1998年阅读真题精解
Text 1
  Few creations of big technology capture the imagination like giant dams. Perhaps it is humankind's long suffering at the mercy of flood and drought that makes the ideal of forcing the waters to do our bidding so fascinating. But to be fascinated is also, sometimes, to be blind. Several giant dam projects threaten to do more harm than good.
  The lesson from dams is that big is not always beautiful. It doesn't help that building a big, powerful dam has become a symbol of achievement for nations and people striving to assert themselves. Egypt's leadership in the Arab world was cemented by the Aswan High Dam. Turkey's bid for First World status includes the giant Ataturk Dam.
resolve动词变名词  But big dams tend not to work as intended. The Aswan Dam, for example, stopped the Nile flooding but deprived Egypt of the fertile silt that floods left — all in return for a giant reservoir of disease which is now so full of silt that it barely generates electricity.
  And yet, the myth of controlling the waters persists. This week, in the heart of civilized Europe, Slovaks and Hungarians stopped just short of sending in the troops in their contention over a dam on the Danube. The huge complex will probably have all the usual problems of big dams. But Slovakia is bidding for independence from the Czechs, and now needs a dam to prove itself.
  Meanwhile, in India, the World Bank has given the go-ahead to the even more wrong-headed Narmada Dam. And the bank has done this even though its advisors say the dam will cause hardship for the powerless and environmental destruction. The benefits are for the powerful, but they are far from guaranteed.
  Proper, scientific study of the impacts of dams and of the cost and benefits of controlling water can help to resolve these conflicts. Hydroelectric power and flood control and irrigation are possible without building monster dams. But when you are dealing with myths, it is hard to be either proper, or scientific. It is time that the world learned the lessons of Aswan. You don't need a dam to be saved.
51. The third sentence of paragraph 1 implies that ________.
　[A] people would be happy if they shut their eyes to reality
　[B] the blind could be happier than the sighted
　[C] over-excited people tend to neglect vital things
　[D] fascination makes people lose their eyesight
52. In paragraph 5, "the powerless" probably refers to ________.
　[A] areas short of electricity
　[B] dams without power stations
　[C] poor countries around India
　[D] common people in the Narmada Dam area
53. What is the myth concerning giant dams?
　[A] They bring in more fertile soil.
　[B] They help defend the country.
　[C] They strengthen international ties.
　[D] They have universal control of the waters.
54. What the author tries to suggest may best be interpreted as ________.
　[A] "It's no use crying over spilt milk"
　[B] "More haste, less speed"
　[C] "Look before you leap"
　[D] "He who laughs last laughs best"
核心词汇
1. few 没有几个，含否定意思，little 没有一点儿，含否定意思；
2. capture 抓住，捕获，吸引住
3. like 比如，像，喜欢
4. giant 巨人，巨型物；gigantic 巨大的
5. at the mercy of 任…摆布或控制；
6. flood and drought 洪涝和旱灾；earthquake 地震；tsunami 海啸；
7. ideal 理想，理想的
8. do our bidding 按我们的要求办事
9. fascinate 对…着迷；fascinating 着迷的
10. threaten 威胁
11. do more harm than good 弊大于利
12. lesson 教训；teach me a lesson 给我一个教训；lessen 减轻
13. symbol 象征
14. achieve 达到；获得成就；achiever 获得成就的人；achievement 成就
15. strive to 努力做
16. assert 说明，宣称，认为
17. cement 水泥引申为：巩固，加强
18. bid 投标；申请
19. tend to 易于，倾向于
20. work 起作用；
21. as 正如，复习as的六大考点
22. intended 所料想的；相当于expected=desired=anticipated =designated
23. deprive…of 剥夺…；相当于rob…of=deny sth
24. fertile 肥沃的；多产的
25. in return 作为回报
26. reserve 保留，预定；reservation; reservoir水库
27. so…that 如此…以致
28. barely=hardly=scarcely 几乎不
29. generate 产生；regenerate再生；regenerable 可再生的
30. myth 神话，不现实的东西；相当于illusion 幻觉；
31. civilized 文明的；civilization 文明
32. stop just short of 差一点儿就; be short of 缺少；缺乏
33. contention 争吵；争论
34. complex 综合工程；综合物；联合体；复杂的；
35. bid for =apply for 申请
36. go-ahead =permission容许，许可
37. cause 造成，引起；原因；事业
38. hardship 困境；苦难
39. powerless 无权利的；powerful 当权的；强大的
40. far from 远非；绝不
41. guarantee 保证；确保；担保
42. proper 恰当的，合理的
43. study 研究
44. impact 影响，相当于influence=effect
45. resolve 解决，相当于solve=settle；决心，决议
46. power 电；电源；power-off 断电；
47. irrigation 灌溉
48. monster 怪物，在此引申为巨大的
49. deal with 解决；对付，与…交往
50. hard 艰难的，困难的；强硬的；
51. wrong-headed 执迷不悟的
52. hydro-electric 水电的
难句精解
①Perhaps it is humankind's long suffering at the mercy of flood and drought that makes the ideal of forcing the waters to do our bidding so fascinating.
  ▲这个句子中包含了一个强调句型，基本结构是 ，强调部分的关键词是sufferin
g，这个词就是后面that引导的从句的主语，因而这个句子的核心句其实就是Suffering makes the ideal so fascinating。名词suffering加上前后的修饰限定成分是humankind's long suffering at the mercy of flood and drought（人类受水旱灾害控制的长期的苦难）；ideal后面跟了一个of引导的分词短语：forcing the waters to do our bidding（让河水听我们吩咐［的这个理想］）；后面的so fascinating做宾补。

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