#头号周刊#​#奇妙知识季#​

一、事实细节题

在阅读理解测试中,很大比例的题目是考细节的。事实上在对历年试题的分析中发现,事实细节题的比例占一半以上。文章中的细节通常指的是作者为论证文章主题特别是论证段落的大意而使用的具体信息。因为就议论文和说明文言，作者在阐明准备论述的问题或观点后,常会用大量具体的实细节去说明或支持它们。这些细节可以是理由、例子、数字，也可以采用下定义、作比较、对比、打比方 等方法去组织。根据具体考查的内容或范围，事实细节题可以再细分为因果细节题、态度细节题、观点 细节题、类比细节题、综合细节题和具体细节题。

1.常见的命题模式

(1) According to the passage/ the author, who (what, where, which, when, why, how, etc.)根据文章/作者，谁（what，where，which，when，why，how，等等）

(2) Which of the following is true/correct/false/not included?以下哪项是正确的/正确的/错误的/不包括在内？

(3) All of the following are (not) true, are (not) mentioned except 以下所有内容均（不）正确，均（未）提及

(4) The author mentions all of the items listed below/ all of the following except作者提及以下所有项目/以下所有项目，除了

(5) We learn from the last paragraph(the first three paragraphs, the text)that我们从最后一段（前三段，正文）中了解到

事实细节的考查内容和形式可以说是五花八门，但是大致可以归纳为以下三种类型：

(1)According根据

题干中多用who,what,where.,which ,when,why,how等疑问词引导，利用词性、同义词近义词 或一些意思相似的语句去考查考生对原文表达细节信息的词汇、惯用法的正确理解，要求考生在文中 寻找重要事实与细节。考生可以利用题目的关键词去寻找文中对应词，在对应词周围找答案。注意：此类题中，考what和why的最多。

(2)隐含的事实和细节型

测试考生对文章展示的细节的综合概括能力；需要在读懂全文的基础上，综合概括作者展示的各 种细节。

Hunting for a job late last year, lawyer Gant Redmon stumbled across CareerBuilder, a job database on the Internet. He searched it with no success but was attracted by the site's "personal search agent". It's an interactive feature that lets visitors key in job criteria such as location, title, and salary, then E-mails them when a matching position is posted in the database. Redmon chose the keywords legal, intellecyual property and Washington, D. C. Three weeks later, he got his first notification of an opening. "I struck gold, " says Redmon, who E-mailed his resume to the employer and won a position as in-house counsel for a company. (2004 Passage 1)去年年底，律师甘特·雷德蒙（GantRedmon）在找工作时偶然发现了CareerBuilder，这是一个互联网上的工作数据库。他搜索它时没有成功，但被该网站的“个人搜索代理”所吸引。这是一个交互式功能，允许访问者输入工作标准，如位置、职称和工资，然后在数据库中发布匹配的职位时通过电子邮件发送给他们。Redmon选择了关键词property和Washington，D.C。三周后，他收到了第一份开业通知。“我获得了金牌，”雷德曼说，他通过电子邮件将简历发给了雇主，并赢得了一个公司内部法律顾问的职位。（2004年第1段）

How did Redmon find his job?雷蒙是怎么找到工作的？

[A] By searching openings in a job database.通过在工作数据库中搜索空缺职位。

[B]By posting a matching position in a database.通过在数据库中发布匹配位置。

[C] By using a special service of a database.使用数据库的特殊服务。

[D] By E-mailing his resume to a database.通过电子邮件将他的简历发送到数据库。

整个全文的主题是介绍“搜索代理”这种网上谋职工具。而第一段围绕雷德曼通过“个人搜索 求职的个人经历展开论述。根据整个段落的细节内容和全文的主题可以判断出C选项正确，该选项 的“特殊服务”指的就是“个人搜索代理”这种服务，其他干扰项都不符合文意。

(3)正误判断题

此类试题多根据文章的一段或数段提问,考查考生在现实生活中的阅读技能,即快速、准确寻找所需信息的能力,这种题目因为覆盖面较广,搜索定位时间较长,因而难度较大,容易给考生带来心理压力。因此考生通到此类题型时,首先要调整心理状态,冷静地返回到文章中去寻找答案。

这种题原文往往有罗列,因此其解题三步骤如下首先,读懂题和四个选项的内容,提炼和记忆它们的主要意思;其次,带着问题去阅读文章,扫描和搜寻信息点,与题目不相关的句子和语段很快掠过,相关信息语言区域则要放慢速度,细致地对照原文和选项提供的信息;最后,“对号入座”,找到解题范围后,立刻除明显的干扰项,然后“逐个突破”,对余下的选项进行筛选,使选项的范围越来越小,判断的准确率越来越高。

正误判断题有两种题型:一正三误和三正一误,即要求考生找出四个选项中惟一正确的一个和要

求考生判断哪一个选项与文章不符。

这中间应该特别提到的是后者,又称 except题型,其特点是题干中常常含有否定意义词 except,not(mentioned/true), least等,要求考生辨认哪些细节文章中未提及。解此类题也遵循上面的三个步骤,在对号入座时,可以将原文中提到的内容划线,表示是排除的内容:无法对号的即是答案。

Example

Money spent on advertising is money spent as well as any I know of. It serves directly to assist a rapid distribution of goods at reasonable prices,thereby establishing a firm home market and so making it possible to provide for export at competitive prices. By drawing attention to new ideas it helps enormously to raise standards of living. By helping to increase demand it ensures an increased need for labour, and

is therefore an effective way to fight unemployment. It lowers the costs of many services: without advertisements your daily newspaper would cost four times as much, the price of your television licence would

need to be doubled and travel by bus or tube would cost 20 per cent more.(1995年 Passage1)

In the passge, which of the following is NOT included in the advantges of advertising?

[A] Securing greater fame.

[B Providing more jobs

[C] Enhancing living standards [D] Reducing newspaper cost

这是一典型的 except题。先略读题干和选项得知题目主要的是广告的益处。定位到文章第一段。这一段列举了广告的四点益处:a.有助于产品以合理价格稳定国内市场,以有竞争力的价格进入国际市场:b.有利于提高人们的生活标准;c.增加了市场需求,扩大了就业:d.使许多公共事业的服务价格低廉。对号入座,发现只有选项A文中未提及。

2.事实细节试题的选项特点和解题技巧

(1)正确选项的特点

①一般可以在文章中直接或间接找到答案,但是不可能与阅读材料一模一样,而是用不同的词语

或句型去表达相同的思想。如:原文用双重否定,选项用肯定的句式;进行同义词替换或句子结构的变换;或原文与选项互换反义词等等。然而这只是词语和句法上的变化,意思是一致的,模式为:题干+正确选项的信息值=/≈原文中某句的信息值。

②体现中心思想,有很多正确选项刚好在段落主旨句中。

Example

The world is going through the biggest wave of mergers and acquisitions ever witnessed. The process

sweeps from hyperactive America to Europe and reaches the emerging countries with unsurpassed might.Many in these countries are looking at this process and worrying :"Won't the wave of business concentration turn into an uncontrollable anti-comperitive force?(2001年 Passage4)

What is the typical trend of businesses today?

[A] To take in more foreign funds

[B] To invest more abroad.

[C] To combine and become bigger.

[D]To trade with more countries

文章的第一段指出当今企业界出现的一个现象,即整个世界正在经历一场前所未有的兼并和收购

浪潮。这一并购之风从异常活跃的美国到达欧洲,并以不可比拟的力影响到新兴经济家。C选项

“合并并且变得更加大”就是该段首句提到的 mergers and acquisitions,即当今企业发展的主要趋势，该段的段落主旨句就是首句。

③在细节的因果关系处常常命题,正确项多为其产生原因或主要原因,也有少量考结果的。

Example

I believe that the most important forces behind the massive M&A wave are the same that underlie the globalization process: falling transportation and communication costs, lower trade and investment barriers and enlarged markets that require enlarged operations capable of meeting customers' demands. All these are beneficial, not detrimental, to consumers. As productivity grows the world's wealth increases.(2001年 Passage4)

According to the author, one of the driving forces behind M& A wave is____

[A] the greater customer demands

[B] a surplus supply for the market

[C] a growing productivity

[D] the increase of the world's wealth

该段剖析了造成并购流的数个重要原因,如:交通和通讯成本的日趋下降,贸易和投资壁垒的降低,以及扩大的市场要求扩大业务去满足顾客的需要。A选项“顾客更大的需要”是上面提到的第三个因素,因此A为正确选项。B选项“对市场的供给过于充裕”即市场供应过剩,应该是企业缩小生产的原因。C选项“日益增长的生产率”是企业合并后的结果,而D选项“世界财富的增长”又是生产力提高的结果。

(2)干抗项的特点

①部分正确,部分错误;②是原文信息,但不是题目要求的内容,如根据题干中的关键词定位到段落

,若选项中出现这个范围之外其他段落的内容必错；③符合常识,但不是文章的内容;④与原句的内容极为相似,但在程度上有些变动,如:将文中并非绝对化的内容绝对化,或偷梁换柱改动一些关键词:⑤明显不是文章的信息,与文中事实相反或不符。

(3)事实细节试题的解题技巧

①主题和事实细节内容是相辅相成的,确定了主题,能深刻理解细节材料的作用。同样,对具体细节有较为全面的理解,就能够更好地判明主题。考生要记住这一原则:文章的每一词,句、段都和文章主题相关,不是用来证明主题的论据,就是作者要判的论据。

②文章的事实节内容不会孤立地出现,它与前后的内容密切相关。文章或段落中的细节都存在

某种内在的联系,如因果关系,类比关系,时间,空间先后关系,考生在阅读中可以利用这些关系将零碎的细节组成一个有机的整体。

③看细节内容要“跳”出来看,即要对文章的组织结构了如指掌,知道这部分细节是为什么主题服务的,才能迅速捕捉到所需的信息。

④一般都可以在文章中直接或间接找到答案。遵循“本本主义”,以原文为解题的唯一依据，而不可以自我发挥或凭感觉做题。如:选项中出现文章未涉及的中心词可以首先排除。

⑤考生要留意文章或题干中一些细小的地方,如:正确把握文中代词的所指关系,它们是为了避免上下文重复而使用的。此外还有时态,语气等。

Example

If the preoccupation of schools with academic work was lessened, more time might be spent teaching c hildren surer values. Perhaps selection for the caring professions, especially medicine, could be made less

by good grades in chemistry and more by such considerations as sensitivity and sympathy. It is surely a

mistake to choose our doctors exclusively from A-type stock. B's are important and should be encour-aged.(1995年Text4)

The selection medical professionals are currently based on_____.

[A] candidates' sensitivity

[B] academic achievements

[C] competitive spirit

[D] surer values

这段文章基本上是虚拟语气,即所给的细节和情况都与现在的事实相反。虽然最后两句是直接

述语气,但是却没有直接指明A和B在这里具体代表什么。而试题问的是现在的情况,因此对整段进行综合分析并且将原句反过来表述而得出,现在的选择标准就是academie work或 good grades。因此B为正确答案

二、其他的常考点

(一)引语常考

文章中出现的引语基本上都是考点,只是采用不同的题型而已,如推理引申题、句意理解题、作者意图题等等。特别注意首段引语的三种作用:第一,作为支持作者观点的论据;第二,作为作者批判的靶子;第三,给出文章大背景。

Example 1

Tight-lipped elders used to say, "It's not what you want in this world, but what you get."

Psychology teaches that you do get what you want if you know what you want and want the right thing.(1996年Passage1)

Senator Robert Dole criticized Time Warner for____

[A] its raising of the corporate stock price

[B] its self-examination of soul

[C]its neglect of social responsibility

[D] its emphasis on creative freedom

此处引言的作用就是给出文章探讨的大背景。要求考生通过该引言推出责备 Time Warner的原因。答案为C选项。

(二)例子常考

例子经常出现在命题中,而且题型多为作者观点态度题。此类题型主要针对文章中所举之例的作

用进行发问。考生应该注意例子的出现无非有两种情况:一是先提观点后举例;二是先举例后提出观点。而该观点就是作者引用例子所要说明或反驳的。因此见到例子后,考生应该迅速查找其上下文,目的必在其中。通过历年真题分析,发现先提观点后举例的情况占多数

Example1

You can make a mental blueprint of a desire as you would make a blueprint of house, and each of us is continually making these blueprints in the general routine of everyday living. If we intend to have friends to dinner, we plan the menu, make shopping list, decide which food cook first, and such planning is an essential for any type of meal to be served.

Likewise, if you want to find a job, take a sheet of paper, and write a brief account of yourself. In making a blueprint for a job, begin with yourself, for when you know exactly what you have to offer, you can intelligently plan where to sell your services.(1996年 Passage1)

A blueprint made before inviting a friend to dinner is used in this passage as____

[A] an illustration of how to write an application for a job

[B] an indication of how to secure good job

[C]a guideline for job description

[D]a principle for job evaluation

举例是为了说明或驳斥某个观点,在这篇文章中,例子直接摆在观点句后,是典型的先提观点后举例的形式。作者先表述其现点: You can make mental blueprint of deaire... and each of us is continually making these blueprints in genernl routine of everyday living。接下来作者以请人吃饭的例子来说

明a mental blueprint of a desire,并把它与“找工作”的方式联系起来,指出两者的相同之处都是要“勾画一幅欲望蓝图”,因此,A选项为正确答案

Example2

To take advantage of this tool, some impoverished countries will have to get over their outdated anticolonial prejudices with respect to foreign investment. Countries that still think foreign investment is an invasion their sovereignty might well study the history of infrastructure(the basic structural foundation of a society) in the United States. When the United States built its industrial infrastructure, it

didn't have the capital to do so. And that is why America' Second Wave infrastructure-- including roads, harbors, highways, ports and so on--were built with foreign investment. The English, the Germans, the Dutch and the French were investing in Brtain's former colony. They financed them. Immigrant Americans buit them. Guess who owns them now? The Americans. I believe the same thing would be true in places like Brazil or anywhere else for that matter. The more foreign capital you have helping you build your Third Wave infrastracture, which today is an electronic infrastructure, the better off you're going to

be. That doesn't mean lying down and becoming fooled,or letting foreign corporations run uncontrolled. But it does mean recognizing how important they can be in building the energy and telecom infrastructures needed to take full advantage of the Internet (2001年 Passage 2)

The writer mentioned the case of the United States to justify the policy of_____

[A]providing financial support overseas

[B] preventing foreign capital's control

[C]building industrial infrastructure

[D]accepting foreign investrnent

此题是典型的先举例后提出观点的形式。以美国为例之后,作者提出“哪个国家利用外资多,哪个

国家就将变得更富裕”的结论。由结论可以直接得出答案。正确答案为D选项。

（三）长难句常考

考点一般集中在长难句上。这些句子的共同点就是同位语,定语和分句很多；主语和谓语之间的距离很远,还时常伴有插入成分。主要考查句子之间的指代或逻关系,以引中推题、事实细节题等多种形式出现。理解长难句的要领就是先找出主干,化繁为简,然后再看各个分句或修饰成分与它的关系。

Example

In addition to this, there is the growing mobility of people since World War Ⅱ. As families move away from their stable community, their friends of many years, their extended family relationships, the informal flow of information is cut off, and with it the confidence that information will be available when needed and will be trustworthy and reliable. The almost unconscious flow of information about the simplest aspects of living can be cut off. Thus, things once learned subconsciously through the casual communications of the extended family must be consciously learned.(1995年Text3)

The word "it" (Line 3, Paragraph 2) most probably refers to.

[A] the Iack of stable communities

[B] the breakdown of informal information channels

[C] the increased mobility of families

[D] the growing number of people moving from place to place

首先把握整个句子的主干是: the informal flow of information is cut off。前面是as引导的状语从

句，their stable community ,their friends of many years, their extended family relationships三个名词短语都是from的宾语。with it 介词结构修饰confidence,表伴随；按照代词指代关系中的临近一致原则和上下文的含义，it 应该指代它前面的信息，即“非正式的信息流通被切断”这句话。正确答案为B选项。

(四)转折处或对比处常考

在历年考题中,转折和对比一直受到命者的青睐。文章通过 however, but,in fact,yet等逻辑词进行转折,转折后的内容常常是作者真正表达的内容。对比常用 unlike, different from, until,

not so much as等词语引导,考的是对比双方的属性。对转折题,考生要着重把握作者转折后的观点。对于交章中出现的将两种人或两种观点进行对比时,考生要准确把握每一种的特点,避免被张冠李的选项

迷惑。

Example

Few creations of big technology capture the imagination like giant dams. Perhaps it is humankind's long suffering at the mercy of flood and drought that makes the idea of forcing the waters to do our biding so fascinating. But to be fascinated is also, sometimes, to be blind. Several giant dam projects threaten to do more harm than good.(1998年 Passage1)

The third sentence of paragraph1 implies that

[A] people would be happy if they shut their eyes to reality

[B] the blind could be happier than the sighted

[C] over-excited people tend to neglect vital things

[D] fascination makes people lose their eyesight

该段前两句指出人们热衷建坝的事实和热衷的自然原因;第三句but话锋一转,引出作者探讨的主

题。正确答案为C选项

Example 2

An invisible border divides those arguing for computers in the classroom on the behalf of students' career prospects and those arguing for computers in the classroom for broader reasons of radical educational reform. Very few writers on the subject have explored this distinction indeed, contradiction which goes to the heart of what is wrong with the campaign to put computers in the classroom.(1999 年Passage3）

The author thinks the present rush to put computers in the classroom is

[A] far-reaching

[B] dubiously oriented

[C] self-contradictory

[D] radically reformatory

作者将两种态度做了对比,指出对于计算机课堂教学,人们在观点上存在着一条无形的界限:一是以学生的就业前景为理由,另一种是以激进的教育改革为理由,因此B为答案。

(五)因果句常考

(1)出这类题时,文章中一般都有 since, for， because,as, therefore, result in, originate from这些标志词。没有标志词的就需要考生通过上下文推出二者的因果关系。

Example 1

Technically, any substance other than food that alters our bodily or mental functioning is a drug.

Many people mistakenly believe the term drug refers only to some sort of medicine or an illegal chemical taken by drug addicts. They don't realize that familiar substances such as alcohol and tobacco are also drugs. This is why the more neutral term substance is now used by many physicians and psychologists.

The phrase "substance abuse" is often used instead of "drug abuse" to make clear that substances such as alcohol and tobacco can be just as harmfully misused as heroin and cocaine.(1997年Passage 3)

"Substance abuse"(Line 5,Peragraph 1) is preferable to "drug abuse" in that

[A] substances can alter our bodily or mental functioning if illegally used

[B]"drug abuse" is only related to a limited number of drugtakers

[C] alcohol and tobacco are as fatal as heroin and cocaine

[D] many substances other than heroin or cocaine can also be poisonous

该段最后一句用to明确表达用“物质滥用”代替“药物滥用”的目的所在,也就是原因。正确答案为D选项

(2)当有多种原因时,主要原因常考。

Example2

Could the bad old days of economic decline be about to return? Since OPEC agreed to supply-cuts in March, the price of crude oil has jumped to almost $26 a barrel, up from less than $10 last December. This near-tripling of oil prices calls up scary memories of the 1973 oil shock, when prices quadrupled, and 1979-1980, when they also almost tripled. Both previous shocks resulted in double-digit inflation and global economic decline. So where are the headlines warning of gloom and doom this time?

The oil price was given another push up this week when Irag suspended oil exports. Strengthening economic growth, at the same time as winter grips the northern hemisphere, could push the price higher still in the short term.(2002年Text3)

The main reason for the latest rise of price is

[A]global inflation

[B] reduction in supply

[C] fast growth in economy

[D]Iraq's suspension of exports

文章第一、二段给出了多种原因。“伊拉克暂停石油出口”、“经济快速增长”和“冬季的到来”是第二段提到的进一步推动油价上涨的原因,而第一段谈到的“石油输出国组织在3月决定减少原油供应”才是主要的原因。正确答案为B选项。

（六）段首段尾常考

考研阅读所选的文章均是议论文和说明文。此类文章的文体要求在首段提出观点、突出中心,因此第一段就好像是全篇文章的一个总纲，确定了文章的主要内容,而第一句话常常是一个自然段的主题句。首段首句自然就成为常考且必考的一个考点。有时一个自然段的主题句可能出现在段末,因此考点也相应转向末句。

Example 1

If you intend using humor in your talk to make people smile, you must know how to identify shared experiences and problems. Your humor must be relevant to the audience and should help to show them that you are one of them or that you understand their situation and are in sympathy with their point of

view. Depending on whom you are addressing， the problems will be different. If you are talking to a group of managers, you may refer to the disorganized methods of their secretaries； alternatively if you are addressing secretaries, you may want to comment on their disorganized bosses.(2002年Text1)

To make your humor work, you should

[A] take advantage of different kinds of audience

[B] make fun of the disorganized people

[C] address different problems to different people

[D] show sympathy for your listeners

本题的答案主要集中在段首和段尾。该段首句指出,如果你想在谈话中用幽默使人发笑,你就必须知道如何辨别共同的经历和共同的问题。接着作者又对此进行了解释,即:你的幽默必须与听众有关,显示你是他们中的一员,或你理解他们的处境并赞成他们的观点。作者在第三句得出结论,即Depending on whom you are addressing, the problems will be different.(针对不同的听众,谈及不同的问题)由此可知,C选项恰好是对该段中心的概括,为正确答案

Example 2

...With regard to Futurist poetry, however, the case is rather difficult, for whatever Futurist poetry may be-even admitting that the theory on which it is based may be right-it can hardly be classed Literature.

This,though it fullfills the laws and requirements of Futurist poetry, can hardly be classed as Literature...(2000年Passage3)

The author believes that Futurist poetry is

[A] based on reasonable principles

[B] new and acceptable to ordinary people

[C] indicative of a basic change in human nature

[D] more of a transient phenomenon than literature

通过首段末句和末段首句的前后呼应,作者对未来派的观点和态度跃然纸上,即未来派诗歌很难

被归于文学作品,只能是一种暂时的现象,正确答案为D选项。

此外,首段有问句出现的,该句也通常会成为命题点。命题形式是主旨题。因此见到首段的问句,

应该首先考虑它是不是文章所要探讨的主要问题。

Example 3

Why do so many Americans distrust what they read in their newspapers? The American Society of Newspaper Editors is trying to answer this painful question. The organization is deep into a long self-analysis known as the journalism credibilty project.(2001年Passge3)

What is the passage mainly ab

out?

[A] Needs of the readers all over the world.

[B]Causes of the public disappointment about newspapers.

[C]Origins of the declining newspaper industry.

[D]Aims of a journalism credibility project.

文章一开头就给出讨论的话题“造成公众对报纸失望的原因”,接下来的内容亦围绕它展开。正确答案为B选项

(七)类比比喻常考

议论文和说明文在论证说明事理的时候均很抽象。为了让读者更形象地理解一些抽象的内容,文

章常采用类比的手法,形象的类比不仅有助于将抽象的道理阐释清楚,更可以让读者加深印象。类比在文中有两种体现方式,一是明喻,即A像B一样;二是暗喻,说A是B,由于暗喻加隐蔽,近年来命题专家越来越趋向于在暗喻内容上设问。

Example

If ambition is to be well regarded, the rewards of ambition -wealth, distinction, control over one's destiny must be deemed worthy of the sacrifices made on ambition's behalf. If the tradition of ambition is to have vitality, it must be widely shared; and it especially must be highly regarded by people who are themselves admired， the educated not least among them. In an odd way, however, it is the educated who have claimed to have given up on ambition as an ideal. What is odd is that they have perhaps most benefited from ambition-if not always their own then that of their parents and grandparents. There is a heavy note of hypocrisy in this, a case of closing the barn door after the horses have escaped-with the educated themselves riding on them(2000年Passage5)

The last sentence of the first parageaph most probably implies that it is

[A] customary of the educated to discard ambition words

[B] too late to check ambition once it has been let out

[C]dishonest to deny ambition after the fulfillment of the goal

[D]impractical for the educated to enjoy benefits from ambition

这里要求考生理解“马已经跑了再关上马厩的门”这一比喻句的真实含义。通过上文的内容可知,此句用来比喻“那些受过良好教育的人从雄心中收益浅,但是他们却声称要放弃以雄心为理想”的虚伪行为,其中 horses代表 ambition, riding代表 ambition带来的好处。正确答案为C选项

（八）复指处常考

考点是复指代词或与复指副词作用相同的词。1996以前此类题目大多是直接考生文章某句中

的it或that指代什么,近几年此类题目的问法开始转向隐蔽。考生在遇到此类题时应该记住,题目的答案所在位置必定在复指词的上文中。因此,只需返回原文,在复指词上方扫描即可找到正确答案。

Example

For a long period of time and in many parts of the country, a traveler was a welcome break in an otherwise dull existence. Dullness and loneliness were common problems of the families who generally lived

distant from one another. Strangers and travelers were welcome sources of diversion, and brought news of the outside world.

The harsh realities of the frontier also shaped this tradition of hospitality. Someone traveling alone, if hungry, injured, or ill, often had nowhere to turn except to the nearest cabin or settlement. It was not a matter of choice for the traveler or merely a charitable impulse on the part of the settlers. It reflected the harshness of daily life: if you didn't take in the stranger and take care of him, there was no one else who would. And someday, remember, you might be in the same situation.(1997年 Passage2)

Families in frontier settlements used to entertain strangers

[A] to improve their hard life

[B] in view of their long-distance travel

[C] to add some flavor to their own daily life

[D] out of charitable impulse

this指代的是上文提到的“陌生人和旅行者很受欢迎。他们带来了娱乐消遣,还带来了外面世界的消息”,因此边远地区的家庭款待旅游者的原因就是C选项“为自己的日常生活增添情趣”。