题文
阅读理解 One evening in February 2007,
a student named Paula Ceely brought her car to a stop on a remote
road in Wales.She got out to open a metal gate that blocked her path.That's when she heard the whistle
sounded by the driver of a train.Her Renault Clio was parked across a railway line.Seconds later, she
watched the train drag her car almost a kilometer down the railway tracks.
Ceely's near_miss made the news because she blamed it on her GPS device(导航仪). She had never
driven the route before.It was dark and raining heavily.Ceely was relying on her GPS, but it made no
mention of the crossing."I put my complete trust in the device and it led me right into the path of a
speeding train," she told the BBC.
Who is to blame here? Rick Stevenson, who tells Ceely's story in his book When Machines Fail Us,
points the finger at the limitations of technology.We put our faith in digital devices, he says, but our digital
helpers are too often not up to the job.They are filled with small problems.And it's not just GPS devices:
Stevenson takes us on a tour of digital disasters involving everything from mobile phones to wireless
keyboards.
The problem with his argument in the book is that it's not clear why he only focuses on digital
technology, while there may be a number of other possible causes.A mapmaker might have left the
crossing off a paper map.Maybe we should blame Ceely for not paying attention.Perhaps the railway
authorities are at fault for poor signalling system.Or maybe someone has studied the relative dangers and
worked out that there really is something specific wrong with the GPS equipment.But Stevenson
doesn't say.
It's a problem that runs through the book.In a section on cars, Stevenson gives an account of the
advanced techniques that criminals use to defeat computerbased locking systems for cars.He offers two
independent sets of figures on car theft; both show a small rise in some parts of the country.He says that
once again not all new locks have proved reliable.Perhaps, but maybe it's also due to the shortage of
policemen on the streets.Or changing social circumstances.Or some combination of these factors.
The game between humans and their smart devices is amusing and complex.It is shaped by economics and psychology and the cultures we live in.Somewhere in the mix of those forces there may be a way for
a wiser use of technology.
If there is such a way, it should involve more than just an awareness of the shortcomings of our
machines.After all, we have lived with them for thousands of years.They have probably been fooling us
for just as long.
1. What did Paula Ceely think was the cause of her accident?
A. She was not familiar with the road.
B. It was dark and raining heavily then.
C. The railway workers failed to give the signal.
D. Her GPS device didn't tell her about the crossing.
2. The phrase"near miss" (Paragraph 2 ) can best be replaced by ________.
A. close hit
B. heavy loss
C. narrow escape
D. big mistake
3. Which of the following would Rick Stevenson most probably agree with?
A. Modern technology is what we can't live without.
B. Digital technology often falls short of our expectatio
n.
C. Digital devices are more reliable than they used to be.
D. GPS error is not the only cause for Ceely's accident.
4. In the writer's opinion, Stevenson's argument is ________.
A. onesided
B. reasonable
C. puzzling
D. wellbased 题型：未知难度：其他题型
答案
1-4: DCBA解析
该题暂无解析
考点
据考高分专家说，试题“阅读理解 One evenin.....”主要考查你对 [故事类阅读 ]考点的理解。故事类阅读
故事类阅读概念：
这类文章一般描述的是某一件具体事情的发生发展或结局，有人物、时间、地点和事件。命题往往从故事的情节、人物或事件的之间的关系、作者的态度及意图、故事前因和后果的推测等方面着手，考查学生对细节的辨认能力以及推理判断能力。
故事类阅读应试技巧：
1、抓住文章的6个要素：
阅读时要学会从事情本身的发展去理解故事情节而不要只看事件在文中出现的先后顺序。因此，无论是顺叙还是倒叙，阅读此类文章时，必须要找到它结构中的5个W（when, where, who, why, what）和1个H（how），不过不是每篇都会完整地交待六个要素。毫无疑问，寻出这些元素是能够正确快速解题的一个先决条件。
2、注意作者的议论和抒情：
高考英语阅读理解故事类文章常伴随着作者思想情感的流露和表达，因此议论和抒情往往夹杂其中。行文时或按事情发生发展的先后时间进行或按事情发生发展的地点来转换，也可能按事情发展的阶段来布局。在引出话题，讲完一件事情后，作者往往会表达个人感悟或提出建议等。这些体现作者观点或思想的语句在阅读时可以划线，它们往往体现文章中心或者写作意图，属于必考点，所以要仔细体会。
3、结合前两点归纳文章中心，把握作者态度：
故事类文章是通过记叙一件事来表达中心思想的，它是文章的灵魂。归纳文章中心思想时，尤其要分析文章的结尾，因为很多文章卒章显志，用简短的议论、抒情揭示文章中心；文章中议论抒情的句子往往与中心密切相关；也有的文章需要在结合概括各段大意的基础上归纳中心。另外，叙述一件事必有其目的，或阐明某一观点，或赞美某种品德，或抨击某种陋习，这就要求我们在阅读时，通过对细节（第1点中的六要素）的理解，把握作者的态度。
4、有章有据进行解题判断：
分析文章，归纳主题，属于分析、概括、综合的表述能力的考查。切忌脱离文章，架空分析，一定让分析在文章中有依据。
