单选题 [1] At first the weather was fine and still. The thrushes were calling, and in the swamps close by something alive droned pitifully with a sound like blowing into an empty bottle. A snipe flew by, and the shot aimed at it rang out with a gay, resounding note in the spring air. But when it began to get dark in the forest a cold, penetrating wind blew inappropriately from the east, and everything sank into silence. Needles of ice stretched across the pools, and it felt cheerless, remote, and lonely in the forest. There was a whiff of winter.
[2] Ivan Velikopolsky, the son of a sacristan, and a student of the clerical academy, returning home from shooting, walked all the time by the path in the water-side meadow. His fingers were numb and his face was burning with the wind. It seemed to him that the cold that had suddenly come on had destroyed the order and harmony of things, that nature itself felt ill at ease, and that was why the evening darkness was falling more rapidly than usual. All around it was deserted and peculiarly gloomy. The only light was one gleaming in the widows' gardens near the river; the village, over three miles away, and everything in the distance all round was plunged in the cold evening mist. The student remembered that, as he went out from the house, his mother was sitting barefoot on the floor in the entry, cleaning the samovar, while his father lay on the stove coughing; as it was Good Friday nothing had been cooked, and the student was terribly hungry. And now, shrinking from the cold, he thought that just such a wind had blown in the days of Rurik and in the time of Ivan the Terrible and Peter, and in their time there had been just the same desperate poverty and hunger, the same thatched roofs with holes in them, ignorance, misery, the same desolation around, the same darkness, the same feeling of oppression. All these had existed, did exist, and would exist, and the lapse of a thousand years would make life no better. And he did not want to go home.
[3] The gardens were called the widows' because they were kept by two widows, mother and daughter. A camp fire was burning brightly with a crackling sound, throwing out light far around on the ploughed earth. The widow Vasilisa, a tall, fat old woman in a man's coat, was standing by and looking thoughtfully into the fire; her daughter Lukerya, a little pock-marked woman with a stupid-looking face, was sitting on the ground, washing a caldron and spoons. Apparently they had just had supper. There was a sound of men's voices; it was the labourers watering their horses at the river.
[4] "Here you have winter back again," said the student, going up to the camp fire. "Good evening. "
[5] Vasilisa started, but at once recognized him and smiled cordially.
[6] They talked. Vasilisa, a woman of experience, who had been in service with the gentry, first as a wet-nurse, afterwards as a children's nurse, expressed herself with refinement, and a soft, sedate smile never left her face; her daughter Lukerya, a village peasant woman, who had been beaten by her husband, simply screwed up her eyes at the student and said nothing, and she had a strange expression like that of a deaf mute.
[7] The labourers came back from the river, and one of them riding a horse was quite near, and the light from the fire quivered upon him. The student said good-night to the widows and went on. And again the darkness was about him and his fingers began to be numb. A cruel wind was blowing, winter really had come back and it did not feel as though Easter would be the day after tomorrow. He looked round. The solitary light was still gleaming in the darkness and no figures could be seen near it now.

单选题 In the first paragraph, what are in contrast to each other?
A. The fine weather VS the penetrating wind.
B. The pleasing daytime VS the silent darkness.
C. The prosperous thrushes VS the icy pools.
D. The spring air VS the winter cold.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】推断题。文章开篇指出“At first the weather was fine and still.”。然后具体描写周围的景致，从第三句的“…a gay，resounding note in the spring air”可以看出，好天气让人感到心情愉悦。之后作者话锋一转“But when it began to get dark in the forest a cold，penetrating wind blew inappropriately from the east，and everything sank into silence”，夜幕降临之后给人的感觉就变成了“cheerless，remote，and lonely in the forest”，可见，首段中构成鲜明对比的是令人愉悦的白天和沉寂的夜晚，故[B]为答案。penetrating wind是第四句中提到的夜幕降临时的细节，与白天不是对等关系，不能构成对照，排除[A]；thrushes和icy pools 虽然分别是白天和夜晚提到的具体事物，但两者之间没有逻辑语义上的关联，不能构成对照；同理，可直接排除[D]。

单选题 Which of the following statements is INCORRECT about Ivan Velikopolsky?
A. He was annoyed by the cold. B. He was born of a poor family.
C. He was disappointed in his life. D. He loved his parents deeply.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】推断题。由题干中的Ivan Velikopolsky定位至第二段。首句提到他是“the son of a sacristan，and a student of the clerical academy”，倒数第四句只是简单地提及他的父母“The student remembered that，as he went out from the house，his mother was sitting barefoot on the floor in the entry，cleaning the samovar，while his father lay on the stove coughing”，由此无法得出[D]项结论，故为答案。第三句指出“It seemed to him that the cold that had suddenly come on had destroyed the order and harmony of things…”，结合第四句的“All around it was deserted and peculiarly gloomy”可以看出，Ivan情绪不高，[A]符合文意；第六句“his mother was sitting barefoot…”，以及第七句的“there had been just the same desperate poverty and bunger，the same thatched roofs with holes in them…”表明他家境贫寒，[B]符合文意；倒数第二句“All these had existed，did exist，and would exist，and the lapse of a thousand years would make life no better.”句中的时态以及a thousand years均表明他认为生活无望，[C]符合文意。

单选题 It can be inferred from the passage that
A. the student hoped to be invited to dinner by the two widows.
B. the student visited the two widows in a cold spring evening.
C. the labourers have been working for the two widows for ages.
D. the two widows often invited some neighbors to dinner at home.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】推断题。按照试题顺序从第三段开始浏览。根据第四段首句“‘Here you have winter back again，’said the student，going up to the camp fire.‘Good evening.’”以及首段第三句中的“in the spring air”可以判断，故事发生的时间是春天，但突如其来的寒冷让两个寡妇点燃了簿火，故[B]为答案。虽然第二段提到了他很饿，但文中没有任何文字明示或者暗示他希望被邀请用餐，[A]无依据；第三段末句指出“There was a sound of men’s voices；it was the labourers watering their horses at the river”，但没有提及他们在寡妇家工作了多久，排除[C]；文中没有提及邀请邻居用餐，排除[D]。