阅读理解

    （2023·全国乙卷）If you want to tell the history of the whole world, a history that does not privilege one part of humanity, you cannot do it through texts alone, because only some of the world has ever had texts, while most of the world, for most of the time, has not. Writing is one of humanity’s later achievements, and until fairly recently even many literate(有文字的) societies recorded their concerns not only in writing but in things.

    Ideally a history would bring together texts and objects, and some chapters of this book are able to do just that, but in many cases we simply can’t. The clearest example of this between literate and non-literate history is perhaps the first conflict, at Botany Bay, between Captain Cook’s voyage and the Australian Aboriginals. From the English side, we have scientific reports and the captain’s record of that terrible day. From the Australian side, we have only a wooden shield(盾) dropped by a man in flight after his first experience of gunshot. If we want to reconstruct what was actually going on that day, the shield must be questioned and interpreted as deeply and strictly as the written reports.

    In addition to the problem of miscomprehension from both sides, there are victories accidentally or deliberately twisted, especially when only the victors know how to write. Those who are on the losing side often have only their things to tell their stories. The Caribbean Taino, the Australian Aboriginals, the African people of Benin and the Incas, all of whom appear in this book, can speak to us now of their past achievements most powerfully through the objects they made: a history told through things gives them back a voice. When we consider contact(联系) between literate and non-literate societies such as these, all our first-hand accounts are necessarily twisted, only one half of a dialogue. If we are to find the other half of that conversation, we have to read not just the texts, but the objects.

1.What is the first paragraph mainly about?

A.How past events should be presented.

B.What humanity is concerned about.

C.Whether facts speak louder than words.

D.Why written language is reliable.

2.What does the author indicate by mentioning Captain Cook in paragraph 2?

A.His report was scientific.

B.He represented the local people.

C.He ruled over Botany Bay.

D.His record was one-sided.

3.What does the underlined word "conversation" in paragraph 3 refer to?

A.Problem.        B. History.           C.Voice.          D. Society.

4.Which of the following books is the text most likely selected from?

A.How Maps Tell Stories of the World

B.A Short History of Australia

C.A History of the World in 100 Objects

D.How Art Works Tell Stories

【答案解析】

对于历史事件的考证不能仅凭文字记录，要注重文字记录和实物相互印证，以帮助我们重现真实的历史。

1.A 主旨大意题。题干问的是首段的主旨。根据文章首段可知，你如果想讲述不偏袒人类历史上任何一方的一段世界历史，就不能仅仅依靠文字。文字是人类的后期成果之一，直到最近甚至许多有文字的社会不仅用文字，还用实物来记载他们的重要的事情。所以此段是说过去的历史事件应结合文字和实物来呈现，不能仅靠文字。

2.D 推理判断题。题干问的是作者提及库克船长的用意。根据第二段首句"Ideally a history would bring together texts and objects... but in many cases we simply can’t"（理想的情况是我们在研究历史时应该将文字和实物结合起来……而很多情况下我们没能这样做）以及该段最后一句"If we want to reconstruct what was actually going on that day, the shield must be questioned and interpreted as deeply and strictly as the written reports"（如果我们想要还原那天到底发生了什么，这块盾牌必须和文字记述一样经过深入而严格的质询和诠释）可知，库克船长的记录是片面的。

3.B 词义猜测题。题干问的是画线词conversation在文中的意思。根据第三段中的"a history told through things gives them back a voice"（实物能还原历史事实）和 "all our first-hand accounts are necessarily twisted, only one half of a dialogue. If we are to find the other half of that conversation, we have to read not just the texts, but the objects"（我们所有的第一手描述无法避免地会被歪曲，它只是conversation的一半。我们如果想找到另一半，就不能只解读文字，还要解读实物）可知，conversation指的是历史。

【考情速递】词义猜测题是近年高考阅读理解必考题型，常见的有理解生僻词含义、理解熟词生义、理解代词含义等，本题考查课标词在文中的指代含义，考查角度有新意，需要同学们根据上下文语境去细细体会与揣摩，增加了试题难度。

4.C 出处判断题。题干问的是本文最有可能摘自哪本书。本文讲述的重点是强调历史实物考证的重要性，故C项"《100件实物中的世界历史》"正确。

【干扰项分析】A项《地图如何讲述世界的故事》和D项《艺术作品如何讲述故事》与文章内容不符；B项《澳大利亚简史》以偏概全，漏失信息。