Question

    You get an e-mail from your friend. It says Bill Gates will send you cash if you just click on a certain Web page. Your friend swears this is official, and that his friend says it _______. Will you believe it?

Stories like that are known as urban legends (传说). They are called this _______ they are like old country folk tales, but told in a modern city context.

Why do people tell urban legends? Why do listeners believe them? _______ is true of many legends, there is usually a grain of truth in an urban legend that seems to confirm it. That small seed of truth helps keep the story alive. _______, many urban legends are meant to serve as warnings to children and teens. This fact could explain why a lot of urban legends are _______: Do not take candy from strangers, because it might have poison in it.

Some urban legends, however, reflect what people want to believe. After the disastrous Asian tsunami (海啸) of 2004, for example, one heart-warming tale spread around the world.

_______ the story, elephants near a Thai resort sensed that the huge waves were coming. They led people to high ground and went back into the floodwaters _______ other people. The Denver Post was one of many newspapers to _______ this story: “Elephants became superheroes, raising people with their trunks and pulling them from harm’s way.” There were elephants near the resort, and they did move to higher ground as the waves came ashore — but that is all that _______ be confirmed. The rest is wishful thinking.

With quick access to the Internet today, it is easy to spread urban legends, but it is also easy to fight them. Remember your friend’s e-mail mentioned earlier? __________ to Snopes.com, the Internet headquarters for sorting out truth from fiction, and you will find it is false. Next time you hear what sounds like an urban legend, take some time to stop and think and maybe even do some research. The story may be true, but it might just be an urban legend.

1.A.rises B.works C.survives D.improves

2.A.because B.once C.until D.unless

3.A.What B.That C.It D.As

4.A.Personally B.Suddenly C.Previously D.Actually

5.A.interesting B.boring C.frightening D.confusing

6.A.According to B.In spite of C.Due to D.In case of

7.A.rescued B.to rescue C.having rescued D.to be rescuing

8.A.hold up B.pick up C.give up D.look up

9.A.can B.must C.shall D.need

10.A.Heading B.To head C.Head D.Headed

Answer

1.B

2.A

3.D

4.D

5.C

6.A

7.B

8.B

9.A

10.C

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。文章围绕“都市传奇”进行叙述，都市传奇是在城市中被讲述的古老民间故事。都市传奇在城市中流传，并有许多人相信它们的原因是其中有真实的部分。但是事实上，它们也是对儿童和青少年的警告。然而其中还是有一部分反映出人们想要去相信的事情。最后作者提出建议，不确定是否是都市传奇时候，花点时间停下来思考，以及做些调查。

1.考查动词词义辨析。句意：你的朋友发誓说这是官方的，并且他的朋友也说这是有效的。A. rises上升；B. works工作，起效；C. survives生存；D. improves提高。分析句子可知，句中的that引导宾语从句，从句中的“it ___1___”作says的宾语，and在此表示递进，结合上文“Your friend swears this is official(你的朋友发誓说这是官方的)”，可按逻辑推理出此处应是他的朋友也说是有效的，故选B项。

2.考查连接词辨析。句意：被称为“都市传奇”的原因是它们像是古老的乡村民间故事，但是在现代城市中被讲述。A. because因为；B. once一旦；C. until直到；D. unless除非。分析句子可知，此处应选择合适的连词，空前：被称为“都市传奇”。空后：它们像是古老的乡村民间故事，但是在现代城市中被讲述。空后是用于解释空前的原因，因此要用because，故选A项。

3.考查连接词辨析。句意：正如许多传说是真实的一样，都市传说中通常也有一些事实似乎证实了这一点。A. What什么；B. That那；C. It它；D. As正如。此处是非限定性定语从句，关系词在从句中作主语，指代后面整句话的内容，应使用as引导，意为“如……一样”，符合上下文语境，故选D项。

4.考查副词词义辨析。句意：事实上，许多都市传奇都是用来警告儿童和青少年的。A. Personally亲自地；B. Suddenly突然；C. Previously从前；D. Actually实际上。句子结构完整，用副词修饰句子。这里作者告诉我们这样一个事实，actually意为“事实上，实际上”。故选D项。

5.考查形容词词义辨析。句意：这一事实可以解释为什么许多都市传奇是可怕的：不要拿陌生人的糖果，因为里面可能有毒药。A. interesting有趣的；B. boring无聊的；C. frightening吓人的；D. confusing令人困惑的。frightening意为“令人惊恐的，恐怖的”，常用来说明事物的特征。由下文中“不要拿陌生人的糖果，因为里面可能有毒药”可判断出，这是吓人的。故选C项。

6.考查介词短语辨析。句意：依据这个故事，泰国一个旅游胜地附近的大象感觉到巨浪即将来临。A. According to依据；B. In spite of尽管；C. Due to由于；D. In case of万一。由下文“elephants near a Thai resort sensed that the huge waves were coming(泰国一个旅游胜地附近的大象感觉到巨浪即将来临)”是这个故事的内容，因此用According to(依据)最为恰当，故选A项。

7.考查非谓语动词。句意：大象把人们带到高地上，又回到洪水中去救人。“went back into the floodwaters(回到洪水中)”是为了救人，此处用动词不定式表示目的，因此用to rescue，是故选B项。

8.考查动词短语辨析。句意：《丹佛邮报》是众多报道此事的报纸之一。A. hold up坚持住；B. pick up拾起，报道；C. give up放弃；D. look up向上看。pick up除了“拾起，捡起”的意思，还有“偶然学得，习得，报道”。此句中的动词不定式作定语修饰前面的名词newspapers，下文“Elephants became superheroes, raising people with their trunks and pulling them from harm’s way.(大象成了超级英雄，用鼻子把人们举起来，把他们从危险的地方拉出来)”是报道的故事情节，因此此处应选择pick up(报道)，故选B项。

9.考查情态动词辨析。句意：旅游胜地附近有大象，当海浪登陆时，它们确实移动到了更高的地方，但就这是唯一可以被证实的。A. can能；B. must必须；C. shall应该；D. need需要。由下文“The rest is wishful thinking.(其余的都是一厢情愿的想法)”可知，此处是能够被证实的事情，can表示“能够”，故选A项。

10.考查祈使句。句意：去Snopes.com网站上，这是个从故事中找出真相的互联网总部，你会发现电子邮件内容是虚假的。分析句子可知，两个逗号之间的the Internet headquarters for sorting out truth from fiction(从故事中找出真相的互联网总部)做主语的同位语成分，句子的其余部分___10___ to Snopes.com and you will find it is false.符合“祈使句+and +一般将来时”句型，祈使句是以动词原形开头，故选C项。