第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分,满分40分）
阅读下列短文,从每篇短文后所给各题的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中,选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
No one knows where the phrase "Indian summer" got started, we are sure that the phrase was wellknown by the year 1778,because Crevecoeur, an American writer, described it like this:"a hard frost(霜冻)follows the autumn rains. This prepares the ground to receive the snows of winter. But before the snows come, the earth turns warm once again and there are a few days of smoke and mildness called Indian summer."
There is a story about Indian summer that goes back to the very first settlers of the New World. The first frost meant winter was coming. Snow would soon follow.
The Indians, seeing the settlers preparing for winter, told them not to hurry. The weather would turn warm again, mild breezes would blow and the sky would turn soft and smoky. And so it did. The sun became hotter,and a bright warm smoke flowed over the fields and woods. The settlers, remembering the words of the Indians, called this wonderful period Indian summer.
But the Indians have their own stories about this late period of warm weather. One of their stories is about a god called Shawondasee.
Shawondasee was a sad god because he had lost the love of a tall and beautiful Indian maiden. The sad and beautiful story caught the imagination of the American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. In 1855 he included the story of Shawondasee in his poem "The song of Hiawatha".
The story goes like this: God Shawondasee, fat and lazy, lived under the dreamy and never-ending southern sun. He sent birds and wild geese to the north, as well as melons and grapes. He smoked a big pipe, and as the smoke rises, it filled the sky with dreamy softness, gave a bright shine to the water and brought the tender Indian summer to the melancholy northland.
There is something about this period of warm weather that gives people a lift and makes them feel warm and happy before the long snows of winter come.
61.Which season does "Indian summer" refer to?
A. Early spring. B. Late summer. C. Mid-autumn. D. Early winter.
62.Which of the following best describes the weather of this period of time?
A. Hot and humid. B. Warm and mild. C. Cool and bright. D. Cold and smoky.
63.The Indians' explanation to this natural phenomenon is that God Shawondasee_______.
A. lived under the dreamy southern sun B. took pity on the homeless settlers
C. smoked a lot because of his bad mood D. lent his smoking pipe to the Indians
64.What is the meaning of the underlined word "melancholy"?
A. Sad and lonely. B. Dreamy and exciting.
C. Soft and musical. D. Warm and happy.
