Question

    The cultures of the East and the West are really different from each other a lot. This is because the culture systems are two separate ones on the whole.

The origin (起源) of the Eastern culture is mainly from two countries: China and India. Both of the two cultures are developed by rivers — the Yellow River in China and the Hindu River in India. They helped the two cultures develop for centuries and form their own styles.

When the two mother rivers gave birth to the Eastern culture, another famous culture was up on the Mesopotamian Plain — the Mesopotamian Civilization. This civilization later on developed into the cultures of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. And these two are well-known as the base of the European culture. Like the Chinese culture, the European culture also crossed waters. When the British settled down in America, their culture went with them over the Atlantic Ocean. So the American culture doesn’t have much difference from the European culture.

At the same time, some other differences add to the cultural differences. Take the language system for example. In the East, most languages belong to the pictographic (象形) language while the western languages are mostly based on the Latin system. Other causes like human race differences count as well. But what’s more, due to the far distance and the steep areas between the East and the west, the two cultures seldom communicate until recent centuries. So they grew up totally in their own ways with almost no interference from the other.

The differences are everywhere. They are obvious and make people’s ways of thinking and their views of the world different. But different cultures make the world of 21st century more colorful. The cultural difference should not be the obstacle (障碍) to the civilization of human being. It ought to be the driving force of our going farther.

1.What is the text mainly about?

A.The origin of cultures. B.Culture differences.

C.Language systems. D.Colorful world.

2.Why is the American culture similar to the European culture?

A.Both of the two cultures have a very long history.

B.They have the same mother rivers as the Chinese culture.

C.The early settlers from Britain brought their culture to America.

D.Both the British and the American live along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean.

3.Which of the following can replace the underlined word “interference” in paragraph4?

A.difference B.influence

C.confidence D.environment

4.Where is the passage most likely from?

A.A diary. B.A magazine.

C.A novel. D.A guidebook.

Answer

1.B

2.C

3.B

4.B

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。东西方文化不同，这是因为文化体统在整体上是独立的。东方文化源自于中国和印度，而西方文化源自于古希腊罗马。语言等也造就了文化差异。

1.主旨大意题。由第一段中的“The cultures of the East and the West are really different from each other a lot. This is because the culture systems are two separate ones on the whole.”可知，东西方文化不同，这是因为文化体统在整体上是独立的。所以文章是关于文化差异的。故选B项。

2.细节理解题。由第三段“When the British settled down in America, their culture went with them over the Atlantic Ocean. So the American culture doesn’t have much difference from the European culture.”可知，在英国人在美国定居时，英国的文化随之来到大西洋。因此美国文化与欧洲文化没有太大差异。所以，美国文化与欧洲文化相似是因为早期来自英国的定居者将他们的文化带到了美国。故选C项。

3.词义猜测题。由第四段“due to the far distance and the steep areas between the East and the west, the two cultures seldom communicate until recent centuries.”可知，由于距离远和和东西方间的峭壁区域，两种文化在最近几个世纪以前很少交流。因此，交流少就不会对彼此产生影响，就各自以自己的方式成长。所以interference在语境中做“影响”解，故选B项。

4.推理判断题。由第一段中的“The cultures of the East and the West are really different from each other a lot. This is because the culture systems are two separate ones on the whole.”可知，东西方文化不同，这是因为文化体统在整体上是独立的。所以文章是关于文化差异的。这样的文章可能在杂志上出现，故选B项。