A
I have many wonderful memories of my days as a circus clown(小丑), but there is one day that I would rather forget: July 6, 1944. We were playing a two-day stand in Hartford, Connecticut, and the big top caught fire.
I could hear grandstand chairs slamming inside the tent as people headed toward the exits. Some were jumping twelve feet from the top rows of the grandstand and seats to the ground outside. Most of the crowd was pouring through the regular exits and it soon became a panic.
In the midst of this scene the musicians had kept on playing until the tent was on fire over-head because they knew music sometimes might work wonder; they had jumped off the bandstand just before a flaming quarter-pole fell into their stand.
City fire equipment had arrived by now and was pouring streams of water onto the big top area to cool it enough for firemen to enter. In the smoke and confusion, it was impossible to tell whether or not anyone might have been left in the tent. We circus people were ordered away from the smoking ruins that, only a few minutes before, had been the biggest spread of canvas in the world.
I went outside; doctors, and first-aid workers were everywhere, carrying bodies from where the grandstands and seats had been. The toll(伤亡人数) of dead and dying increased so fast that emergency crews were called in from surrounding cities.
Later it was found that 168 people had died in the fire — the worst circus disaster in history, and an afternoon of horror I can never forget.
1. The musicians kept playing during the fire probably because they ________.
A. thought the fire was in another tentB. knew nothing about the terrible fire
C. wanted to keep the crowd from panickingD. believed the show should go on whatever happened
2. Why were emergency crews from other cities called in?
A. There were too many victims to deal with.B. Fire equipment in the city was not enough.
C. Too many people were left in the tent waiting.D. The circus people were unwilling to do the rescue work.
3. Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?
A. A Journey to Death B. The Day the Big Top Burned
C. Memories as a circus clown D. The Worst Disaster in Human History
【答案】1. C 2. A 3. B
【解析】
【分析】这是一篇记叙文。作者讲述了他以前在马戏团当小丑时，一天下午发生的一次严重的火灾的场景。
【1题详解】
细节理解题。根据第三段中In the midst of this scene the musicians had kept on playing until the tent was on fire over-head because they knew music sometimes might work wonder.可知，乐师在火灾期间一直弹奏音乐是因为他们知道音乐有时候对恐慌拥挤的人群有帮助，故选C。
【2题详解】
推理判断题。根据倒数第二段中The toll(伤亡人数) of dead and dying increased so fast that emergency crews were called in from surrounding cities.及最后一段可知，火势太大，死亡人数增长如此之快，所以需要借助于其他城市的消防员，故选A。
【3题详解】
主旨大意题。本文主要对马戏团帐篷顶部发生火灾的那一天的描述，B项：The Day the Big Top Burned(大顶棚燃烧的那一天)适合作文章标题，故选B。
【点睛】主旨大意题是高考阅读理解常考四大题型之一，近几年来的高考都有考到该题型，透彻了解该题型且掌握其答题技巧十分必要。1.考法说明：考查对象分为三类：标题归纳、文章大意和段落大意。2.突破方法：①仔细审题，看好范围。搞清楚问的是某一段还是全文的中心思想。正确选项的特点是：一般不出现细节信息；不含过于肯定或绝对的词语。②使用略读，迅速将全段或全文浏览一遍。③特别注意全文或所问段落的首句和尾句，因为它们常常是主旨要义的体现。④作者的写作目的有三种：娱乐读者；说服读者接受某种观点；告知读者某些信息。考生应在理解全文的基础上领会作者的意图。⑤标题的选择要在阅读原文的基础上，仔细考虑这句话或短语与文章主体是否有密切关系，概括性如何，避免三个错误：概括不够；过度概括；以事实或细节代替抽象概括的大意。本文十分简短，纵观全文，文章只是罗列了时间和事件，第3小题是考查文章的主旨大意，所给四个选项中A.死亡之旅，与原文不符；C.做马戏团小丑的记忆，概括偏离主题；D.人类历史上最严重的灾难，夸张其词。而B项.顶棚燃烧的那一天。
