在阅读中重首尾者得高分

张顺均

“重首尾者得高分”意为：重视各段的第一句话（首）和最后一句话（尾），这是阅读理解获得高分的关键。其主要基于文章的总分总结构，总分总是阅读文章的一种常见的结构方式。

2016年高考英语全国I卷中，四篇阅读共15小题，每小题2分。笔者发现，有12小题可通过阅读各段首尾句即可得出正确答案。

2016年I卷A篇

You probably know who Marie Curie was， but you may not have heard of Rachel Carson. Of the outstanding ladies listed below， who do you think was the most important woman of the past 100 years？

Jane Addams（1860—1935）

Anyone who has ever been helped by a social worker has Jane Addams to thank. Addams helped the poor and worked for peace. She encouraged a sense of community （社区） by creating shelters and promoting education and services for people in need. In 1931， Addams became the first American woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

Rachel Carson（1907—1964）

If it werent for Rachel Carson， the environmental movement might not exist today. Her popular 1962 book Silent Spring raised awareness of the dangers of pollution and the harmful effects of chemicals on humans and on the worlds lakes and oceans.

Sandra Day OConnor（1930—present）

When Sandra Day OConnor finished third in her class at Stanford Law School， in 1952， she could not find work at a law firm because she was a woman. She became an Arizona state senator （参议员） and， in 1981， the first woman to join the U.S. Supreme Court. OConnor gave the deciding vote in many important cases during her 24 years on the top court.

Rosa Parks（1913—2005）

On December 1， 1995， in Montgomery， Alabama， Rosa Parks would not give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger. Her simple act landed Parks in prison. But it also set off the Montgomery bus boycott. It lasted for more than a year， and kicked off the civil-rights movement.“The only tired I was， was tired of giving in，” said Parks.

21. What is Jane Addams noted for in history？

A. Her social work.

B. Her teaching skills.

C. Her efforts to win a prize.

D. Her community background.

22. What was the reason for OConnors being rejected by the law firm？

A. Her lack of proper training in law.

B. Her little work experience in court.

C. The discrimination against women.

D. The poor financial conditions.

24. What can we infer about the women mentioned in the text？

A. They are highly educated. B. They are truly creative.

C. They are pioneers. D. They are peace-lovers.

【解析】

21题答案为A。根据Jane Addams （1860—1935）段的首句话 “Anyone who has ever been helped by a social worker has Jane Addams to thank” （那些曾经被一位社会工作者Jane Addams帮助过的都要感谢她），可知选A。其中social worker 是关键词。

22题答案为C。根据Sandra Day OConnor（1930—present）段中首句 “When Sandra Day OConnor ...could not find work at a law firm because she was a woman”中的because she was a woman（因为她是女性）可知，选C。

24题的答案为C。根据第一段尾句Of the outstanding（杰出的）ladies listed below可知，答案为pioneers（先锋）。

2016年I卷B篇

As a third generation native of Brownsville， Texas， Mildred Garza never pleased move away. Even when her daughter and son asked her to move to San Antonio to help their children， she politely refused . Only after a year of friendly discussion did Ms Gaf finally say yes. That was four years ago. Today all three generations regard the move to a success， giving them a closer relationship than they would have had in separate cities.

...

In the 1960s we were all a little wild and couldnt get away from home far enough to prove we could do it on our own，” says Christine Crosby， publisher of grate magazine for grandparents. “We now realize how important family is and how important to be near them， especially when youre raising children.

25. Why was Garzas move a success？

A. It strengthened her family ties.

B. It improved her living conditions.

C. It enabled her make more friends.

D. It helped her know more new places.

27. What did Crosby say about people in the 1960s？

A. They were unsure of raise more children.

B. They were eager to raise more children.

C. They wanted to live away from their parents.

D. They had little respect for their grandparent.

【解析】

25题答案为A。根据第一段尾句“...regard the move to a success， giving them a closer relationship than they would have had in separate cities”不难得出答案为strengthened her family ties（增强家庭的联系），故选A。

27题答案为C。根据第三段尾句“We now realize how important family is and how important to be near them， especially when youre raining children”可知“我们现在意识到家庭是多么的重要，接近家庭是多么的重要，尤其当你养育小孩的时候”，这表明之前是不这样认为的，故选C。另外，根据首句 “In the 1960s we were all a little wild and couldnt get away from home far enough to prove we could do it on our own”可知“上世纪60年代，我们都有点野，总想离家越远越快越好，证明我们可以独立”，也可以得出答案为C。句中的couldnt ... enough... 表示“越……越好”。

2016年I卷C篇

I am peter Hodes， a volunteer stem courier. Since March 2012， Ive done 89 trips of those， 51 have been abroad， I have 42 hours to carry stem cells（干细胞）in my little box because Ive got two ice packs and thats how long they last， in all， from the time the stem cells are harvested from a donor（捐献者）to the time they can be implanted in the patient， weve got 72 hours at most， So I am always conscious of time.

I had one trip last year where I was caught by a hurricane in America. I picked up the stem cells in Providence， Rhode Island， and was meant to fly to Washington then back to London. But when I arrived at the check-in desk at Providence， the lady on the desk said：“Well， Im really sorry， Ive got some bad news for you—there are no fights from Washington.”So I took my box and put it on the desk and I said：“In this box are some stem cells that are urgently needed for a patient-please， please， youve got to get me back to the United Kingdom.”She just dropped everything. She arranged for a flight on a small plane to be held for me， re-routed（改道）me through Newark and got me back to the UK even earlier than originally scheduled.

29. Which of the following can replace the underlined word “courier”in Paragraph1？

A. provider B. delivery man

C. collector D. medical doctor

31. Which flight did the woman put Peter on first？

A. To London B. To Newark

C. To Providence D. To Washington

【解析】

29题答案为B。题干中courier出现在第一段首句，答案的获取需要对后文的正确理解。 根据几个关键词“trips”“carry”可以得出答案为B，delivery man送货员。

31题答案为B。根据第二段尾句“She arranged for a flight on a small plane to be held for me， re-routed（改道）me through Newark and got me back to the UK even earlier than originally scheduled.”中的through Newark可以知道答案为B。

2016年I卷D篇

The meaning of silence varies among cultural groups. Silences may be thoughtful， or they may be empty when a person has nothing to say. A silence in a conversation may also show stubbornness， or worry. Silence may be viewed by some cultural groups as extremely uncomfortable； therefore attempts may be made to fill every gap（间隙）with conversation. Persons in other cultural groups value silence and view it as necessary for understanding a persons needs.

Many Native Americans value silence and feel it is a basic part of communicating among people， just as some traditional Chinese and Thai persons do. Therefore， when a person from one of these cultures is speaking and suddenly stops， what maybe implied（暗示）is that the person wants the listener to consider what has been said before continuing. In these cultures， silence is a call for reflection.

Other cultures may use silence in other ways， particularly when dealing with conflicts among people or in relationships of people with different amounts of power...

Nurses and other care-givers need to be aware of the possible meanings of silence when they come across the personal anxiety their patients may be experiencing. Nurses should recognize their own personal and cultural construction of silence so that a patients silence is not interrupted too early or allowed to go on unnecessarily. A nurse who understands the healing（治愈）value of silence can use this understanding to assist in the care of patients from their own and from other cultures.

32. What does the author say about silence in conversations？

A. It implies anger. B. It promotes friendship.

C. It is culture-specific. D. It is content-based.

33. Which of the following people might regard silence as a call for careful thought？

A. The Chinese. B. The French.

C. The Mexicans. D. The Russians.

34. What does the author advise nurses to do about silence？

A. Let it continue as the patient pleases.

B. Break it while treating patients.

C. Evaluate its harm to patients.

D. Make use of its healing effects.

35. What may be the best title for the text？

A. Sound and Silence

B. What It Means to Be Silent

C. Silence to Native Americans

D. Speech Is Silver； Silence Is Gold

【解析】

32题答案为C。根据首段首句“The meaning of silence varies among cultural groups”可知，沉默在不同的文化群体中代表不同的含义，故选C项。

33题答案为A。根据第二段首句“Many Native Americans value silence and feel it is a basic part of communicating among people， just as some traditional Chinese and Thai persons do.”可知答案为A。

34题答案为D。根据第四段尾句“A nurse who understands the healing（治愈）value of silence can use this understanding to assist in the care of patients from their own and from other cultures.”其中的this指代前面的the healing valuce of silence，所以选D Make use of its healing effects.（充分利用其治愈功效）。

35题答案为B。各段落的首句反复提到了“silent”，“meanings”，所以答案为B. What It Means to Be Silent。

练一练

以下是2015年高考全国I卷阅读题节选，请用首尾法解答。

（2015全国I卷B）The freezing Northeast hasnt been a terribly fun place to spend time this winter， so when the chance came for a weekend to Sarasota， Florida， my bags were packed before you could say“sunshine”. I left for the land of warmth and vitamin C（维生素C）， thinking of beaches and orange trees. When we touched down to blue skies and warm air， I sent up a small prayer of gratefulness. Swimming pools， wine tasting， and pink sunsets（at normal evening hours， not 4 in the afternoon）filled the weekend， but the best part—particularly to my taste， dulled by months of cold- weather root vegetables—was a 7 a.m. adventure to the Sarasota farmersmarket that proved to be more than worth the early wake-up call.

24. What did the author think of her winter life in New York？

A. Exciting. B. Boring. C. Relaxing. D. Annoying.

25.What made the authors getting up late early worthwhile？

A. Having a swim.

B. Breathing in fresh air.

C. Walking in the morning sun.

D. Visiting a local farmers market.

（2015全国I卷C）The visitor will enter the World of Dali through an egg and is met with the beginning， the world of birth. The exhibition follows a path of time and subject with the visitor exiting through the brain.

30. How are the exhibits arranged at the World of Dali？

A. By popularity. B. By importance.

C. By size and shape. D. By time and subject.

（2015全国I卷D）A café society where no intellectualizing is allowed？ It couldnt seem more un-French. But Lehannes psychology café is about more than knowing oneself： Its trying to help the citys troubled neighborhood cafes. Over the years， Parisian cafes have fallen victim to changes in the French lifestyle—longer working hours， a fast food boom and a younger generations desire to spend more time at home. Dozens of new theme cafes appear to change the situation. Cafes focused around psychology， history， and engineering are catching on， filling tables well into the evening.

34. What are theme cafes expected to do？

A. Create more jobs.

B. Supply better drinks.

C. Save the cafe business.

D. Serve the neighborhood.

24题答案为B。根据首句“The freezing Northeast hasnt been a terribly fun place to spend time this winter” 可知作者觉得纽约不是一个度过冬天的好地方，说明是无趣的，也就是无聊。故选B。

25题答案为D。根据尾句“... adventure to the Sarasota farmersmarket that proved to be more than worth the early wake-up call”可知答案为D。

30题答案为D。根据尾句“The exhibition follows a path of time and subject with the visitor exiting through the brain.”可知答案为D。

34题答案为C。根据尾句“Cafes focused around psychology， history， and engineering are catching on， filling tables well into the evening”可知“咖啡馆关注心理、历史和工程受欢迎的话题，直到夜晚人们都不散去”，以前很少人，现在很多人来，这表明是为了拯救咖啡馆的生意，故选C。

责任编辑 蒋小青