Question

    Getting rid of dirt, in the opinion of most people, is a good thing. However, there is nothing fixed about attitudes to dirt.

In the early 16th century, people thought that dirt on the skin was a way to block out disease, as medical opinion had it that washing off dirt with hot water could open up the skin and let illnesses in. A particular danger was thought to lie in public baths. By 1538, the French king had closed the bath houses in his kingdom. So did the king of England in 1546. Thus it began a long time when the rich and the poor in Europe lived with dirt in a friendly way. Henry IV, King of France, was famously dirty. Upon learning that a nobleman had taken bath, the king ordered that, to avoid the attack of disease, the nobleman should not go out.

Though the belief in the merit of dirt was long-lived, dirt has no longer been regarded as a nice neighbor ever since the 18th century. Scientifically speaking, cleaning away dirt is good to h ealth. Clean water supply and hand washing are practical means of preventing disease. Yet, it seems that standards of cleanliness have moved beyond science since World War Ⅱ. Advertisements repeatedly sell the idea: clothes need to be whiter than white, cloths ever softer, surfaces to shine. Has the hate for dirt, however, gone too far?

Attitudes to dirt still differ hugely nowadays. Many first-time parents nervously try to warn their children of touching dirt, which might be responsible for the spread of disease. On the contrary, Mary Ruebush, an American immunologist(免疫学家), encourages children to play in the dirt to build up a strong immune system. And the latter position is gaining some ground.

1.The kings of France and England in the 16th century closed bath houses because ______ .

A.they believed disease could be spread in public baths

B.they thought bath houses were too dirty to stay in

C.they lived healthily in a dirty environment

D.they considered bathing as the cause of skin disease

2.The underlined word “merit” in paragraph 3 means ______ .

A.weakness B.influence

C.strength D.feature

3.How does the passage mainly develop?

A.By providing examples. B.By following the order of importance.

C.By following the order of time. D.By making comparisons.

4.What is the author’s purpose in writing the passage?

A.To call attention to the danger of dirt.

B.To stress the role of dirt.

C.To introduce the history of dirt.

D.To present the change of views on dirt.

Answer

1.A

2.C

3.C

4.D

【解析】

这是一篇议论文。文章主要讲述了人们对于污垢的态度并不是一成不变的，不同时期人们对于污垢的态度有所不同。

1.细节理解题。根据文章第二段内容“In the early 16th century, people thought that dirt on the skin was a way to block out disease, as medical opinion had it that washing off dirt with hot water could open up the skin and let illnesses in. A particular danger was thought to lie in public baths. By 1538, the French king had closed the bath houses in his kingdom. So did the king of England in 1546. (16世纪早期，人们认为皮肤上的污垢是一种阻挡疾病的方法，医学观点认为，用热水洗去污垢会打开皮肤，让疾病进入。公共澡堂被认为是一个特别危险的地方。到1538年，法国国王关闭了国内的澡堂。1546年英国国王也是如此。)”可知，这两位国王关闭公共澡堂是因为澡堂洗澡会导致疾病的传播。故选A项。

2.词义猜测题。根据划线单词句“Though the belief in the merit of dirt was long-lived, dirt has no longer been regarded as a nice neighbor ever since the 18th century.”可知，句中的though，引导让步状语从句，即前后为转折关系。分析后句内容为“但自18世纪以来，泥土就不再被视为友好的邻居”，因此可以推知，merit的含义与nice（好的）有关。选项C“strength”，意为“优势”，符合分析。故选C项。

3.推理判断题。文章结构为总分结构，第一段提出论点，之后的段落进行支持论证。第二段讲述了16世纪初人们对于污垢的态度；第三段讲述了18世纪人们对于泥垢的态度；第四段讲述了当今人们对于污垢的态度，因此可知，本文是按照时间顺序展开论证的。故选C项。

4.推理判断题。根据文章体裁为议论文，结构为总分结构可推知，文章第一段表明作者意图“Getting rid of dirt, in the opinion of most people, is a good thing. However, there is nothing fixed about attitudes to dirt. (在大多数人看来，清除污垢是一件好事。然而，对于污垢的态度并不是一成不变的。)”。作者的目的是将不同时期人们对于污垢的态度展现出来给读者。故选D项。