Several years ago, a television reporter was talking to three of the most important people in America. One was a very rich banker, another owned one of the largest companies in the world, and the third owned many buildings in the center of New York.
The reporter was talking to them about being important.
“How do we know if someone is really important？” the reporter asked the banker.
The banker thought for a while and then said, “I think anybody who is invited to the White House to meet the President of the United States is really important.”
The reporter then turned to the owner of the very large company. “Do you agree with that？” she asked.
The man shook his head and said, “No. I think the President invites a lot of people to the White House. You'd only be important if while you were visiting the President, there was a telephone call from the President of another country, and the President of the US said he was too busy to answer it.”
The reporter turned to the third man. “Do you think so？” asked she.
“No, I don't，” he said. “I don't think that makes the visitor important. That makes the President important.”
“Then what would make the visitor important？” the reporter and the other two men asked.
“Oh, I think if the visitor to the White House was talking to the President and the phone rang, the President picked up the receiver, listened and then said, ‘It's for you.’”
【1】This story happened in ________．
A. England B. America C. Japan D. Australia
【2】There are ________ in this passage.
A. two men and two women B. three men and one woman
C. three women and one man D. four women
【3】The banker thought ________．
A. he was really important because he was a rich banker
B. the visitor to the White House was really important
C. the visitor who met the President of the United States was really important
D. the reporter was really important
【4】The owner of the very large company thought ________．
A. he was really important because he owned one of the largest companies
B. the banker was really important
C. the owner of many buildings in the center of New York was really important
D. the visitor would be really important if while he was visiting the President, the President would not answer any telephone calls
【5】The owner of many buildings thought ________．
A. he was really important because he owned many buildings in the center of New York
B. the owner of the very large company was really important
C. the visitor was really important if he was talking to the President and the President received a telephone call for him
D. the person who worked in the White House was really important
【答案】【1】 B
【2】 B
【3】 C
【4】 D
【5】 C
【解析】这篇短文中作者主要介绍了一名记者采访了纽约当地的三个著名人士，询问他们对人物的重要性的认识；三人各自表达了自己不同的观点。
【1】细节理解题。根据短文第一段开头一句a television reporter was interviewing three of the most important people from local businesses. 及最后一句the third owned many buildings in the center of New York．可知，其中一名受访者是来自于纽约中心的房产商人，由此可推出故事发生在美国；故选B。
【2】细节理解题。短文对三位嘉宾的人称代词用的都是he，由此可知，这三位嘉宾都是男士，而从第5段的she asked可以看出这个reporter是位女士，所以总共是three men and one woman，故选B。
【3】细节理解题。根据The banker thought for a few moments and then said, "I think anybody who is invited to the Whiter House to meet the President of the United States is really important可知银行家认为会见美国总统的来访者是很重要的；故选C。
【4】细节理解题。由句子, “No. I think the President invites a lot of people to the White House. You'd only be important if while you were visiting the President, there was a telephone call from the President of another country, and the President of the US said he was too busy to answer it.” 可知，“我认为总统邀请了很多人到白宫来。只有当你访问总统的时候，有另一个国家的总统打来的电话，而美国总统说他太忙了，没时间接，你才是重要的。”故选D。
【5】细节理解题。根据Oh, I think if the visitor to the White House was talking to the President and the phone rang, and the President picked up the receiver, listened and then said, ‘it's for you’. 可知拥有许多大楼的人认为如果来访者到白宫总统的电话响了，美国总统拿起电话，听了后说，“这是你的电话。”表明该来客是很重要的，故选C。
用细节定位法来做细节理解题。
细节理解题属直接解答性问题，是阅读理解题中最简单的一种，多数属中低难度的送分题。但由于中考所占的比例很大，应特别引起注意。
事实和细节题的命题特点是：把某词语、某个句子或某具体事实用不同于原文的另一方式或句型表达，即同义改写。解答这类题的窍门是：A)注意掌握英语的多种表达法；B）正确分析词语在句中的作用；C）熟练运用英语的句型转换；D）读懂题干所提出的问题，并准确地找到文中涉及该问题的句子。
做细节题具体方法与步骤如下：
略读材料,大概了解原文，掌握中心或主旨。
按文章的体裁，作者写作的组织模式及有关的信息词，如for example，first，second…等预测应该到何处寻找自己所需要的事实。
③将自己精力放在寻找你所需要的细节上，快速通篇跳读，眼睛自左至右，自上而下呈Z形扫视，直到找到细节出处，待找到含细节句子时，放慢速度，仔细核对比较内容，直至找到答案。