五、传统文化阅读理解。
The brush pen, one of the "Four Treasures of the Study", was invented(发明) 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(将军) of the Kingdom of Qin, improved the pen. When Meng was leading an army to fight against the Kingdom of Chu, he had to write reports 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 back of his horse. Fat and heavy, one rabbit's tail left a long trail(痕迹) on the ground when it 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(失望的) 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 the stone hole. He picked it up with hope. The brush worked smoothly on silk. It turned out that the special water had cleaned the oil from the hair. Meng succeeded(成功) at last.
Thanks to Meng, the brush pen is playing a key role in Chinese culture. Today, students are taught to use brush pens in school. It 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 the pen brought him much trouble.
D. Because he didn't have silk to write on.
()2. 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.
e. Meng came up with a new idea on the way home after hunting.
A. e-b-d-c-a
B. d-b-a-c-e
C. e-b-d-a-c
D. d-b-c-a-e
()3. How can the students understand Chinese culture better according to the passage?
A. By learning to use brush pens.
B. By inventing new things.
C. By making pens with animal hair.
D. By planting more bamboo.
()4. What can we learn from the passage?
A. Learn from animals.
B. Value wonderful memories.
C. Think twice before taking action.
D. Keep trying and never give up.

1. C 【点拨】根据“But his pen was too hard and caused him much trouble, so he was thinking of ways to improve it.”可知,蒙恬改进笔的原因是原来的笔给他带来了很多麻烦。故选 C。
2. A 【点拨】根据文章内容可知,改进毛笔的正确顺序是:e-b-d-c-a。故选 A。
3. A 【点拨】根据“Today, students are taught to use brush pens in school. It helps them better understand Chinese culture.”可知,学生通过学会使用毛笔可以更好地理解中国文化。故选 A。
4. D 【点拨】根据“However, Meng never gave up and kept trying all the time.”以及整个故事的发展可知,我们可以从文章中学到的是:不断尝试,永不放弃。故选 D。

【分析】
这是一篇结合中国传统文化的英语阅读理解题，解题思路如下：1. 先快速通读全文梳理脉络，明确文章围绕秦朝大将蒙恬改良毛笔的完整故事展开，最后点明毛笔在中华文化中的作用。2. 不同题型对应针对性解法：细节题直接提取题干关键词回原文定位，匹配对应语句判断选项正误；排序题逐个标记每个事件在原文出现的先后位置，排除错序干扰项；主旨题结合全文故事走向提炼核心道理，即可快速选出正确答案。
【解析】
1. 第1题：定位原文第二段末尾句"But his pen was too hard and caused him much trouble, so he was thinking of ways to improve it."，可知蒙恬想要改良笔的原因是旧笔太硬，给他带来了很多麻烦。A选项“国王要求他改良笔”、B选项“他想成为发明家”原文均无提及，D选项“他没有写字用的丝绸”和原文内容矛盾，因此选C。
2. 第2题：梳理改良毛笔的事件先后顺序：①打猎回家路上蒙恬看到兔子尾巴的痕迹，萌生改良笔的新想法（对应e）→②回家后他把兔毛绑在棍子上尝试写字（对应b）→③初次尝试效果不好，他把半成品扔进院子的石洞里（对应d）→④几天后石洞中的特殊水去除了兔毛上的油脂（对应c）→⑤改良后的毛笔书写顺滑，可以正常使用（对应a），正确顺序为e-b-d-c-a，对应选项A。
3. 第3题：定位原文最后一段"Today, students are taught to use brush pens in school. It helps them better understand Chinese culture."，可知学生通过学习使用毛笔，就能更好地理解中国文化，其余选项均无原文依据，因此选A。
4. 第4题：全文讲述蒙恬改良毛笔时多次遭遇失败，但始终没有放弃、不断尝试最终成功的故事，核心传递的道理是要坚持尝试、永不放弃，D选项符合主旨，其余选项均和文章核心表达不符。
【答案】
1.C 2.A 3.A 4.D
【知识点】
细节信息定位，主旨大意归纳，传统文化常识
【点评】
本题结合文房四宝中毛笔的相关传统文化知识命题，既考察学生的英语阅读信息提取能力，也能引导学生了解传统工艺的发展历史，排序类题型需要学生耐心梳理事件先后，避免混淆顺序，整体导向正向，传递了坚持不放弃的优秀品质。
【难度系数】
0.8