Question

Walt Disney is credited for creating such wonderful things as Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse. However, he cannot take the credit for creating other well-loved characters, such as Cinderella and Snow White. They are almost automatically associated with Disney because Disney turned old fables (寓言) into cartoon movies.

The original Cinderella varies very much from the Disney version we know today. It started off with the girl mourning her mother’s death and going to her tomb three times a day. In addition, there were only birds that helped Cinderella; there was no such thing as a fairy godmother or helpful mice, nor was there mention of a horse and carriage.

The stepsisters were cruel: they always threw Cinderella’s food into the ashes of the fire and made her sleep on the ashes on the floor, hence (因此) her name.

In the original story, the king’s ball actually lasted for three days. With the help of the birds, the girl, beautifully dressed, danced with the prince on all three nights and the prince fell in love with her. However, she broke away from him to rush back home each night. On the last night, the prince placed something sticky on the stairs; as Cinderella made her escape, a shoe got stuck on it.

Here now is where the story becomes unpleasant: when the prince went to the house looking for the girl whose foot fit the shoe, the wicked (邪恶的) stepmother told one of her two daughters to cut off her big toe to fit into the shoe. The daughter did as told. So the prince took her away to be his bride. But when they passed the tomb of Cinderella’s mother, the birds called out to the prince,

“Turn and peep, there’s blood in the shoe;

The shoe is too small, the true bride waits for you.”

Realizing he had been tricked, the prince returned the daughter to her mother. The other then had to cut off part of her heel in order to fit into the shoe, with the same result. Only Cinderella’s foot fit perfectly and so the prince chose to marry her. The story ends with the wedding day: as Cinderella’s two stepsisters followed her, pretending to be devoted to her so that they could enjoy the king’s riches, two birds flew by and plucked (啄) out their eyes. Because of their wickedness and falsehood, they had to spend the rest of their days blind.

The original Cinderella is so different from the Disney version. Thank goodness Disney made such changes; it indeed was a wise move.

1.What does the underlined word “They” in the first paragraph refer to?

A. Such wonderful things.

B. Other well-loved characters.

C. Old fables.

D. Cartoon movies.

2.Which of the following is TRUE according to the original story?

A. Helpful mice got Cinderella a beautiful dress.

B. The ball was held to celebrate the prince’s wedding.

C. Cinderella left her shoe on the stairs on purpose.

D. The birds told the prince that he had been cheated.

3.The moral of the original story is that ____________.

A. a wicked person cannot escape punishment.

B. a devoted person certainly deserves respect.

C. a well-behaved child earns a great reward.

D. a dishonest child cannot get mother love.

4.What does the author think of the Disney version?

A. Excellent.   B. Ordinary       C. Dull.     D. Ridiculous.

Answer

1.B

2.D

3.A

4.A

【解析】

试题分析：这篇文章主要讲了迪斯尼创造了许多很有趣的角色，但是有一些深受喜爱的角色不能归功于迪斯尼，例如灰姑娘。灰姑娘的原始版本与迪斯尼中的灰姑娘很不同，作者认为迪斯尼版本的灰姑娘非常好。

1.B猜测词义题。前一句提到其他一些深受喜爱的角色不能归功于迪斯尼。所以“they”指的是其他一些深受喜爱的角色，故选B.

2.D细节推理题。根据第五段最后一句话But when they passed the tomb of Cinderella’s mother, the birds called out to the prince可知是小鸟们告诉王子，他被欺骗了，故选D。

3.A细节推理题。根据第六自然段最后一句话Because of their wickedness and falsehood, they had to spend the rest of their days blind. 可知最初这个故事的寓意是邪恶的人不能逃脱惩罚，故选A。

4.A推理判断题。根据全文最后一句The original Cinderella is so different from the Disney version. Thank goodness Disney made such changes; it indeed was a wise move.可知作者认为迪斯尼版本的灰姑娘非常好，故选A.

考点：考查文学作品类短文阅读。

【名师点睛】

文学作品类阅读素材解读

文学作品已经成为近几年的英语学科高考阅读测试材料中的热点，这些材料从内容上看，往往有个性鲜明的人物、生动形象的语言、跌荡起伏的情节。阅读题目的设置则明显是考查学生的词汇量基础以及在对词汇语言的深处理解。此类材料在选择时，往往考虑内容的可读性，具备明显的矛盾冲突；题目设置一般难度中等，以细节题和对材料中人物性格的考查为主，同时兼顾考查作品的文脉。

阅读英语文学作品时，要求学生提高常见的阅读技能：英语学习者学到的各种阅读技巧如略读(skimming)、扫读(scanning)、细读(normal reading)等均可在阅读文学作品中用到。英语学习者，在阅读生词量不大且又很想快些了解故事情节的地方，可以使用略读，既节省时间又了解了大意；在阅读次要或不感兴趣的情节的时候，可以扫读来搜寻衔接故事情节的段落和句子以继续了解故事情节的发展；在阅读小说精彩的情节时，可以反复细读来揣摩作者的意图和作品字里行间的含义。在阅读文学作品的时候，语言学习者是根据自身的需要主动使用各种阅读方法，这样比为了练习阅读技能而去读一些阅读段落更见成效。