Can you imagine a world without fire, where food can’t be cooked and there is no way to stay warm in winter? In ancient times, our ancestors lived under such conditions.

Back then, people didn’t know that there was fire, let alone how to use it. When night fell, it was as black as a hole, and the cries of wild animals could be heard in the air. People had to stay close together, cold and scared. Without fire, they had to eat raw (生的) food, which often made them ill, leading to early deaths.

This is the point in the story when Suiren appears. Ancient texts show that there was once a place called Suiming, where people didn’t know about the change of seasons or the difference between day and night. In that land, a huge tree called the Sui Wood grew widely.

Much later, a wise man visited the land and rested under the tree. Suddenly, a large bird pecked at the tree, and bright fires broke out. After seeing what the bird did, the man took a small branch (树枝) and drilled it to make fire. From then on, he was known as Suiren.

Suiren became the first person to create fire in ancient China, teaching people to cook food, ending the age of eating raw meat. This made humans different from animals and he is honored as the “Fire Ancestor”. Every year, different kinds of events related to fire culture are held to honor the great man. Suiren’s value goes beyond teaching humans to use fire. He also opened a new era in the development of human civilization (文明).

1.36.Why does the writer use a question in paragraph 1?

A To introduce a fact.

B To doubt an opinion.

C To attract readers’ interest.

D To explain the background.

解析：选C。本题为写作手法题。文章开篇使用设问句 “Can you imagine a world without fire…”，这是英语阅读常见写作手段，用来激发读者的好奇心，吸引读者继续阅读，引出后文古人与火的故事，并非介绍事实、质疑观点或是交代故事背景，故 C 正确。

2.37. What do we know from the passage?

A Suiren was born in Suiming.

B Suiren planted the Sui Wood.

C The life was difficult without fire.

D People made fire to scare animals away.

解析：选C。本题为细节理解题。由第二段可知，没有火的年代，古人饱受严寒、野兽威胁，生食又引发疾病，足以证明没有火的生活十分艰难。原文写燧人氏到访遂明，并非出生于此；遂木是当地原生大树，不是他栽种；文中没有提及生火用来驱赶野兽，A、B、D 三项信息均和原文内容相悖。

3.38. Which sentence uses “drill” with the same meaning as the underlined word? drill: /drɪl/ v. ①钻孔 ②教（某人）反复练习 ③操练（士兵）

A The dog is well drilled in keeping the door.

B The doctor is drilling a hole in Tom’s tooth.

C The captain often drills the soldiers in the wild.

D The teacher is drilling the class to read the words.

解析：选B。本题为词义辨析题。文中 “drilled it to make fire” 中 drill 的含义为 “钻孔”。A、D 中 drill 意为 “训练、操练（人 / 动物）”，C 是军事语境下 “操练士兵”，只有 B 选项 “The doctor is drilling a hole in Tom’s tooth” 中 drill 表示物理层面的钻孔，和原文语义一致。

4.39. What is the main idea of the last paragraph?

A The role of Suiren in history.

B The end of eating raw food.

C The growth of Chinese civilization.

D The process of creating fire.

解析：选A。本题为段落主旨题。最后一段讲述燧人氏教民众用火、被尊为 “Fire Ancestor”、开启人类文明新时代，核心围绕燧人氏在历史上的贡献与地位展开。“结束生食” 只是局部细节，文章不是专门阐述中华文明整体成长，取火的具体过程在第四段，因此 B、C、D 都不能概括本段主旨。

5.40. Which words can best describe Suiren?

A Smart and helpful.

B Wise and confident.

C Selfless and brave.

D Nice and humorous.

解析：选A。本题为人物性格推断题。燧人氏观察大鸟啄树得到取火灵感，体现聪明；他把取火方法传授给百姓，造福全体先民，体现乐于助人。自信、无私、勇敢、幽默在全文找不到文本依据，属于主观臆断，中考人物推断必须依托原文信息，故选 A。