers has written about all those subjects with deep understanding and a hardwon, qualified sense of hope，” said Leonard S. Marcus.He was
15、born in 1937 and was adopted by Florence Dean and Herbert after his mother died while giving birth to his younger sister. They loved him very much and his mother read to him from a very young age. Reading pushed him to discover worlds beyond his landscape.He began writing at an early age. He wrote w
16、ell in high school and an English teacher recognized this and advised him to keep on writing no matter what happened to him. “Its what you do，” she said.He dropped out of high school at 17 and joined the army. After finishing his service, he entered a dark period in his life. Myers began writing at
17、night to pull himself through that miserable time.In an essay published in The New York Times earlier this year, Myers described how a short story by James Arthur Baldwin helped change the course of his life. “I didnt love the story, but I was lifted by it，” he wrote, “for it took place in Harlem, a
18、nd it was a story concerned with black people like those I knew. By humanizing the people who were like me, Baldwins story also humanized me. The story gave me a permission that I didnt know I needed, the permission to write about my own landscape, my own map.”“I write books or the troubled boy I on
19、ce was，” he wrote, “and for the boy who lives within me still.”语篇解读：本文是一篇记叙文，主要介绍了美国著名作家Walter Dean Myers的生平。5What does the second paragraph mainly talk about?AHow popular Myers was.BHow Myers became successful.CWhat makes Myers works popular.DWhat people think of Myers works.解析：选C段落大意题。通读该段可知，该段首句为
20、该段主题句，结合该段其他内容可知，该段主要介绍了他的作品受欢迎的原因，故C项正确。6Who discovered Myers writing talent?AJames Arthur Baldwin.BHis mother.CLeonard S. Marcus.DOne of his teachers.解析：选D细节理解题。根据第四段第二句可知，他的写作天赋是他的一位英语老师发现的，故D项正确。7What does the underlined word “prolific” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?AProductive.BUnfortunate.CCons
21、ervative. DHumorous.解析：选A词义猜测题。根据第一段第二句可知，Walter Dean Myers写了100多本儿童和年轻人读物，并获得了许多最高奖项。由此可推知，他是一位多产的作家。productive意为“多产的”，故A项正确。8Why was the short story by James Arthur Baldwin so important for Myers?AIt helped him survive the dark period.BIt inspired him to pursue his writing career.CHe learned many
22、writing techniques from it.DThe author of the story permitted him to write.解析：选B细节理解题。根据倒数第二段第一句中的“how a short story . changed the course of his life”以及最后一句可知，Baldwin写的故事鼓励了Myers追求他自己的写作事业，故B项正确。CThe ancient city of Chichn Itz in southern Mexico was one of the most powerful cities and one of the mos
23、t powerful ancient cultures the Maya.But today, no one lives there.It is only a group of old buildings.However, people from around the world still come to see it.People come to learn about its ancient culture, the cultural features of the Mayan people.The Mayan culture began almost 3,000 years ago a
24、nd grew in parts of Central America.But about 1,000 years ago a group called the Itz invaded the city and built new parts of the city based on natural wells.They named the city Chichn Itz， which means “mouth of the well of the Itz”The most interesting structure in Chichn Itz is the Pyramid of Kukulc
25、an (库库尔坎金字塔)，whose four sides all come together at one point at the top.Each side on the Pyramid of Kukulcan has 91 steps.And there is one more step at the top of the pyramid.The steps are as many as the days of a year.Some researchers believe the Maya could have used this building to help them know
26、 when to plant crops.Each day the sun falls on a different step of the pyramid, which could be a way to follow the year.The documents showed that the people of Chichn Itz especially designed one building to observe and study the movement of the stars and planets. Researchers say that the observatory
27、 (天文台) is one of the most complex structures the Maya built.A set of steps go up and around the observatory tower.And there are windows in the tower.Each window has a purpose. Researchers believe that a person looking through one of these windows can see particular stars on particular dates.The Maya
28、 might have believed that studying the stars could tell them the future.Chichn Itz is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and an important part of the worlds history.Get interested? Then pay a visit to it to find more remains!语篇解读：文章对世界文化遗产之一的玛雅文化遗址奇琴伊察进行了详细的介绍。9Visitors came to the city of Chichn Itz
29、to _.Aview its beautiful sceneryBexperience and explore the Mayan cultureCstudy and observe other stars on the observatoryDlearn something about when to plant crops解析：选B细节理解题。根据第一段最后一句可知，游客们来到奇琴伊察是为了体验和探索玛雅文化。10Why did the invaders name the city “mouth of the well of the Itz”？AWells can be seen in o
30、r around the city.BIt is large in size.CThe city is newly built.DIts location is vital.解析：选A细节理解题。根据第二段第二句可知，入侵者之所以给它起这个名字，是因为这座城市到处可以看到天然井。11Whats the authors purpose in writing this passage?ATo evaluate the Mayan culture.BTo persuade readers to pay a visit.CTo introduce the ancient city of Chichn
31、Itz.DTo present the development of the Mayan construction.解析：选B写作意图题。本文对玛雅文化遗址进行了详细的介绍，并且根据最后一段可知作者写这篇文章的目的是推荐读者去玛雅文化遗址参观。tips 分析文章结构，攻克写作意图题写作意图题要求考生在理解文章主旨的基础上揣测作者的写作意图及作者运用某种写作手法的目的。作者一般不直接表明自己的意图，而是通过文章所提供的事实，客观地使读者信服某种想法或观点。这种题型要求考生不但能理解文章的大意，同时还要具备对作者阐述问题的方法进行分析和归纳总结的能力。一般来说，我们可以通过分析文章的文体特点，理解文章中的文字表述、上下文的逻辑关系及事物的发展变化等已知的信息，推断出作者的写作意图。例如上文第11小题。本文先介绍世界各地的游客参观玛雅遗址，又介绍了它的古代文化和成就，最后一段推荐读者去玛雅文化遗址参观，此时文章的写作目的也就一目了然了，即推荐读者去玛雅文化遗址参观。
