In the end, it got a bit tedious, queuing to see the millionaire. As befitte

游客2023-11-12  29

问题     In the end, it got a bit tedious, queuing to see the millionaire. As befitted our colour, marshals waved us through the outer gates into the court of preliminary investigation; but here we waited for some hours with perhaps a thousand others until, eventually, there were checks on the authenticity of our displays.
    After that it was the whole day progressing along an upward-spiralling ramp, rehearsing answers to hypothetical questions, eyeing each other until we reached the first level platform and presented ourselves. Tests continued throughout the night; but I experienced no difficulty in producing correct responses. As the sun rose, the other eleven of my group were on the downward ramp, while I rejoined the slow onward climb.
    The second level was reached, once again, some time towards evening. Here the questioning was more indeterminate. But my preparations were adequate. And so 1 rose to the third and final level. The thousands which had presented themselves at the outer gate had been winnowed down to some twenty. It was possible, indeed, that we might be the last. We then began the last stage of the journey: a spiral ramp leading to the viewing platform. I made myself ready.
    Looking down at the millionaire in its envelope of support machinery, I found it difficult to believe that such a misshapen, pallid being was of any cosmic significance. Yet its race had at one time dominated our space, not through force, but through the irresistible spread of its freely-shared technologies and cultures. And now, here was the last of them. The natural ageing of the species had at some point deprived it of fertility; but its biology had been engineered to give each individual effective immortality.
    Yet, in the end, they could not defeat the grindstone of time. Accident, conflict, the wear-and-tear of existence had cut the numbers down; from trillions to billions, and then to millions, thousands, hundreds, tens; and at last to one, who, according to the records, was over a million years old. The millionaire.
    My moment had come. Reciting the codes, I focused energies on the being below, and watched as the radiance flowed from its body, turning the liquids in the surrounding tubes to vapour, the metals and synthetics to liquid. Attendants reached out for me; but it was over. The light below ended as suddenly as it had come, leaving only black dust.
    So ended the last of the human beings. A thousand civilizations, smothered in infancy by human benevolence, had been avenged. [br] The visitor sounds______ in the account of the story.

选项 A、sarcastic
B、sentimental
C、peaceful
D、impatient

答案 A

解析 推断题。探访者“我”着意描述了其经历的重重考验与盘查,而其后又讲述了这个幸存者当前所处的可怜境地,而最后这个幸存者更是被探访者彻底毁灭。幸存者无论如何小心谨慎追求永生,最后仍难逃毁灭的命运,由此可知,作者对其持讥讽的态度,故[A]为答案。“我”本身是这个幸存者的终结者,叙述此事不会以伤感的语气,故[B]不合文意;“我”虽然提到了所经历的测试与漫长的等待,但文中并没有出现表示失去耐心的词汇,由此可排除[D];作者描述时显然带有感情色彩,特别是由文章最后一句话可以推知[C]不正确。
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