the caledonian market in london is a clearing house of the junk (旧货、废弃
物 ) of the universe. here, rubbish is a commodity and rubbish picking is a sport. somebody, somewhere, wanted these things, perhaps just to look at. you learn here the incredible obscurity of human needs and desires. people grope (摸索), with fascinated curiosity, among the turnedout debris (废墟) of thousands of attic rooms. junk pours in twice a week, year in and year out. the market is the penultimate (倒数第二的) resting place of banished vases, musical instruments that will not play, sewing machines that will not sew, paralyzed perambulator, epileptic bicycles and numerous other articles from which all morale and hope have long departed. there are stories of fortunes being picked up in the market. once seven hundred gold sovereigns were found in a secret drawer of a crazy old bureau. and book buyers have discovered valuable editions of milton and dickens and carlyla. there is nothing one can not buy in the market.
1. the title below that best expresses the idea of this passage is ____.
a) why people buy what they do
b) reflections on a famous junk market
c) the cause for fascinated curiosity
d) what happens to attic debris
2. the articles for sale in the caledonian market ____.
a) are wanted to look at
b) are collected 100 times a year
c) reveal obscure needs and desires
d) bring fortune to the buyers
3. from the style of this passage one might assume that it was taken from
____.
a) a report on marketing
b) a guide book
c) directions for a stage setting
d) an information essay
答案与解析：
1.b。
下列哪一个标题最能概括文章的中心?本题考查对文章主旨的把握。这篇短文主要反映的是伦敦旧货市场兴旺发达的情况，那么它的标题也应该是反映这一情况的主题。b)一个著名的旧货市场的写照，这个答 案正确。a)为什么人们买他们要买的东西，这个标题不能表达本文的主题思想。c)痴迷好奇心的原因。到旧货市场去逛一逛，买买东西，是一种娱乐或者是消遣，到那里去猎奇并不是旧货 市场兴旺发达的主要原因，也不能反映主题。d)顶楼的垃圾发生了什么?这一项所反映的也是局部情况，不能反映主题。
2.b。
在caledonican market上出售的货物…… 此题考查根据材料中某些事实进行推断的能力。在caledonian market出售的物品每周有两次到货，这一情况可从下面一段文字里反映出来：junk pours in twice a week, year in and year out. a)用来观赏。这些各式各样的物品主要用来出售而不是观赏，如文章所述：somebody, somewhere, wanted these things, perhaps just to look at.(某地某人需要这些东西，或许只是看看而已。)这种说法不全面，不合题意。b)每年收集50次，每星期两次，一年就是100次。这一说法符合要求，故为正确答 案。c)反映了模糊不清的需要和愿望。这种说法不对，物品没有情感，不会有要求和愿望，只有人才有需求与希望，如：you learn here the incredible obscurity of human needs and desires.(你会了解到人们的需求，多令人难以置信和模糊不清。)。d)给买主带来财富。事实上，在旧货市场买东西不一定会给所有买主带来财富，只是偶尔有发财的机会，这种情况极少。
3.d。
根据文章的风格，可以断定此文选自… 此题考查对文章风格准确把握的能力。这篇短文给读者提供了一条关于英国伦敦最大的旧货市场的信息，对这个旧货市场作者有描述，有评论，也有推荐。如文章的最后一句话： there is nothing one can not buy in the market.(在这个市场里没有人们买不到的东西。) 这就为人们提供了一个信息：你需要买什么，那里就有什么。故 d为正确答案。