专题05 阅读理解之夹叙夹议 -2021-2022学年高三期末考试好题汇编（通用版）

专题5 阅读理解之夹叙夹议 2021-2022学年高三期末考试好题汇编 Passage 1 （2021·内蒙古包头·高三期末） EVEN the best of communicators can sometimes hit a wrong note, whether with a joke, turn of phrase, or even an ill-timed chuckle（轻笑）. For instance, a former finance minister Ken Gabriel usually tries to keep things casual when answering reporters’ questions. But in a television interview on the news program 60 Minutes, some people felt his register was a little too casual—even careless. At one point, Gabriel spoke about the bankers who have been widely blamed for causing the collapse of the financial sector: “I mean there were a whole bunch of folks who, on paper, if you looked at quarterly reports, were wildly successful, selling derivatives that turned out to be …completely worthless,” Gabriel said, with a chuckle. Shocked by Gabriel’s laughter during the interview, journalist David finally asked: “You’re sitting here. And you’ re—you are laughing. You are laughing about some of these problems.” Gabriel quickly explained himself by replying, “No, no. There’s gotta be a little humor to get you through the day.” But that exchange ended up making news, as TV pundits, journalists and public relations experts debated Gabriel’s tone. One unnamed strategist for Gabriel’ s party said that the finance minister’ s attempts at humor were distracting: “Gabriel is gifted in so many ways, but humor is not something that he seems to be comfortable with. He does not come across as a funny guy.” The TV critic Daniel, meanwhile, came to Gabriel’s defense. “Gabriel isn’t a rookie …All this laughter seems clearly to be calculated rather than accidental. His laughs last night were designed as laughs of reassurance. They were designed to tell the TV audience he understands the severity of the situation.” There would have been little debate if Gabriel had not laughed during a speech. Answering questions in a public setting, however, should allow for a more conversational register. But as Gabriel discovered, not everyone