Question

    It's extremely rare to find characters that excited such enthusiasm in the British population as Margaret Thatcher once did. There was no middle ground, no sitting on the fence and that was just the way she like it.

Back in the 70s—thanks to a combination of incapable Conservative and Labour prime ministers (all male) and the unelected and militant union leaders who didn't always have their members' best interests at heart—the country was on its knees, virtually bankrupt and covered in uncollected rubbish due to a massive public sector strike.

It was no wonder the people saw hope in Margaret Thatcher and accordingly voted her into power when, depending on where you were standing at the time, she either saved Great Britain or ruined people's lives.

Personally, for me it was the former and I could see how she improved the prospects and desires of the working classes to better themselves. I was one of them. At the same time I can also understand why people in the North of England who suffered after the close of the last remaining pits, factories and manufacturing industries didn’t see it that way.

But what I don't understand is how some folk think it’s OK to be so openly disrespectful in her death just because it's her.

The so-called ''death parties'' are sickening, attended as they mostly are by people who probably don't quite know who she is let alone who lived under her rule.

The Brighton teacher Romany Blythe, who organized one of the parties, actually compared her to Hitler. But Margaret didn't devote herself to genocide—murder of a whole race, neither did she attempt to take over Europe and control its people. She only went to war once in order to protect a British outpost in the South Atlantic after it was threatened and invaded by the Argentineans. And there lies the real reason I think she inspires such unreasonable hatred—because she was a woman. She clearly had no choice but to get the country back on its feet. Not one of them has half the courage to get us out of the current mess we’re in. They're all too bothered about being popular, so they spend all their time trying to please all of the people all of the time. It's just not possible—as the lady herself proved.

1.What kind of person can we see Margaret Thatcher as in the passage?

A.Consistent(一致的) B.Conservative(保守的)

C.Controversial(有争议的) D.Considerate(体贴周到的)

2.Which group of people listed below is most likely to speak highly of Thatcher?

A.Most Argentineans B.Some of working classes

C.Former prime ministers D.Death party members

3.Some people hate Margaret Thatcher because ________.

A.she launched the war against Argentina

B.she started a massive public sector strike

C.they believe she devoted herself to genocide

D.they think she brought them a miserable life

4.In the eyes of the author, ________.

A.Margaret Thatcher was popular among workers throughout the country.

B.Margaret Thatcher did not succeed in getting the country back on its feet

C.none of those who hate Margaret Thatcher can rule Britain as well as she did

D.it is understandable why disrespect is shown to Margaret Thatcher on her death

5.What does the underlined word ''they'' in the last paragraph actually refer to?

A.Incapable politicians. B.Death party organizers.

C.Women of courage. D.Followers of Hitler.

6.The author wrote the passage mainly to ___________.

A.defend Margaret Thatcher against blames on her

B.honour Margaret Thatcher and her achievements

C.call on people to mourn for Margaret Thatcher

D.show different opinions about Margaret Thatcher

Answer

1.C

2.B

3.D

4.C

5.A

6.A

【解析】

这是一篇议论文。文章主要讲述了英国前首相撒切尔夫人，在去世后受到部分人公开的不尊重。通过这篇文章，作者对那些人进行反驳，在作者看来撒切尔是一个正直、充满热情的人，她用自己的努力将当时的英国从困境中解救出来、带回正轨。

1.推理判断题。根据第三段的depending on where you were standing at the time, she either saved Great Britain or ruined people's lives.(她要么拯救了英国，要么毁了人们的生活，这取决于你的立场)可推测，作为英国首相撒切尔是有争议的。故选C项。

2.推理判断题。根据第四段的Personally, for me it was the former and I could see how she improved the prospects and desires of the working classes to better themselves.(就我个人而言，我认为是前者，我可以看到她如何改善工人阶级的前景和愿望)由此可推测，工人阶级对撒切尔的评价很高，因为她改善他们的前景和愿望。B. Some of working classes (工人阶级中的一些人)符合以上推测，故选B项。

3.推理判断题。根据最后一段的The Brighton teacher Romany Blythe, who organized one of the parties, actually compared her to Hitler.(布莱顿的老师Romany Blythe组织了这样的一个派对，他把撒切尔比作希特勒)由此可推测，一些人憎恨撒切尔是因为他们认为她就像希特勒那样给他们的生活带来了痛苦。D. they think she brought them a miserable life(他们认为她给他们带来了痛苦的生活)符合以上推测，故选D项。

4.细节理解题。根据最后一段的And there lies the real reason I think she inspires such unreasonable hatred—because she was a woman. She clearly had no choice but to get the country back on its feet. Not one of them has half the courage to get us out of the current mess we're in.(这就是我认为她激起这种不合理仇恨的真正原因，因为她是一个女人。显然，她别无选择，只能让这个国家站起来。他们中没有一个人，有一半的勇气把我们从目前的困境中解救出来)可知，作者认为那些憎恨撒切尔的人，没有一人可以像她一样把英国统治好。C. none of those who hate Margaret Thatcher can rule Britain as well as she did(那些憎恨撒切尔的人，没有一个能像她那样统治好英国)符合以上说法，故选C项。

5.词义猜测题。根据最后一段的Not one of them has half the courage to get us out of the current mess we're in. They're all too bothered about being popular, so they spend all their time trying to please all of the people all of the time.可知，他们中没有一个有一半的勇气把我们从目前的困境中解救出来，他们太在意自己是否受欢迎，所以他们把所有时间都花在了取悦所有人身上。结合句意，可推测划线部分的指的是“没有能力的男性政治人物”。A. Incapable politicians.(没有能力的政客)符合以上说法，故选A项。

6.推理判断题。根据文章的主要内容，尤其是第一段It's extremely rare to find characters that excited such enthusiasm in the British population as Margaret Thatcher once did. There was no middle ground, no sitting on the fence and that was just the way she like it.(在英国民众中，像撒切尔这样激发出如此热情的人物极为罕见。没有中间地带，没有骑墙观望，这就是她喜欢的方式)和第五段的But what I don't understand is how some folk think it's OK to be so openly disrespectful in her death just because it's her.(但我不明白的是，为什么有些人认为在她死后如此公开地不尊重她是对的，只因为是她)可推测，作者写这篇文章的目的是为了为撒切尔辩护，让她不受到指责。A. defend Margaret Thatcher against blames on her(保护她不受指责)符合以上说法，故选A项。