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  3. The lights go out—another power failure. "Get the candles," Mom says, and I do. My younger brother and I search every room to co

The lights go out—another power failure. "Get the candles," Mom says, and I do. My younger brother and I search every room to co

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问题     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 holders (烛台) 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 corner 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 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 burn 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 if I can live the way they lived, the people of the past—the Egyptians, the Pilgrims (朝圣者), the Greeks—anyone who ever lived to see the black color I’m seeing, anyone who lived to see a yellow flame 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 burnt 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 uncertainty, stories of power. I 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 artificial 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.
From Paragraph 4, we can learn that the farmers of the past________.
选项 A、lived a really simple and boring life
B、had nothing in common with modern people
C、didn’t have to work as hard as modern people
D、might have no choice but to stay indoors at night
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。
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