Growing up in Georgia in the 1970s,I always felt that the bad old day of Southern prejudice (偏见) and ignorance had passed and that we were___36___a new South built upon hard-won racial equality, charity and the sense that no one was ___37___ than anyone else.
I’m not so___38___anymore.Lately,I feel like our moral compass has been___39___,spinning to intolerance, greed and meanness.
In times of ___40___ ,I put my faith in Elvis Presley, who___41___the South’s better angles. He was a hard worker, and ___42___ he lived the high life, he never forgot that he had been born into ___43___. I don't think you’ll ___44___hear an interview with the man when he didn’t express ___45___for all that life had given him.
And he was a self-made talent, perhaps the___46___entertainer of all time, born in a two-room shack(棚屋) in Tupelo, Mississippi. I've been there many times, reflecting on what it says about America .Greatness can be born___47___.
Elvis was famous for his generosity---___48___cars, expensive gifts and other handouts to anyone in need. That’s how the Presleys___49___ the Great Depression(1929-1933). His father Vernon was a laborer who was often out of___50___ , and the Presleys relied on the kindness of family and neighbors to get them ___51___ the hard time.
Today’s politicians please the crowds with messages that praise the rich and powerful and think of the poor as ___52___ their fate___53___, the crowds believe that their problems could be solved if only the poor people below them didn't ___54___ so much. To blame an immigrant (移民)for “ ___55___ ” a job, instead of the CEO who won’t pay a living wage.
Yet, I still believe, as Elvis once said,“Truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time, but it ain’t goin’away”.
36. A. entering B. finishing C. deserting D. keeping
37. A. jail B. better C. smarter D. prettier
38. A. worried B. sure C. happy D. calm
39. A. checked B. fixed C. broken D. adjusted
40. A. danger B. war C. trouble D. debt
41. A. considered B. changed C. improved D. represented
42. A. after B. since C. although D. because
43. A. honor B. wealth C. fame D. poverty
44. A. never B. ever C. always D. still
45. A. concern B. anger C. appreciation D. surprise
46. A. greatest B. richest C. youngest D. handsomest
47. A. nowhere B. everywhere C. somewhere D. anywhere
48. A. giving away B. taking up C. picking up D. putting away
49. A. suffered B. survived C. faced D. avoided
50. A. work B. mind C. action D. breath
51. A. by B. over C. behind D. through
52. A. fighting B. escaping C. ignoring D. deserving
53. A. Consequently B. Fortunately C. Surprisingly D. Disappointedly
54. A. reflect on B. ask for C. take on D. care for
55. A. losing B. cutting C. stealing D. taking
【答案】36. A 37. B 38. B 39. C 40. C 41. D 42. C 43. D 44. B 45. C 46. A 47. D 48. A 49. B 50. A 51. D 52. D 53. A 54. B 55. C
【解析】
这是一篇记叙文。主要记叙了Elvis Presley生平事迹和在大萧条时期的时代背景下与Elvis Presley一家一样的穷人们的处境。
【36题详解】
考查动词词义辨析。A. entering加入；进入；B. finishing结束；C. deserting遗弃；D. keeping保持。上文提到了作者总觉得南方偏见和无知的坏日子已经过去了，他们正在进入一个新的来之不易的民族平等的南方，故选A。
【37题详解】
考查形容词词义辨析。A. jail监狱；B. better更好；C. smarter更聪明；D. prettier更美。作者觉得新的南方是民族平等的，没有人比别人更优越，更好，故选B。
【38题详解】
考查形容词词义辨析。A. worried担忧的；B. sure确定的；C. happy快乐的；D. calm冷静的。上文提到了作者一直认为新的南方是民族平等的，直到发生了后文中的事情，让作者不再那么“确定”了，故选B。
【39题详解】
考查动词词义辨析。A. checked检查；B. fixed修理；C. broken打破；D. adjusted调整。句意：最近，我觉得我们的道德指南针被打破了，转向了偏执、贪婪和卑鄙。故选C。
【40题详解】
考查名词词义辨析。A. danger危险；B. war战争；C. trouble麻烦；D. debt债务。固定短语in times of trouble“在困难时期”。故选C。
【41题详解】
考查动词词义辨析。A. considered考虑；B. changed改变；C. improved提高；D. represented代表；表现。句意：在困难时期，我相信埃尔维斯·普雷斯利，他代表了南方更好的一面。故选D。
【42题详解】
考查连词。A. after在……之后；B. since自从；因为C. although尽管；虽然；D. because因为。句意：他是一个努力工作的人，虽然他生活得很好，他也从未忘记他出生在一个贫困的家庭。前后表转折，故选C。
【43题详解】
考查名词词义辨析。A. honor荣誉；B. wealth财富；C. fame名望；D. poverty贫困。与上文“生活得很好”相对应，形成对比。故选D。
【44题详解】
考查副词词义辨析。A. never从不；B. ever曾经；C. always总是；D. still仍旧。指在“听到采访”之前的“曾经”，故选B。
【45题详解】
考查名词词义辨析。A. concern关心；B. anger愤怒；C. appreciation欣赏；感激；D. surprise惊喜。由后文可知埃尔维斯·普雷斯利是一个懂得感恩的人，故他总是表达对生活得感激之情。故选C。
【46题详解】
考查形容词词义辨析。A. greatest最好的；最伟大的；B. richest最富有的；C. youngest最年轻的；D. handsomest最英俊的。根据本段最后一句“Greatness can be…”可知，此处指“最好的；最伟大的”，故选A。
【47题详解】
考查副词辨析。A. nowhere无处；B. everywhere到处；C. somewhere某处；D. anywhere无论何处。句意：伟大可以在任何地方诞生。故选D。
【48题详解】
考查动词短语辨析。A. giving away赠送；B. taking up占据；C. picking up捡起；D. putting away抛弃。由上文“generosity大方；慷慨”可知，他经常赠送汽车等东西，故选A。
【49题详解】
考查动词词义辨析。A. suffered遭受；B. survived生存；C. faced面对；D. avoided避免，句意：普雷斯利一家就是这样在1929-1933年的大萧条中存活下来的。指“生存”故选B。
【50题详解】
考查名词词义辨析。A. work工作；B. mind精神；C. action行动；D. breath呼吸。上文可知他的父亲是一名劳动工人，在大萧条期间经常失业。out of work“失业；下岗”，故选A。
【51题详解】
考查介词辨析。A. by借助；B. over在…之上；C. behind在……之后；D. through度过。句意：普雷斯利一家依靠家人和邻居的帮助度过了难关。get through“度过”故选D。
【52题详解】
考查动词词义辨析。A. fighting对抗；B. escaping逃走；C. ignoring忽视；D. deserving应得到。句意：今天的政客们用赞美富人和权贵、认为穷人活该的言论取悦民众。指“应得；活该”故选D。
【53题详解】
考查副词词义辨析。A. Consequently因此；B. Fortunately幸运地；C. Surprisingly惊讶地；D. Disappointedly失望地。正是因为上文政客们的言论，民众才认为只要穷人不要求太多，他们的问题就可以得到解决。上下文是因果关系，故选A。
【54题详解】
考查动词短语辨析。A. reflect on仔细考虑；B. ask for请求；C. take on承担；D. care for关心。句意：人们相信只要他们下面的穷人不要求那么多，他们的问题就能解决。故选B。
【55题详解】
考查动词词义辨析。A. losing失去；B. cutting切断；C. stealing偷窃；D. taking带走。句意：因“窃取”工作而去责备移民,而不是不支付工资的CEO。故选C。
