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The lights go out-another power failure. "Get the candles." Mom says, and I do. My younger
brother and I search every room to collect the tall candles and votives (灶台 ) spaced around the house. I hurry from shelf to shelf gathering wax (蜡) sticks in my arms and place them in the living room,a few candles in each comer except for a small red votive. That one I keep. It is the one I will take to the coffee table to use to read. I slide my book. Things Fall Apart, beside the candle holder, determined to finish the last three chapters, but lacking determination. So the book
book remains closed.A sigh escapes my brother's lips.
"This is boring," he says. A drop of wax falls on my book. "I know," I say, but really. I am enjoying the stillness. I like to watch the candle bum and feel that life is simple. I like to look out of the window into an immediate darkness unspoiled by unpleasant light I love these silent moments when I feel as ifl can live the way they lived, the people of the past-the Egyptians. the Pilgrims (朝者圣), the Greeks-anyone who ever lived to see the black color l'm seeing, anyone who lived to see a yellow name and depended on it. I feel at once with a secret, ancient age. I'm convinced that night. in this disturbed state. is the closest a person can get to experience the past.So, what was night really like for them? Night, as we know it now, is a pleasant, loving thing
compared to the incomprehensible darkness that covered Earth's first people. Even its beauty
seemed unmatched.
What did a farmer's family do at night? Of course, the darkness must have brought them together. forced them into each other's company as it has done to us tonight-developed a close relationship in a time of fear and uncertainty. A fire probably bumt brightly in a central room where the family gathered to talk and relax. Night was a time when men and women were liberated from work and socialized. They had no computers or TVs, and had to make do with books, religion, and conversation. At their bedside, they prayed to God, and felt a sense of security that they were out of the darkness and harm's reach.
Nevertheless, to run a risk of going outside was sometimes necessary. and the threat of robbers.wolves. even the ethereal (太空精灵), was present. What emotions did these people feel? Did they witness a deep bright blue cloud across heaven? What would it have been like to feel the night,heavy and damp against my back? Would it have taken me, choked me with its powerful hands.separated me from other people? Or would those have been awful dreams, and dreams only?
I imagine a young girl. stepping outside her home and into a desert for some air. A cool, earthy smell would greet her. There's a sky with millions of stars-far more than a person could see today-and there's the moon. It's the largest object in the sky, the midnight sun that shines in the world, the traveler's torch. It inspires stories of uncenainty, stories of power. l imagine this girl
amazed at the moon and stars. If she wanders too far, she needn't worry, for the stars will lead her back home.
Bzzz! The lights return. Everyone cheers and abandons the room, happy that their period of being lonely is over. everyone except me. I pull my candle closer, and stare into the night. The glory is gone; it has been made less bright by street lamps. electric signs. TVs, and all other manners of artficial light. But in those moments. when every light in every house was off, people may have had a taste of the old world. They may finally have touched upon the slight fear, the admiration, and the respect that our ancestors felt for the night.
46. We can leam from the passage that the writer thinks the power failure .
A. allows people to simplify their life
B. keeps people away from artificial lights
C. brings too much inconvenience to people
D. gives people a time to taste the old lifestyle
47. By saying "This is boring" (Paragraph 2), the writer's brother most probably means
that .
A. he really dislikes the sudden power failure
B. he lacks interesting books to entertain himself
C. the writer's book is really uninteresting
D. it's dull to see wax fall on the book
48. From Paragraph 4, we can leam that the farmers of the past .
A. lived a really simple and boring life
B. had nothing in common with modem people
C. didn't have to work as hard as modem people
D. might have no choice but to stay indoors at night
49. It can be inferred that when they stayed outside at night, the people of the past .
A. would have awful dreams
B. were sure to lose their way
C. might hold some fear inside
D. were faced with no danger at all
50. The writer makes up the story of a young girl in order to .
A. inspire people to explore a desert
B. show his love for the beauty of night
C. to inform people of what to do at night
D. provide suggestions for traveling at night
46．【答案】D。解析：推断题。根据第二段中的“I'm convinced that night，in this disturbed state，is the closest a person can get to experience the past”以及最后一段的“But in those moments，when every light in every house was off，people may have had a taste of the old world”可知，停电给人们提供了品味旧时生活方式的时间。故本题选D。
47．【答案】A。解析：推断题。弟弟叹气并说“无聊”时在看书的是作者，全文并没有提到弟弟是否喜欢看书．由此可推断出弟弟是认为停电比较无聊，即他不喜欢突然停电。放排除B、C、D，本题选A。
48．【答案】D。解析：推断题：第四段主要讲述了在过去的夜晚，黑夜带来的不安和恐惧使农民不再劳作，不得不和家人聚在一起，在家聊天、看书、祈祷等。故本题选D。
49．【答案】C。解析：推断题。根据第五段中的“Nevertheless，to run a risk of going outside was sometimes necessary, and the threat of robbers，wolves，even the ethereal（太空精灵），was present”可知，在过去，有时人们不得不在晚上外出，他们需要面临强盗、狼等的威胁，因此他们可能心存恐惧。故奉题选C。
50．【答案】B。解析：推断题。根据关键词定位到倒数第二段。该段主要描述了夜晚星空的美丽景象，并说女孩不必担心，因为群星能指明回家的路，这体现m作者对夜晚的喜爱之情。故本题选B。
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