专业八级阅读理解2.doc

乐学教育 繁星纵变 智慧永存
Hostility to Gypsies has existed almost from the time they first appeared in Europe in the 14th century. The origins of the Gypsies, with little written history, were shrouded in mystery. What is known now from clues in the various dialects of their language, Romany, is that they came from northern India to the Middle East a thousand years ago, working as minstrels and mercenaries, metal-smiths andservants. Europeans misnamed them Egyptians, soon shortened to Gypsies. A clan system, based mostly on their traditional crafts and geography, has made them a deeply fragmented and fractious people, only really unifying in the face of enmity from non-Gypsies, whom they call gadje. 
Today many Gypsy activists prefer to be called Roma, which comes fromthe Romany word for "man". But on my travels among them most still referred to themselves as Gypsies. 
In Europe their persecution by the gadje began quickly, with the church seeing heresy in their fortune-telling and the state seeing anti-social behaviour in their nomadism. At various times they have been forbidden to wear their distinctive bright clothes, to speak their own language, to travel, to marry one another, or to ply their traditional crafts. In some countries they were reduced to slavery it wasn’t until the mid-1800s that Gypsy slaves were freed in Romania. In more recent times the Gypsies were caught up in Nazi ethnic hysteria, and perhaps half a million perished in the Holocaust. Their horses have been shot and the wheels removed from their wagons, their names have been changed, their women have been sterilized, and their children havebeen forcibly given for adoption to non-Gypsy families. 
But the Gypsies have confounded predictions of their disappearance asa distinct ethnic group and their numbers have burgeoned. Today thereare an estimated 8 to 12 million Gypsies scattered across Europe, making them the continent’s largest minority. The exact number is hard to pin down. Gypsies have regularly been undercounted, both by regimes anxious to downplay their profile and by Gypsies themselves, seeking to avoid bureaucracies. Attempting to remedy past inequities, activist groups may overcount. Hundreds of thousands more have emigratedto the Americas and elsewhere. With very few exceptions Gypsies have expressed no great desire for a country to call their own -unlike theJews, to whom the Gypsy experience is often compared. "Romanestan" said Ronald Lee, the Canadian Gypsy writer, "is where my two feet stand." 

16. Gypsies are united only when they 
A are engaged in traditional crafts.  B. call themselves Roma.
C. live under a clan system.  D. face external threats. 
17. In history hostility to Gypsies in Europe resulted in their persecution by all the following EXCEPT 
A. the Egyptians.  B the state.  C. the church.  D. the Nazis. 
18. According to the passage, the main difference between the Gypsies and the Jews lies in their concepts of 
A. language.  B. culture.  C. identity.  D. custom.
答案解析：
短文大意 ：这篇短文介绍的是吉卜赛人在欧洲受敌视的状况。 
16． 答案：D 
【参考译文】 只有在什么时候吉卜赛人才会联合起来？
【试题分析】 本题为细节理解题。
【详细解答】 短文第一段中有这么一句话：“...，only really unifying in the face of enmity from non-Gypsies，...”即“只有面对非吉卜赛人的威胁时才联合起来”，由此可知选项D为正确答案。
17． 答案：A
【参考译文】 历史上，除了下列哪类人，在欧洲对吉卜赛人的仇视导致了各种人对他们的迫害？
【试题分析】 本题为综合理解题。
【详细解答】 短文第二段中有这么两句话“In Europe their persecution by gadje began quickly，with the church seeing heresy in their fortune-telling and the state seeing anti-social behaviour in their nomadism．”即“在欧洲gadje人对他们的迫害迅速开始，教堂认为他们的算命是异教行为，政府认为他们的游牧生活是反社会行为”。 “In more recent times the Gypsies were caught up in Nazi ethnic hysteria，and perhaps half a million perished in the holocaust．”即“在更近期的历史中，吉卜赛人被卷入了纳粹党的歇斯底里的种族迫害中，大约有50万人死于这次大屠杀”。由此可知选项B、C、D都对吉卜赛人造成了迫害。所以答案应选A。
18. 答案：C
【参考译文】 根据文章内容，吉卜赛人和犹太人的主要区别在于他们对于什么的观念不同？
【试题分析】 本题为细节理解题。
【详细解答】 短文最后一句说“with very few exceptions Gypsies have expressed no great desire for a country to call their own--unlike the Jews，...”即“绝大部分吉卜赛人对建立一个自己民族的国家没有多大欲望，不像犹太人那样”，由此可知，他们的主要区别在于他们对他们的身份所持的不同观点上，所以答案应为C。文中未将吉卜赛人与犹太人的语言、文化或习俗进行比较，故A、B、D项都不符合题意。 

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