Question

    Two hundred years ago, American students went to American schools. Like you, they studied math, spelling and geography. Unlike you, they also studied Greek (希腊语) and Latin (拉丁语). In fact, students spent more than half their time studying Greek and Latin.

The same was true for most students in Europe. Until the seventh century, all educated Europeans knew Latin. It did not matter if they lived in England, Italy, France or Spain. If they were educated, they knew Latin.

During the seventh century, educated Europeans began to study Greek as well as Latin. Greek and Latin had been the leading languages of the ancient Greeks and Romans. All educated Europeans were expected to know these languages.

To educated Europeans, the languages of the Greeks and the Romans were important. The ideas of the Greeks and Romans were also important. People knew that many of their own ideas had come from the Greeks and the Romans. To understand their own culture, they must understand its origin (起源). They knew that those beginnings lay in the classical (古典文学的) world.

Today we have so many things to study that few people have time to learn Greek and Latin. Few of you will study either language in school. Yet the ideas of the Greeks and the Romans are still important to us. These ideas still help to shape western culture today. To understand our own culture, we must understand the culture of the classical world.

1.Two hundred years ago, in American schools _____.

A.there were many educated Greeks B.Greek and Latin were very popular

C.students paid little attention to math D.students knew little about geography

2.According to the text, Europeans thought _____.

A.the origin of their culture was unknown

B.the ideas of the Greeks were unacceptable

C.Greek was much more important than Latin

D.the Romans had a great influence on their culture

3.Where does the author of the text probably come from?

A.Japan. B.Greece. C.America. D.China.

4.In the last paragraph, the author suggests that _____.

A.it’s of great value to learn Greek and Latin

B.it’s quite difficult to learn Greek and Latin

C.the culture of the classical world is useless nowadays

D.Western culture is quite different from Greek and Roman cultures

Answer

1.B

2.D

3.C

4.A

【解析】

本文是议论文。在200年前美国和欧洲就学习希腊语和拉丁语，作者认为现在也应该学习这两种语言。作者认为希腊人和罗马人的思想影响了今天的西方文化。要了解西方文化，就必须了解古典世界的文化。

1.细节理解题。根据第1段“Unlike you, they also studied Greek and Latin ”可知，两百年前的美国学生还学习希腊语和拉丁语，说明当时希腊语和拉丁语很普及。故选B项。

2.推理判断题。根据第4段“many of their own ideas had come from the Greeks and the Romans. To understand their own culture, they must understand its origin”可知，当时欧洲人认为要了解自己的文化，他们必须了解文化的起源，而当时的思想、文化来源于希腊人和罗马人。因此欧洲人认为罗马人对他们的文化有着极大的影响。故选D项。

3.推理判断题。根据第五段“These ideas still help to shape western culture today”作者认为这些思想仍然影响着今天的西方文化。因此可以看出，作者是来自西方文化国家，可能是美国人。故选C项。

4.推理判断题。根据第五段“To understand our own culture, we must understand the culture of the classical world”可知，作者认为希腊人和罗马人的思想影响着今天的西方文化。要了解他们自己的文化，就必须了解古典世界的文化。因此学习希腊语和拉丁语的价值在于可以帮助了解自己的文化。故选A 项。