必修第二册 Unit 4 Exploring literature-【创新教程】2024高考英语总复习大一轮课时作业word（新教材，译林版）

Unit 4　Exploring literature Ⅰ.阅读理解 New psychological thriller Curses of Cousins is a fascinating novel, mixing realworld issues with a fictional investigation to uncover the truth behind an island nation's misfortunes. It is set in the fictitious Caribbean island of Sigatoo and follows a young teacher called Brooklyn as she sets out on a personal pursuit to end the community's traditional practice of intermarriage between cousins. This custom, as we discover, is the reason that many families, including her own, suffer from a range of incurable illnesses－the “curse” referred to in the book's title which hurts not only the lead character, but the rest of her immediate relations. With a sharp intelligence and natural curiosity into the ‘whys’ behind things, Brooklyn wants to clear up the misunderstanding of the curse, which has made generations of islanders suffer since Sigatoo's original settlement, and let the light of reason shine down to save future generations from the same health problems. This, however, is going to be anything but easy. As she quickly learns, discovering the truth is only the first obstacle. The challenge will lie in getting the misogynistic (歧视女性的), immoral island leaders to back her, and the families that have been brought up to consider intermarriage between cousins as perfectly acceptable to change their ways. All of this she must do while being in great pain because of her MS, and having to live with a series of tragedies, including losing her baby daughter and twin sister to cruel genetic diseases. And if that isn't enough, there's also a metaphysical battle—literally between manifestations (显示) of good and evil—spreading in her mind. In one corner is VOD, an evil creature who teases Brooklyn and tries to lead her away from her important social mission. On the other side is Chutzpah, the representation of purity and all that is noble within the human spirit.Brooklyn, however, is a fighter and is only strengthened by each new disaster