人物传记Passage 3

Passage 3

　　(2006 四川 C)

　　Juanito Estrella has been a housekeeping manager on the US-based large passenger ship Carnival Spirit for 18 months and feels he has found the suitable position in his career (职业). He has always wanted to travel. “I guess I am a really restless spirit. I like traveling, so when the chance came, I jumped at it,” he says.

　　The chance came in the form of a newspaper advertisement for work on cruise ships (游船). At the time Estrella was the housekeeping manager at a Melbourne hotel. He applied and, after two interviews, a medical check and police clearance, the job was his.

　　Estrella is responsible (负责的) for the cleanliness of the ship, making sure that 160 crew work properly. “I enjoy it because there is no other work—you wake up each day in a different place and a different culture. It’s exciting when you go to the next country and you don’t understand the language,” he says.

　　Estrella likes being busy and getting to know people from all over the world. The 1,000 crew come from 94 countries, and Estrella has learnt Spanish and a little Croatian.

　　But there is a downside. “You cannot get really drunk...because you have safety responsibilities to yourself and others,” he says. “You don’t really think about home. You start to think about home only when you get closer to your vacation and wonder what you’ll be doing.”

　　Life on the ship is anything but cruising. Estrella and his fellows work at least 10 hours a day, seven days a week. He warns the job is not for everybody. “You have to love being busy and be prepared to work every day—and to give up drinking too much alcohol.” In his spare time, if the ship sails into a port, Estrella explores it, otherwise he works out in the crew’s gym, goes on the internet or calls home.

　　1. What do we know about Estrella?

　　A. He is very fond of traveling. B. He doesn’t drink wine now.

　　C. He cannot speak a foreign language. D. He used to be a housekeeping manager.

　　2. The underlined word “downside” in paragraph 5 probably means ______.

　　A. disappointment B. disadvantage

　　C. failure D. loss

　　3. Which of the following is true?

　　A. Estrella doesn’t often feel homesick because of his work.

　　B. The work on the ship is not suitable for a married person.

　　C. Estrella can find no other job except the one on the ship.

　　D. The people on the ship are from 94 countries.

　　4. In the last paragraph, the writer thinks that life on the ship is ______.

　　A. not a tiring journey at all B. just an interesting voyage

　　C. far from a voyage for pleasure D. more than a pleasant travel by sea

　　【重点词汇】

　　housekeeping n. 家务管理US-based 总部设在美国的

　　restless adj. 得不到休息的apply v. 申请

　　clearance n.安全检查police clearance 保安审查

　　crew n.全体船员Croatian n. 克罗地亚语

　　downside n.不利方面alcohol n. 酒精

　　anything but 绝不是in one’s spare time 在某人的空闲时间

　　【疑难长句】

　　In his spare time, if the ship sails into a port, Estrella explores it, otherwise he works out in the crew’s gym, goes on the internet or calls home.

　　(参考译文)在空余时间里， 如果船驶进了码头， Estrella就会去码头参观。否则， 他会在员工健身房健身， 上网或者给家里打电话。

　　【答案解析】

　　1. A 细节理解题。题目问的是我们从文章中可以知道有关Estrella的什么事。 选项A， Estrella非常喜欢旅游； 选项B， 他现在不喝酒； 选项C， 他不会说外语； 选项D， 他曾经是一名家政经理。根据原文第一段 “He has always wanted to travel” 可以推断出正确答案为A。

　　2. B 词义猜测题。根据原文But there is a downside来看， 上文讲的是在船上工作的优点， 而下面讲的则是船上工作不好的方面， 也就是不能喝醉酒。 选项A， 失望； 选项B， 不利方面； 选项C， 失败； 选项D， 损失。可见选项B比较符合文章含义。

　　3. A 细节理解题。选项A， Estrella的工作使他不经常想家。文章倒数第二段说“你不会真正想家， 当假日临近， 开始考虑假期该做什么的时候， 你才开始想家”。选项B， 船上的工作不适合已婚人士。文中没有提到这一点， 这是无中生有了。选项C， Estrella除了船上这份工作， 找不到其他的工作。明显错误， Estrella在上船之前有其他的工作。选项D， 船上的人来自94个国家。文章第四段第二句话明确提到了船上1000名员工来自94个国家， 但这并不代表people on the ship来自94个国家， 这是偷梁换柱了。因此， 正确答案为A。

　　4. C 细节理解题。题目问的是最后一段中， 作者认为船上的生活是什么样子的。选项A， 旅途一点都不劳累； 选项B， 非常有意思的旅行； 选项C， 绝不是单纯的寻乐旅行； 选项D， 远不止一次愉悦的海上航行。文章最后说 Life on the ship is anything but cruising. “船上的生活绝对不是游玩。” 他们每周工作7天， 每天工作10个小时， 非常劳累。因此可以推断答案C比较贴近原文的意思。

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