四、(2025·盐城)阅读理解。(每小题2.5分,共10分)
The sixth planet was ten times larger than the last one. There the little prince met an old gentleman who was writing a big book.
“What is that big book?” said the little prince. “What are you doing?”
“I am a geographer,” the old gentleman said to him. “And I am writing about all the seas, mountains and deserts.”
“That is interesting,” said the little prince. “So could you tell me something about your planet?”
“I couldn’t tell you,” said the geographer.
“But you are a geographer!”

“Exactly,” the geographer said. “But I am not an explorer. We don’t have any explorers here. I don't go out to count the seas, mountains and deserts. Instead, I receive explorers from other planets in my study. I ask them questions, and I write down their answers.”
The geographer's eyes suddenly shone with excitement.
“But you... you come from far away! You are an explorer! You shall describe your planet to me!”
“Oh, where I live,” said the little prince, “it is all so small. I have a flower on my planet.”
“We do not record flowers,” said the geographer.
“Why is that? The flower is the most beautiful thing on my planet!”
“We do not record them,” said the geographer, “because they are ephemeral.”
“What does that mean... ‘ephemeral’?”
“Geographies,” said the geographer, “are the books about eternal things. The thing that matters to us is the mountain. It doesn't change. But your flower is different. It will not last long. It is ephemeral.”
“My flower is ephemeral,” the little prince said to himself, “and I have left her on my planet, all alone!”
That was his first moment of regret. But he took courage and asked, “What place would you advise me to visit now?”
“The planet Earth,” replied the geographer. “I promise you will like it.”
And the little prince went away, thinking of his flower.
—Adapted from The Little Prince
()1. Where is this text most likely taken from?
A. A film poster.
B. A storybook.
C. A travel guide.
D. A news report.
()2. What can we learn about the geographer?
A. He knows his planet well.
B. He collects explorers' experiences.
C. He loves reading a large book.
D. He has been to many other planets.
()3. What does the underlined word “ephemeral” mean?
A. Staying the same.
B. Looking beautiful.
C. Lasting a short time.
D. Sounding interesting.
()4. What can we learn from the text?
A. One flower doesn't bring spring.
B. A good book is a light to the mind.
C. We should protect our home planet—Earth.
D. You can find beauty even if it doesn't last long.

1. B
2. B 【解析】根据“Instead, I receive explorers from other planets in my study. I ask them questions, and I write down their answers.”可知，地理学家接待其他星球的探险家，询问他们问题并记录答案，即他收集探险家的经历。
3. C 【解析】根据“But your flower is different. It will not last long. It is ephemeral.”可知，花不会长久，所以“ephemeral”意为“持续时间短的”，与C项意思相近。
4. D 【解析】根据“The flower is the most beautiful thing on my planet!”和“‘My flower is ephemeral,’ the little prince said to himself, ‘and I have left her on my planet, all alone!’”可知，小王子的花是短暂的，但在小王子的心目中，它是自己的星球上最美丽的东西，这传达了即使短暂的事物也有美感和价值的道理。

【分析】本题是改编自经典名著《小王子》的英语阅读理解题，共4道小题，分别考查文章出处判断、细节信息提取、词义猜测和主旨理解。解题时，第1题需结合文本体裁判断来源；第2题要定位地理学家的相关描述，匹配对应选项；第3题通过上下文语境推测生词含义；第4题梳理文本核心，提炼传达的道理。
【解析】
1. 第1题：文章改编自童话《小王子》，属于故事类文本。A选项电影海报、C选项旅游指南、D选项新闻报道均不符合文本体裁，B选项故事书符合，故选B。
2. 第2题：根据文中地理学家的话“Instead, I receive explorers from other planets in my study. I ask them questions, and I write down their answers.”可知，他收集其他星球探险家的经历，对应B选项。A选项文中提到他不外出，不了解自己的星球；C选项文中未提及他爱读大书；D选项他没有去过其他星球，故选B。
3. 第3题：根据上下文“your flower is different. It will not last long. It is ephemeral.”可知，花不会长久，故“ephemeral”意为“持续时间短的”，对应C选项。
4. 第4题：从文中小王子认为自己星球上的花是最美丽的，即使花是短暂的，也能体会到即使不长久的事物也有美感，对应D选项。A、B、C选项均与文本主旨不符，故选D。
【答案】1.B 2.B 3.C 4.D
【知识点】阅读理解、细节理解、词义猜测
【点评】本题改编自经典名著《小王子》，考查学生的英语阅读理解能力，涵盖多种题型，注重对文本细节和主旨的把握，适合初中学生巩固阅读技巧，难度适中。
【难度系数】0.7