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(19-1)Today I found out that Seattle doesn’t really get that much rain compared with most US cities. In fact, Seattle ranks 44th among major US cities in average annual rainfall. Cities that get more rainfall than Seattle include Huston, Memphis, Nashville, and pretty much every major city on the eastern coast, such as New York, Boston, and Miami. (19-2)So, why does everyone think of Seattle as a rainy city? The primary root of this misconception lies in that Seattle has a relatively large number of days per year with rainfall compared with New York and Boston, which get an average of about 16% more rain per year than Seattle, but also average between them about 36 fewer days a year of rainfall. (20) So it rains a lot less in Seattle. And the rain is spread out over more days than those cities. This is why few locals in Seattle carry an umbrella generally. When it does rain, it tends to be a very light rain. that isn’t troublesome. It almost never really rains as most people think. (21)On top of that, it never really storms in Seattle, either. Seattle gets an average of a mere 7 days a year with thunder. So in short, if you like sunny but not too hot summers, mild winters but with lots of cloudy days, Seattle’s the place to be. Anyway, if you visit Seattle, don’t bring an umbrella. People will look at you, thinking you are funny.

未听先知

预览三道题各选项,由 rains cats and dogs, seldom rains in summer time、 not rain as much as people hink, most rainy cities in the US可推测,短文内容与美国某城市的降雨量有关。

详解详析

19. What does the speaker find out about Seattle?

C)【精析】 细节辨认题。短文开头讲话者指出,跟美国其他城市相比,西雅图的降雨量没有那么多,西雅图的年平均降雨量在美国的主要城市中排名是第44位。接下来讲话者提出疑问“为什么人们都认为西雅图是个多雨的城市呢?”,言外之意,讲话者发现,西雅图并没有人们认为的那么多雨。


20. Why do local people in Seattle seldom carry an umbrella?

B)【精析】 目的原因题。讲话者提到,跟其他雨量多的城市相比,西雅图降雨量要少很多,而且降雨期比较分散,这就是当地人通常很少带伞的原因。即使下雨,也往往是小雨。


21. Why does the speaker say ‘Seattle is a good place to be’?

D)【精析】 目的原因题。讲话者提到,西雅图从没有暴风雨。平均一年只有7天打雷。如果你喜欢晴朗但又不是很热的夏天,温和但有很多阴天的冬天,西雅图就是这样的地方。因此讲话者认为西雅图夏天和冬天的气候都比较温和。