Question

【題目】Weeping willow tree (垂柳) facts will astonish and amaze you. These beautiful trees are found through North America, Europe and Asia.

There are more than 400 species of weeping willow trees, with most found in the Northern Hemisphere. 【1】 They easily grow ten feet per year, and take over the landscape. Their rounded, drooping branches give the tree a unique shape. Willows can clear up troublesome spots in the landscape like floods.

【2】 While they prefer moist, cool conditions, they can tolerate some drought. They’re a great choice to create an oasis of shade, if you have space to grow these gentle giants.

【3】 In the fall, the color ranges from a light yellow-green shade to a pretty blue color, depending upon the type. Trees lose their leaves in the fall, and are ideal to create summertime shade.

In literature, the most famous literary reference to the willow is perhaps William Shakespeare’s Willow Song in Othello. Desdemona, the heroine of the play, sings the song in her despair.【4】

The earliest written record of The Willow Song is from 1583 and was written for the lute (琵琶), a stringed instrument like a guitar but with a much softer sound. Shakespeare uses the symbolism of the willow again in Hamlet, when doomed Ophelia breaks willow branches and throws them into the river where she eventually drowns herself.【5】 Even in the famous modem novel Harry Potter, Willows are described as characters.

A. Weeping willow trees are fast growing.

B. Many composers have set this song to music.

C. Willows are referenced also in Twelfth Night.

D. They also like to grow near ponds，streams and lakes.

E. Most willows have pretty, green, long and thin leaves.

F. Poets and artists usually like willows and sing them in their works.

G. Weeping willows aren’t particular about their soil type, and they’re very adaptive.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】A

【2】G

【3】E

【4】B

【5】C

【解析】文章介紹了垂柳的分布、生長習性、顏色的變化和在文學作品中的運用。

【1】A

考查對上下文的理解和推理判斷能力。根據下句They easily grow ten feet per year, and take over the landscape.它們很容易每年生長10英尺，可知垂柳生長很快，A項表達了此意，連接下句。故選A.

【2】G

考查對上下文的理解和推理判斷能力。本段表達了垂柳的生長習性，喜歡潮濕涼爽的氣候，也能容忍干旱。G項：垂柳對土壤類型要求不挑剔適應性非常強，符合本段內容，故選G.

【3】E

考查對上下文的理解和推理判斷能力。本段講垂柳葉子顏色的變化，下句講到秋天垂柳葉子會由淺黃綠色到漂亮的藍色。E項：多數垂柳有漂亮的、綠色細而長的葉子。與下句連接，符合本段內容，故選E.

【4】B

考查對上下文的理解和推理判斷能力。本段講垂柳在文學作品中的運用，最有名的關于柳樹的文學引用可能是威廉莎士比亞在奧賽羅中的柳曲，劇中的女主角Desdemona，在她的絕望中唱了這首歌。B項：許多作曲家把這首歌設置為音樂。承接上文，故選B.

【5】C

考查對上下文的理解和推理判斷能力。本段講柳樹在莎士比亞文學作品中的具體運用的例子，C項：在第十二夜中也提到了柳樹，符合本段內容，故選C.