英语专业四级阅读理解高分特训100篇-第2章 英语专业四级基础阅读篇(人物记述类)【圣才出品】

第2章英语专业四级基础阅读篇

人物记述类（Passage 1～6）

Passage 1 题材：人物记述类字数：367 建议用时：5分钟

In a few weeks researchers will begin scouring the Florida seafloor for a 177year-old shipwreck—and the resting place of dozens of slaves who drowned in chains. Despite its drama, the story of the Guerrero remains little-known.

Around 7 pm on the evening of December 19th,1827, keeper John Whalton was tending to his lightship, a sort of mobile lighthouse. He was anchored a few miles offKey Largo when, he said later, “I saw the flash and heard the report of seven or eight guns.”

Whalton was about to witness the tragic ending of a desperate chase in the waters off what was then the US Territory of Florida. The Guerrero, with hundreds of Africans enchained in its hold and crewed by 90 Spaniards who were little more than pirates, was fleeing the Nimble, a British warship that was enforcing the international ban on slave trade.

British officials had gotten a tip that the Guerrero was bound for Cuba, where bribed officials would lookthe other way while the Guerrero’s human cargo was exchanged for goods worth a fortune in Europe.

The Nimble and the Guerrero were swapping cannon fire as they skirted much too close to the shore. As Whalton watched, both ships piled onto Carysfort Reef,

one of the many reefs that lie three or four miles（about five or six kilometres）off the Florida Keys.

The Nimble was aground but not badly damaged. The Guerrero, however, struck with such force that its masts snapped and collapsed, and the massive poles plunged into the hold where the Africans were imprisoned. The ship sank immediately in the shallow water, and some 40 captives drowned.

The men aboard the Nimble could hear the screams from two miles （about three kilometers）away. “The cries of 561 slaves and （Guerrero’s）crew were appalling beyond description,” The Niles Weekly Register, a Baltimore newspaper, later reported.

1. What is true about John Whalton?

A. He was serving the army at the time when the tragedy happened.

B. Hardly had he seen the flash when he was notified of the condition.

C. Both the Guerrero and the Nimble were in the view of John.

D. The lightship where he was on duty anchored just a few miles from the Guerrero.

2. At that time hundreds of slaves were kept in the ________.

A. bilge

B. cargo space

C. hull

D. cabin

3. Which statement is true according to the passage?

A. There were 90 Spanish pirates working in the Guerrero.

B. The Guerrero was seen quickly passing the Nimble at the beginning. “

C. The witness Whalton didn’t tell the story till now.

D. The Guerrero was two miles away from the Nimble when the shipwreck happened.

4. In the fif th paragraph, “swapping” means ________.

A. firing

B. exchanging

C. opening

D. loosing.

5. In the fifth paragraph, what does “skirt ed” mean here?

「文章大意」

本文讲19世纪二三十年代沉入海底的两艘船的事情。1827年12月John Whalton 在灯塔船上看到两艘船，当时the Guerrero正在努力逃离追赶它的the Nimble。the Guerrero上有上百名被绑着的非洲人，这艘船的船员与海盗无异。the Nimble则是英国执行禁止奴隶交易的战船。由于两艘船都是沿着海岸线行驶，两艘船都碰到珊瑚礁而搁浅了，其中the Guerrero情况很不乐观，船很快就沉没了，有一些被淹死了。

答案详解

1.C 由原文第三段第二句可知，John Whalton看到the Guerrero正在努力逃离追赶它的

the Nimble，这说明他既看到了the Guerrero也看到了the Nimble，也就是说这两