26 人物故事-2023年高考英语新热点时文阅读

2023年高考英语新热点时文阅读-人物故事

01

（2022·陕西咸阳·统考一模）One of the greatest contributors to the first Oxford English Dictionary was also one of its most unusual. In 1879, Oxford University in England asked Prof. James Murray to serve as editor for what was to be the most ambitious dictionary in the history of the English language. It would include every English word possible and would give not only the definition but also the history of the word and quotations showing how it was used.

This was a huge task, so Murray had to find volunteers from Britain, the United States, and the British colonies to search every newspaper, magazine, and book ever written in English. Hundreds of volunteers responded, including William Chester Minor. Dr. Minor was an American surgeon who had served in the Civil War and was now living in England. He gave his address as “Broadmoor, Crowthorne, Berkshire,” 50 miles from Oxford.

Minor joined the army of volunteers sending words and quotations to Murray. Over the next 17 years, he became one of the staff’s most valued contributors.

But he was also a mystery. In spite of many invitations, he would always decline to visit Oxford. So in 1897, Murray finally decided to travel to Crowthorne himself. When he arrived, he found Minor locked in a book-lined cell at the Broadmoor Asylum for the Criminally Insane.

Murray and Minor became friends, sharing their love of words. Minor continued contributing to the dictionary, sending in more than 10,000 submissions in 20 years. Murray continued to visit Minor regularly, sometimes taking walks with him around the asylum grounds. In 1910, Minor left Broadmoor for an asylum in his native America. Murray was at the port to wave goodbye to his remarkable friend.

Minor died in 1920, seven years before the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary was completed. The 12 volumes defined 414, 825 words, and thousands of them were contributions from a very scholarly and devoted asylum patient.

1．According to the text, the first Oxford English Dictionary_________.

A．came out before Minor died

B．was edited by an American volunteer

C．included the English words invented by Murray

D．was intended to be the most ambitious English dictionary

2．How did Dr. Minor contribute to the dictionary?

A．He helped Murray to find hundreds of volunteers.

B．He sent newspapers, magazines and books to Murray.

C．He provided a great number of words and quotations.

D．He went to England to work with Murray.

3．Why did Dr. Minor refuse to visit Oxford?

A．He was shut in an asylum. B．He disliked traveling.

C．He was busy writing a book. D．He lived far from Oxford.

4．Which of the following best describes Dr. Minor?

A．Cautious and friendly. B．Unusual and scholarly.

C．Friendly and determined. D．Considerate and optimistic.

02

（2023秋·辽宁锦州·高三统考期末）Kenya’s tree planting plan turns out to be of great benefit to both the environment and the Kenyans. Launched in 2016 by Elizabeth Wathuti when she was twenty-one years old, the Green Generation Initiative is a Kenyan charity that has been planting trees to deal with deforestation (滥伐森林) and climate change in the East African nation.

The initiative’s primary focus is on addressing food insecurity in the region through planting fruit trees, as well as developing young climate activists through environmental education in schools. Since its foundation, over 30,000 trees have been planted in Kenya, while thousands of school children have not just planted trees but also adopted them to ensure that young people learn the importance of acting as a guardian over the health of the environment. The trees have recorded a survival rate of over 98 percent, as they remain tended to from young trees to maturity.

Speaking to world leaders at the recent United Nations Climate Conference in Glasgow (COP26), Elizabeth issued a serious warning on the threat of climate change. Over two million of Kenyans are facing climate related hunger now. In 2025, half of the world’s population will be facing water shortage. The climate crisis will displace 80 million people in sub-Saharan Africa alone.

Elizabeth said, “Environment is the foundation of development, and it can no longer continue being taken for granted. I have been doing what I can. Inspired by the great Wangari Maathai, I founded a tree growing initiative that enhances food security for young Kenyans.” So far, they have grown 30,000 fruit trees to maturity, providing desperately needed nutrition for thousands of children. “Every day we see that when we look after the trees, they look after us. We are the adults on this Earth right now, and it is our responsibility to ensure that the children have food and water,” she added.

5．What is the Green Generation Initiative intended for?

A．Raising money. B．Making policies.

C．Educating the adults. D．Fighting climate change.

6．What has been achieved since 2016?

A．Green awareness has been raised. B．3,000 trees have been planted.

C．80 million people have been saved. D．School education has been guaranteed.

7．What crisis are Kenyans encountering at present?

A．Sickness. B．Water shortage. C．Starvation. D．Economic crisis.

8．Which of the following can best describe Elizabeth Wathuti?

A．Honest and determined. B．Considerate and responsible.

C．Friendly and optimistic. D．Cooperative and humorous.

03

（2023·广东广州·统考二模）This paragraph is not ordinary. Look at it. At first, it won’t look too odd. Just a normal paragraph — you may think. But look at it again and you might find it a bit unusual. Can you spot it? Is anything...missing?

What you’ve just read is a lipogram - a text without a particular letter. It is the hardest kind as it doesn’t contain the letter E - the most common letter in the English language. Try writing one yourself and you’ll imagine the task faced by the French writer Georges Perec, when a friend challenged him to write a whole novel without using E - a letter which is even more common in French.

Perec was a frighteningly clever writer, a lover of word games and puzzles and also a master of the Chinese board game Go. As well as writing crossword puzzles for Paris magazines, he had already written a 5,000-word palindrome, a text that reads the same forwards and backwards, like the well-known “A man, a plan, a canal - Panama.” But his friends thought this task would be beyond him.

Perec took up the challenge. He was unable to use more than 70% of the French words, including those most commonly used. Surprisingly, he discovered this “impossible” rule unlocked his imagination. He later claimed he wrote this novel faster than any of his other books. He was forced to think and fight for every sentence. He had no choice but to be original.

The result was La Disparition, a detective story about the mysterious disappearance of a character named A．Vowl. The only Es were the four in his name on the cover. Despite the dozens of clues about the fantastically difficult rule, many original reviewers failed to spot what was staring them in the faces — the missing letter. Embarrassing for the critics, but hilarious for the writer and his friends.

Fortunately, the game Perec was playing did not destroy the book itself. Every sentence seems twisted slightly out of shape, and the resulting style is unique.

9．Why does the writer start with a lipogram?

A．To prove Perec’s work is hard.

B．To introduce Perec’s tough task.

C．To demonstrate what a lipogram is.

D．To challenge readers to write one.

10．Which of the following is NOT a palindrome?

A．Madam. B．Nurses ran.

C．No X in Nixon. D．No lemons, no melon.

11．What did Perec think of the challenge he took up?

A．It forced him to write faster. B．It enriched his writing styles.

C．No writer but he could make it. D．It freed his creativity in writing.

12．What does the underline word “hilarious” mean in paragraph 5?

A．Confusing. B．Surprising. C．Very lucky. D．Extremely funny.

04

（2023春·浙江·高三校联考阶段练习）阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Dating back to the Qin Dynasty, the incense craft and its culture thrived during the Song Dynasty and found wider ____13____(popular) during the Ming and Qing dynasties when it was used to prevent disease, insects, mosquitoes and preserve ____14____( people) health.

For decades, Yang Jinqing, an inheritor of incense making, has committed himself ____15____ the traditional craft, which ____16____(name) a national intangible cultural heritage in June 2021. Initially, he purchased incense production equipment and raw materials while visiting senior incense masters, from____17____ he obtained valuable information. With all the resources ready, Yang experimented repeatedly____18____restored ancient incense recipes successfully.

His efforts____19____(pay) off when he made it to present a dozen ancient incenses, including ambergris (龙涎香) and those featuring the scents of rose and lily. Yang also makes sure his products move with the times, ____20____(roll) out thousands of incense products with a modern appeal. To date, he has innovated ____21____traditional craft by making smokeless incense and developing a legendary product which, after burning, displays promising patterns and characters. They have won him multiple national ____22____(patent).

05

（2023秋·山东威海·高三统考期末）阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

It all started with one half of a five-pound note. In June of 1936, two foreigners, George Hatem and Edgar Snow, checked into a hotel in Xi’an. They wanted to reach Yan’an, ____23____ city where the headquarters(总部)of the Chinese Red Army was located. They didn’t know how they could get there ____24____ a Chinese man showed up with one half of a five-pound note. The fact was that Hatem and Snow had the other half of the same five-pound note, ____25____ (give) to them as a secret key to visit Yan’an. So as the two halves ____26____ (piece) together, Hatem and Snow found the right person ____27____ (take) them to their destination. They were among the first foreigners to set foot in the headquarters of the Red Army. It was also this trip ____28____ enabled Snow to write Red Star Over China.

The trip’s impact on Hatem was equally profound if not ____29____ (deep). Their visit was originally set for three ____30____ (month), but near the end of the journey, Hatem decided to stay, and later ____31____ (serve) as a public health adviser. It was Hatem who introduced a group of international medical professionals including Norman Bethune to China. They supported China’s war efforts and helped to lay the foundation for a new public healthcare system.

In 1950, Hatem became the first foreigner to obtain a Chinese citizenship. He spent the rest of his life in China, ____32____ (devote) himself to the treatment of leprosy (麻风病) until his death in October 1998.

06

（2023·山东潍坊·统考一模）阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Unlike most of her fellow postgraduates, who found jobs in big cities, Zhang Xiaoyang, after graduation from Zhejiang University three years ago, chose to go to DunHuang Academy, ____33____ (land) a job as an archaeologist.

Despite being the world’s largest treasure of Buddhist art, living conditions in Dunhuang, which sits in the Gobi Desert in Northwest China’s Gansu province, ____34____ (be) tougher than in China’s big cities. People working here have to battle with sand and wind and suffer from ____35____ (lonely).

Zhang, ____36____ her late 20s, has an intense routine. Assigned two stressful tasks, she spends most of the day  ____37____ (absorb) in her world with the excavation team in Tianwangtang. At night, she writes academic reports on the discoveries in Cave 254, which ____38____ (create) during the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534).

“Dunhuang is a place of magic. For those who once planned to work here ____39____ (temporary), maybe it will be a few years ____40____ they move to bigger cities. But I’m totally fascinated by the site and amazed at ____41____ the ancient people lived in the desert around then. So I have decided to stay for decades,” said Zhang Xiaoyang.

Her story is featured in The Master of Dunhuang, ______42______ three—episode documentary, currently available on the streaming site Tencent Video, which has gained a lot of attention online.

参考答案：

1．D    2．C    3．A    4．B

【导语】本文是一篇记叙文。主要讲述了著名志愿者编辑Minor对第一版《牛津英语词典》的编撰做出巨大贡献的故事。

1．细节理解题。根据第一段“In 1879, Oxford University in England asked Prof. James Murray to serve as editor for what was to be the most ambitious dictionary in the history of the English language.(1879年，英国牛津大学要求詹姆斯·默里教授担任英语史上最有雄心壮志的词典的编辑)”可知，第一版牛津英语词典被认为是最有雄心壮志的英语词典。故选D项。

2．细节理解题。根据第三段“Minor joined the army of volunteers sending words and quotations to Murray.(Minor加入了向Murray寄单词和引语的志愿者大军)”以及倒数第二段“Minor continued contributing to the dictionary, sending in more than 10,000 submissions in 20 years.(Minor继续为词典做出贡献，在20年内寄了超过10000份投稿)”可知，通过提供大量的单词和引语，Minor为编纂词典做出贡献。故选C项。

3．细节理解题。根据第四段“When he arrived, he found Minor locked in a book-lined cell at the Broadmoor Asylum for the Criminally Insane.(当他到达时，他发现Minor被锁在Broadmoor精神病罪犯庇护中心的一间排着书的牢房里)”可知，Minor被关在精神病罪犯庇护中心，无法离开，所以他拒绝访问牛津。故选A项。

4．推理判断题。根据第一段“One of the greatest contributors to the first Oxford English Dictionary was also one of its most unusual.(第一本《牛津英语词典》的最大贡献者之一也是最不寻常的作者之一)”以及最后一段“The 12 volumes defined 414, 825 words, and thousands of them were contributions from a very scholarly and devoted asylum patient.(这12卷共定义了414825个单词，其中数千个来自一位非常有学术性和献身精神的庇护患者)”可知，Minor是一位非常有学术性和献身精神的庇护患者，为牛津英语词典提供了数千个单词，所以Minor是不寻常的和有学问的。故选B项。

5．D    6．A    7．C    8．B

【分析】这是一篇记叙文。讲述了Elizabeth Wathuti为保护环境，与气候变化作斗争的故事。

5．细节理解题。根据第一段第二句“Launched in 2016 by Elizabeth Wathuti when she was twenty-one years old, the Green Generation Initiative is a Kenyan charity that has been planting trees to deal with deforestation (滥伐森林) and climate change in the East African nation. (“绿色一代倡议”于2016年由Elizabeth Wathuti在她21岁时发起，是一个肯尼亚慈善机构，一直在植树，以应对东非国家的森林砍伐和气候变化。)”可知，这个倡议的目的是与气候变化和森林砍伐作斗争。故选D项。

6．细节理解题。根据第二段第二句“Since its foundation, over 30,000 trees have been planted in Kenya, while thousands of school children have not just planted trees but also adopted them to ensure that young people learn the importance of acting as a guardian over the health of the environment. (自成立以来，肯尼亚已经种植了3万多棵树，而数千名学童不仅种植了树木，还收养了树木，以确保年轻人了解到作为环境健康守护者的重要性。)”可知，自2016年发起该倡议以来，人们的绿色环保意识得到加强，纷纷就环保付出行动。故选A项。

7．细节理解题。根据第三段第二句“Over two million of Kenyans are facing climate related hunger now. (超过200万肯尼亚人现在面临着与气候相关的饥饿。)”可知，肯尼亚人现在面临的问题是饥饿。故选C项。

8．推理判断题。根据最后一段最后一句“We are the adults on this Earth right now, and it is our responsibility to ensure that the children have food and water,” she added. (我们现在是地球上的成年人，我们有责任确保孩子们有食物和水，”她补充道。)”可知，Elizabeth Wathuti是一个负责的人；根据“So far, they have grown 30,000 fruit trees to maturity, providing desperately needed nutrition for thousands of children.(到目前为止，他们已经种植了30000棵果树，为成千上万的儿童提供了急需的营养)”并结合1小题和2小题的解析得知，她懂得为环境、为他人考虑，因此她也是一个体贴的人。综上，故选B项。

9．B    10．B    11．D    12．D

【导语】本文是一篇说明文。文章介绍了佩雷克是一位聪明得惊人的作家，热爱文字游戏和谜题，也是中国棋盘游戏围棋的大师。

9．推理判断题。根据第二段中“What you’ve just read is a lipogram - a text without a particular letter. It is the hardest kind as it doesn’t contain the letter E - the most common letter in the English language. (你刚刚读到的是一篇漏字文——一篇没有特定字母的文章。它是最难的一种，因为它不包含字母E——英语中最常见的字母)”可知，文章开头提到的漏字文是最难的一种，由此为了介绍佩雷克的艰巨任务。故选B。

10．推理判断题。根据第三段中“As well as writing crossword puzzles for Paris magazines, he had already written a 5000-word palindrome, a text that reads the same forwards and backwards, like the well-known “A man, a plan, a canal - Panama.” (除了为巴黎的杂志写填字游戏，他还写了一篇5000字的回文，前后读起来是一样的，比如著名的“A man, a plan, a canal - Panama.”)”可知，回文是一种正反读都一样的词语，构成一种对称结构。B选项不符合该特点。故选B。

11．细节理解题。根据倒数第二段中“Perec took up the challenge. He was unable to use more than 70% of the French words, including those most commonly used. Surprisingly, he discovered this “impossible” rule unlocked his imagination. (佩雷克接受了挑战。他不能使用超过70%的法语单词，包括那些最常用的单词。令人惊讶的是，他发现这个“不可能”的规则释放了他的想象力。)”可知，佩雷克认为他所接受的挑战释放了他在写作上的创造力。故选D。

12．词义猜测题。根据划线词前面的句子“Despite the dozens of clues about the fantastically difficult rule, many original reviewers failed to spot what was staring them in the faces — the missing letter. Embarrassing for the critics (尽管关于这条极其困难的规则有几十条线索，但许多最初的评审者都没有发现他们脸上正在盯着的东西——丢失的字母。对评论家来说很尴尬，)”可知，不知道有缺失的字母对于评论家来说这是很尴尬的事情，其与后文构成转折关系，但是对于作者和他的朋友来说这是极大的乐趣。故划线词hilarious与D选项Extremely funny为同义词，意为“非常有趣的”。故选D。

13．popularity    14．people’s    15．to    16．was named    17．whom    18．and    19．paid    20．rolling    21．the    22．patents

【导语】本文是一篇说明文。介绍了历史悠久的传统工艺——香，以及它的传承人杨金清对这项工艺的奉献和努力。

13．考查名词。句意：香的历史可以追溯到秦朝，它的工艺和文化在宋朝蓬勃发展，在明清时期得到了广泛的普及，当时它被用来预防疾病、昆虫、蚊子和保护人们的健康。空前为形容词，修饰名词，故空处应为名词。故填popularity。

14．考查所有格。句意同上。空后为名词，根据句意可知，空处应为所有格形式。故填people’s。

15．考查介词。句意：几十年来，香的传承人杨金清一直致力于这项传统工艺，并于2021年6月被评为国家级非物质文化遗产。固定搭配commit oneself to...“全心全意投入……”。故填to。

16．考查时态语态。句意：几十年来，香的传承人杨金清一直致力于这项传统工艺，并于2021年6月被评为国家级非物质文化遗产。分析句子成分可知，空处应为非限制性定语从句的谓语动词。根据时间状语“in June 2021”，应为一般过去时；主语“which”指代的先行词“the traditional craft”可知，主语为动作承受者，且为单数，所以定从的谓语动词应为一般过去时的被动语态，单数。故填was named。

17．考查连词。句意：最初，他在拜访资深的熏香大师时购买了熏香生产设备和原料，并从他们那里获得了宝贵的信息。分析句子成分可知，空处应为引导非限制性定语从句的引导词，指代先行词“masters”在定从中充当介词“from”的宾语，应用关系代词whom。故填whom。

18．考查连词。句意：在所有的资源准备就绪的情况下，杨反复实验，成功地恢复了古代的熏香配方。分析句子成分可知，“experimented”和“restored”为并列的谓语动词，是顺承关系，应用and连接。故填and。

19．考查时态。句意：当他成功地展示了包括龙涎香和那些带有玫瑰和百合香味的十几种古老的香氛时，他的努力得到了回报。分析句子成分可知，提示词应为主句的谓语动词，照应从句谓语动词“made”的时态，主句也应为一般过去时；且“pay off”为不及物动词短语，无被动。故填paid。

20．考查非谓语动词。句意：杨还确保他的产品与时俱进，推出了数千种具有现代吸引力的香产品。分析句子成分可知，本句谓语动词为“makes”，且无连词，故空处应为非谓语动词，提示词“roll”和主语“Yang”为逻辑上的主动关系，应用现在分词形式。故填rolling。

21．考查冠词。句意：迄今为止，他创新了传统工艺，制作出无烟香，并开发出一种传奇产品，燃烧后，显示出有希望的图案和字符。空后为名词，所以空处应为冠词，因为本文介绍的是中国的传统工艺——香，表示特指。故填the。

22．考查名词。句意：他们为他赢得了多项国家专利。根据句意“多项”可知，空处应为名词复数。故填patents。

23．the    24．until    25．given    26．were pieced    27．to take    28．that    29．deeper    30．months    31．served    32．devoting

【导语】本文是记叙文。讲述了外国友人海特姆和斯诺的延安之行以及对中国做出的贡献。

23．考查冠词。句意：他们想要到达中国红军总部所在的城市，延安。此处特指中国红军所在的城市，故填the。

24．考查连词。句意：直到一名中国男子带着半张五英镑的钞票出现，他们才知道自己是如何到达那里的。分析句子可知，空处填连词，根据句意和空格前的didn’t，可知用until“直到……才”引导时间状语从句，故填until。

25．考查非谓语动词。句意：事实是，海特姆和斯诺得到了这张五英镑纸币的另一半，是访问延安的秘密钥匙。分析句子可知，此处give作定语，用非谓语动词形式，give与逻辑主语note是被动关系，用过去分词作定语，故填given。

26．考查动词时态语态。句意：所以，当这两部分被拼在一起时，海特姆和斯诺找到了带他们去目的地的合适人选。分析句子可知，piece是谓语动词，与主语the two halves是被动关系，文章讲述过去发生的事情，用一般过去时，主语是复数，故填were pieced。

27．考查非谓语动词。句意同上。分析句子可知，take作定语，修饰the right person，中心词由right修饰，用不定式作定语，故填to take。

28．考查强调句型。句意：也正是这次旅行，让斯诺写出了《红星照耀中国》。分析句子可知，句子使用了强调句型：It is...that...，强调主语this trip，故填that。

29．考查形容词比较级。句意：这次旅行对海特姆的影响同样深远，如果不是更深的话。根据句意，此处使用if条件句的省略，表示“不是更深就是同样深远”，故填deeper。

30．考查名词。句意：他们的访问最初设定为三个月，但在旅程即将结束时，哈特姆决定留下来，后来担任公共卫生顾问。month是可数名词，由three修饰用复数，故填months。

31．考查动词时态。句意同上。分析句子可知，serve作谓语动词，结合decided，可知讲述过去发生的事情用一般过去时，故填served。

32．考查非谓语动词。句意：他在中国度过了余生，直到1998年10月去世一直致力于麻风病的治疗。分析句子可知，devote作状语用非谓语动词，与主语he是主动关系，用现在分词作状语，故填devoting。

33．landing    34．are    35．loneliness    36．in    37．absorbed    38．was created    39．temporarily    40．before    41．how    42．a

【导语】本文是一篇记叙文。主要介绍的是大学毕业后的张小扬选择去敦煌学院成为一名考古学家的事迹以及她在敦煌从事工作的感受。

33．考查非谓语动词。句意：与大多数在大城市找到工作的研究生不同，张小扬三年前从浙江大学毕业后，选择去敦煌研究院，找到了一份考古学家的工作。分析句子结构可知，此处为非谓语动词作状语，与逻辑主语张小扬间为主动关系，前有逗号与句子隔开，所以用现在分词形式。故填landing。

34．考查谓语动词。句意：尽管敦煌是世界上最大的佛教艺术宝藏，但位于中国西北部甘肃省戈壁沙漠的敦煌的生活条件比中国大城市更艰苦。分析句子结构可知，此处为谓语动词，句子主语是conditions，所以谓语动词为复数形式，根据从句中的sits以及下文中的have可知，此处为一般现在时态，be动词无被动。故填are。

35．考查名词。句意：在这里工作的人不得不与沙子和风作斗争，忍受孤独。分析句子结构可知，此处为名词作宾语，lonely的名词为loneliness，且不可数。故填loneliness。

36．考查介词。句意：20多岁的张小扬有一个紧张的日常生活。分析句子结构可知此处为固定短语，in one's 20s意为“在某人20几岁时。故填in。

37．考查非谓语动词。句意：她被分配了两项压力很大的任务，一天中的大部分时间都在与天望堂的挖掘队一起沉浸在她的世界里。分析句子结构可知，此处为非谓语动词作状语，与逻辑主语she间为被动关系，结合句意，此处表示状态，所以使用过去分词形式。故填absorbed。

38．考查谓语动词。句意：在晚上。她撰写了关于北魏（386-534）创建的254号洞穴发现的学术报告。分析句子结构可知，此处为谓语动词，根据时间状语during the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534)可知，此处描述的是过去的事情，使用一般过去时态，且与主语为被动关系，主语which指代的是Cave 254为单数。故填was created。

39．考查副词。句意：对于那些曾经计划暂时在这里工作的人来说，也许他们要几年才能搬到大城市。分析句子结构可知，此空为副词作状语修饰动词，temporary的副词为temporarily。故填temporarily。

40．考查状语从句。句意：对于那些曾经计划暂时在这里工作的人来说，也许他们要几年才能搬到大城市。分析句子结构可知，此处为“it will be +before+主语+谓语”结构，意为“一段时间后才……”符合句意。故填before。

41．考查宾语从句。句意：“……但我完全被这个地方迷住了，并对当时古代人在沙漠中的生活方式感到惊讶。所以我决定待几十年，”张晓阳说。分析句子结构可知，此处为连词引导的宾语从句作介词at的宾语，从句中不缺少主语和宾语，但句意不完整，结合句意可知，此处表示“如何”应为how。故填how。

42．考查冠词。句意：她的故事出现在三集纪录片《敦煌大师》中，目前可在流媒体网站腾讯视频上观看，该视频在网上引起了很多关注。分析句子结构可知，documentary为可数名词单数，其前需有限定词，所以此空应为冠词，该空与下文中的内容为同位语，来解释The Master of Dunhuang，结合句意可知，此处表示泛指使用不定冠词，且空后的three第一个音节为辅音。故填a。