题文
Ireland has had a very difficult history. The problems started in the 16th century when English rulers tried to conquer(征服) Ireland. For hundreds of years, the Irish people fought against the English. Finally, in 1921, the British government was forced to give independence to the south of Ireland. The result is that today there are two “Irelands”. Northern Ireland, in the north, is part of the united kingdom. The Republic of Ireland, in the south, is an independent country.
In the 1840s the main crop, potatoes, was affected by disease and about 750,000 people died of hunger. This, and a shortage (短缺) of work , forced many people to leave Ireland and live in the USA, the UK, Australia and Canada. As a result of these problems, the population fell from 8.2 million in 1841 to 6.6 million in 1851.
For many years, the majority of Irish people earned their living as farmers. Today, many people still work on the land but more and more people are moving to the cities to work in factories and offices. Life in the cities is very different from life in the countryside, where things move at a quieter and slower pace.
The Irish are famous for being warm-hearted and friendly. Oscar Wilde, a famous Irish writer, once said that the Irish were “the greatest talkers since the Greeks”. Since independence, Ireland has revived(复兴) its own culture of music, language, literature and singing. Different areas have different styles of old Irish song which are sung without instruments. Other kinds of Irish music use many different instruments such as the violin, whistles, etc.
小题1:What does the author tell us in paragraph 1?A．How the Irish fought against the English.B．How Ireland gained independence.C．How English rulers tried to conquer Ireland. D．How two “Irelands” came into being.小题2:We learn from the text that in Ireland .A．food shortages in the 1840s led to a decline in populationB．people are moving to the cities for lack of work in the countrysideC．it is harder to make a living as a farmer than as a factory workerD．different kinds of old Irish songs are all sung with instruments小题3:The last paragraph is mainly about .A．the Irish characterB．Irish culture C．Irish musical instrumentsD．a famous Irish writer小题4:What can be the best title for the text?A．Life in IrelandB．A Very Difficult HistoryC．Ireland, Past and PresentD．The Independence of Ireland 题型：未知难度：其他题型
答案
小题1:D
小题2:A
小题3:B
小题4:C
解析
文章介绍了爱尔兰的历史，爱尔兰受制于英国，在1921年，爱尔兰南部才得到独立，成立了共和国，而北部属于英国。由于自然灾害，爱尔兰的人口骤减。文章还比较了爱尔兰过去和现在的生活。最后提到了爱尔兰的文化发展。
小题1:考查段落大意。爱尔兰受英国的统治，在1921年，英国被迫承认南爱尔兰独立。“The result is that today there are two “Irelands”. Northern Ireland, in the north, is part of the united kingdom. The Republic of Ireland, in the south, is an independent country.”北爱尔兰是英国的一部分，而南部的爱尔兰共和国是独立的国家。作者告诉我们，“两个爱尔兰”是如何形成的。故选D。
小题2:根据第二段“In the 1840s the main crop, potatoes, was affected by disease and about 750,000 people died of hunger.”和“the population fell from 8.2 million in 1841 to 6.6 million in 1851”可知，在十九世纪四十年代，主要农作物受疾病影响，大约75万人死于饥饿，爱尔兰人口骤减到6600万。故选A。
小题3:根据最后一段的“Ireland has revived(复兴) its own culture of music, language, literature and singing”可知，最后一段主要讲的是爱尔兰的文化。故选B。
小题4:B总结的是爱尔兰的一段历史，文章没有详细讲爱尔兰的独立，B、D排除；文章第三段主要讲的是爱尔兰的生活，A是对第三段的总结，不够全面。文章讲了爱尔兰的过去和现在，故选C。
考点
据考高分专家说，试题“Ireland has had a ve.....”主要考查你对 [历史文化类阅读 ]考点的理解。历史文化类阅读
什么是历史文化类阅读：
本类题型常用的方式是夹叙夹议。叙述的目的是为了议，所以要把握其议才是主要方面。阅读这类文章，先弄清其引入的话题，再弄清里面人物对其不同的看法，然后理解作者本身对话题的观点看法或思考。
历史文化类阅读技巧：
【题型说明】历史文化类阅读理解文章属高考常选材料之一。这类文章常涉及历史、文化、法制、宗教等方面的文学艺术、发明创造、文化遗产保护、宗教与文化、风俗与习惯、道德与法制、中外文学名著节选、等等。这类材料的命题点往往落在主旨大意题、事实细节题上。
【答题方法】在做这类阅读理解题时，我们应注意以下几个方面：
1、采用先题后文：先读题目，再带着问题读文章。这类阅读理解文章相对来说事实细节题稍多一点，如果带着问题读文章，有利于我们抓细节。
2、先做细节题。因为做完了局部性的事实细节题后，自然会加深我们对文章的理解，这样更有利于做主旨大意题。
3、重点敲定主旨题。主旨大意题提问的形式主要有两大类：一类是Main idea型；一类是Topic或Title型。
在解答这类试题时应注意以下几点：
a．读首句抓大意。
文化教育类阅读理解文章多采用说明文、议论文体裁，而这类文章大都采用文章段落的中心，即主题句在文章开头。因此，要寻找这类文章的主旨大意就需要研究文章的首句。
b．读尾句抓大意。
有时这类文章的主题句安排在文章的结尾，作为对全篇的总结。
c．读首段抓大意。
有些文章或段落的开头和结尾部分都有主题句。这种结构是为了突出主题思想而使用两次点题的写作方法。这两个主题句在句子结构和用词上有所不同，而且在内容上前句和后句也不重复。
d．从段落中抓大意。
有些文章或段落的主题句在文章中，这种文章或段落往往以一句话或几句话引出要表达的主题，在主题句出现后，再举例子陈述细节或继续论证。
e．归纳要点抓大意。
有些文章或段落无明显的主题句，只是暗示性地体现主题。这就要求同学们在阅读过程中根据文中所叙述的事实或线索来概括总结主旨大意。
