Question

    On March 17 the color green will spread all around the world in celebration of St Patrick's Day. The Irish (爱尔兰人)traditionally wear something green on this day, as the color is associated with Ireland. 1.

Usually these jokes will be about Irish stupidity, their famous thirst for alcohol, or their fame for telling tall (untrue) tales. These characteristics are all based on the most common Irish stereotypes (成见):that the Irish are hot-tempered drinkers who love to fight and will do anything to avoid a day's work.

2. These stereotypes may have rung true back in the 19th century when they started, but they're far from true today, with the exception, perhaps, of the drinking.

Today, the Irish are admired for their storytelling ability, musical talent and strong education. 3. Or that many of the most famous music acts of all time, such as singer Enya and rock band U2, were Irish bom and bred. And in December, Ireland's education system was ranked 11th in the world in a new global top 50 ranking, website independent.ie reported.

4. They can date back to the 19th century, which was a very bad time to be Irish. At that time, Ireland was poverty-stricken and starving. Many Irish moved to the US to escape famine, but there they had to compete ——occasionally with their fists ——for jobs and housing with other immigrant groups. It was on the US，streets that the Irish earned their reputation for street fighting.

5.  Drinking in Ireland is a predilection (偏好)，but it's not necessarily something to criticize. It was the Irish after all who created one of the world's best-loved beers Guinness.

A. The real joke, however, is that these negative Irish stereotypes still exist.

B. Today, few Irish are interested in this tradition.

C. Ifs no accident that several of the greatest writers of the 20th century were Irish

D. Another St Patrick's  Day tradition is for the non-Irish to make jokes about the Irish.

E. Why do Irish people love to drink so much?

F. So where did the negative Irish stereotypes come from?.

G. However, one bit of the Irish stereotype is still true, their love of drink.

Answer

1.D

2.A

3.C

4.F

5.G

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。本文介绍了一些关于爱尔兰人的负面的刻板印象，并解释了这些刻板印象的来源。这些刻板印象在19世纪刚开始的时候可能听起来是正确的，但在今天却不是对的，也许除了喝酒这一点。

1.根据前文The Irish traditionally wear something green on this day, as the color is associated with Ireland.可知传统上，爱尔兰人在这一天穿着绿色的东西 ,因为这个颜色与爱尔兰相关联。根据后文Usually these jokes will be about Irish stupidity, their famous thirst for alcohol, or their fame for telling tall (untrue) tales.可知通常这些笑话都是关于爱尔兰人的愚蠢，他们出名的对酒精的渴望，或者他们以讲假话而出名。承上启下，D项（圣帕特里克节的另一个传统是让非爱尔兰人拿爱尔兰人开玩笑。）切题。D项中的make jokes about the Irish与后文的关于爱尔兰人的笑话相呼应。故选D项。

2.根据前文These characteristics are all based on the most common Irish stereotypes (成见):that the Irish are hot-tempered drinkers who love to fight and will do anything to avoid a day's work.可知这些玩笑都是基于最常见的对爱尔兰的成见爱尔兰是暴躁的饮酒者,他们喜欢战斗,将尽一切可能避免一天的工作。根据后文These stereotypes may have rung true back in the 19th century when they started, but they're far from true today, with the exception, perhaps, of the drinking.可知这些刻板印象在19世纪刚开始的时候可能听起来是正确的，但在今天却远非如此，也许除了喝酒。承上启下，A项（然而，真正的笑话是这些关于爱尔兰的负面的刻板印象仍然存在。）切题。故选A项。

3.根据前文Today, the Irish are admired for their storytelling ability, musical talent and strong education.可知今天，爱尔兰人因他们讲故事的能力、音乐天赋和良好的教育而受到赞赏。根据后文Or that many of the most famous music acts of all time, such as singer Enya and rock band U2, were Irish bom and bred.可知历史上许多最著名的音乐表演者，如歌手恩雅和摇滚乐队U2，都是由出生在爱尔兰并由爱尔兰人培养的。承上启下，C项（20世纪几位最伟大的作家都是爱尔兰人，这并非偶然）切题，C项与后文一样都是关于爱尔兰人的成就的。故选C项。

4.根据后文可知这一段讲述是19世纪对于爱尔兰人来说是一个糟糕的年代，那时，爱尔兰正处于贫困和饥饿之中。许多爱尔兰人搬到美国是为了躲避饥荒，但在那里，他们不得不与其他移民群体争夺工作和住房，有时还得用拳头。爱尔兰人正是在美国的街道上赢得了街斗打架的名声。也就是这一段介绍了关于爱尔兰人刻板印象的来源，F项（那么，消极的爱尔兰刻板印象从何而来?）放在这里能够总结全段，故选F项。

5.根据后文Drinking in Ireland is a predilection (偏好)，but it's not necessarily something to criticize. It was the Irish after all who created one of the world's best-loved beers Guinness.可知饮酒在爱尔兰是一个偏好,但这不是要批评的点。毕竟是爱尔兰人创造了世界上最受欢迎的啤酒吉尼斯。连接下文，G项（然而，有一点关于爱尔兰人的刻板印象是真的，那就是他们对酒的热爱。）切题。故选G项。