五、阅读理解
The brush pen, one of the “Four Treasures of the Study”, was invented thousands of years ago. However, the oldest pen was just a stick or a piece of bamboo. It was difficult for people to write well on thin silk.
It is said that Meng Tian, a general of the Kingdom Qin, improved the pen. When Meng was leading an army to fight against the Kingdom of Chu, he had to report the situation to his king in time. But his pen was too hard and caused him much trouble, so he was thinking of ways to improve it.
One day after hunting, Meng made his way home with some wild rabbits on the horse back. Fat and heavy, one rabbit’s tail left a long trail(痕迹) on the ground when they moved on. Suddenly a good idea came to his mind when he saw it, “If I tie the rabbit’s hair to a stick, would it be easy to write with?”
On arriving home, he tied the rabbit’s hair to a stick and tried writing with it. But the rabbit’s hair was too smooth to write well and wasted a lot of silk. Meng was so disappointed that he threw away his “invention” into a stone hole in the yard.
However, Meng never gave up and kept trying all the time. A few rainy days later, he happened to find his “invention” fatter in a stone hole. He picked it up with hope. The brush pen worked beautifully on silk. It turned out that the special water had cleaned the oil from the hair. Meng succeeded at last.
Thanks to Meng, the brush pen is playing a key role in Chinese culture. Today, students are taught to use the brush pens in school. It makes their life more colourful and helps them better understand Chinese culture.
()1. Why did Meng Tian want to improve the pen?
A. Because the king asked him to do so.
B. Because he wanted to be an inventor.
C. Because he didn’t have silk to write on.
D. Because the pen brought him much trouble.
()2. When did Meng think of the good idea?
A. Before hunting animals.
B. When he saw the trail.
C. During cleaning the hair.
D. After he wrote a report.
()3. Which is the right order of improving the brush pen?
a. The brush pen could write well.
b. Meng tied the rabbit’s hair to a stick.
c. The special water washed the oil away.
d. Meng dropped the stick into a stone hole.
A. b—d—a—c B. d—b—a—c C. b—d—c—a D. c—d—b—a
()4. What can we learn from the passage?
A. Make friends with animals.
B. Value fantastic memories.
C. Keep trying and never give up.
D. Build a peaceful world.

1.D 2.B 3.C 4.C

【分析】
做这篇阅读理解时，需先通读原文，再针对每个题目定位原文对应内容：
1. 第1题问孟恬改进笔的原因，需定位原文中关于他遇到笔的问题的描述，匹配对应选项；
2. 第2题问他想到改进毛笔的好主意的时机，定位原文中看到兔子尾巴痕迹的相关情节；
3. 第3题是排序题，需梳理原文中孟恬改进毛笔的先后步骤，逐一对应选项内容；
4. 第4题问从文章中可学到的道理，需归纳原文主旨，重点关注孟恬的行为态度。
【解析】
1. 定位原文第二段：“But his pen was too hard and caused him much trouble”，明确他因笔带来诸多麻烦想改进，对应选项D；
2. 定位原文第三段：“one rabbit’s tail left a long trail(痕迹) on the ground when they moved on. Suddenly a good idea came to his mind when he saw it”，可知他看到兔子尾巴的痕迹时想到好主意，对应选项B；
3. 梳理原文改进步骤：先将兔毛绑在棍子上（b）→ 把绑好的兔毛棍扔进石洞里（d）→ 特殊水洗净兔毛上的油脂（c）→ 毛笔能流畅书写（a），顺序为b—d—c—a，对应选项C；
4. 原文多次提到孟恬“never gave up”“kept trying all the time”，主旨是坚持不放弃，对应选项C。
【答案】
1.D 2.B 3.C 4.C
【知识点】
英语阅读理解、细节理解、主旨大意
【点评】
本文通过讲述孟恬改进毛笔的故事，考查学生的信息定位与主旨归纳能力，题目以细节题为主，难度适中，学生只要仔细阅读原文即可正确作答。
【难度系数】
0.6

读后词汇拓展 猜出画波浪线短语的中文意思，并收入自己的小词典。
Four Treasures of the Study

文房四宝

【分析】首先拆分英文短语的单词含义：Four意为“四”，Treasures意为“宝物”，Study在此处特指“书房”；结合中国传统文化常识，“书房中的四样宝物”对应的中文固定表达是“文房四宝”，由此可猜出短语意思。
【解析】将英文短语逐词分析：Four（四）+ Treasures（宝物）+ Study（书房），结合中国传统文化中“文房四宝”是书房必备的四种文具（笔、墨、纸、砚），是该短语的标准中文释义。
【答案】文房四宝
【知识点】短语翻译、文化常识
【点评】本题属于读后词汇拓展题，考查英文短语的中文释义，需结合词汇拆分和中国传统文化常识解答，是基础的文化类词汇拓展内容。
【难度系数】0.4