When I was fourteen, I earned money in the summer by cutting lawns(草坪), and within a few weeks I had built up a body of customers. I got to know people by the flowers they planted that I had to remember not to cut down, by the things they lost in the grass or struck in the ground on purpose. I reached the point with most of them when I knew in advance what complaint was about to be spoken, which request was most important. And I learned something about the measure of my neighbors by their preferred method of payment: by the job, by the month—or not at all.
Mr. Ballou fell into the last category, and he always had a reason why. On one day, he had no change for a fifty, on another he was flat out of checks, on another, he was simply out when I knocked on his door. Still, except for the money apart, he was a nice enough guy, always waving or tipping his hat when he’d seen me from a distance. I figured him for a thin retirement check, maybe a work-related injury that kept him from doing his own yard work. Sure, I kept track of the total, but I didn’t worry about the amount too much. Grass was grass, and the little that Mr. Ballou’s property comprised didn’t take long to trim (修剪).
Then, one late afternoon in mid-July, the hottest time of the year, I was walking by his house and he opened the door, mentioned me to come inside. The hall was cool, shaded, and it took my eyes a minute to adjust to the dim light.
“I owe you,” Mr Ballou said, “but…”
I thought I’d save him the trouble of thinking of a new excuse. “No problem. Don’t worry about it.”
“The bank made a mistake in my account,” he continued, ignoring my words. “It will be cleared up in a day or two. But in the meantime I thought perhaps you could choose one or two volumes for a down payment.
He gestured toward the walls and I saw that books were stacked (堆放) everywhere. It was like a library, except with no order to the arrangement.
“Take your time,” Mr. Ballou encouraged. “Read, borrow, keep, or find something you like. What do you read?”
“I don’t know.” And I didn’t. I generally read what was in front of me, what I could get from the paperback stack at the drugstore, what I found at the library, magazines, the back of cereal boxes, comics. The idea of consciously seeking out a special title was new to me, but, I realized, not without appeal--- so I started to look through the piles of books.
“You actually read all of these?”
“This isn’t much,” Mr. Ballou said. “This is nothing, just what I’ve kept, the ones worth looking at a second time.”
“Pick for me, then.”
He raised his eyebrows, cocked his head, and regarded me as though measuring me for a suit. After a moment, he nodded, searched through a stack, and handed me a dark red hardbound book, fairly thick.
“The Last of the Just,” I read. “By Andre Schwarz-Bart. What’s it about?”
“You tell me,” he said. “Next week.”
I started after supper, sitting outdoors on an uncomfortable kitchen chair. Within a few pages, the yard, the summer, disappeared, and I was plunged into the aching tragedy of the Holocaust, the extraordinary clash of good, represented by one decent man, and evil. Translated from French, the language was elegant, simple, impossible to resist. When the evening light finally failed I moved inside, read all through the night.
To this day, thirty years later, I vividly remember the experience. It was my first voluntary encounter with world literature, and I was amazed by the concentrated power a novel could contain. I lacked the vocabulary, however, to translate my feelings into words, so the next week. When Mr. Ballou asked, “Well?” I only replied, “It was good?”
“Keep it, then,” he said. “Shall I suggest another?”
I nodded, and was presented with the paperback edition of Margaret Mead’s Coming of Age in Samoa (a very important book on the study of the social and cultural development of peoples—anthropology (人類學) ).
To make two long stories short, Mr. Ballou never paid me a cent for cutting his grass that year or the next, but for fifteen years I taught anthropology at Dartmouth College. Summer reading was not the innocent entertainment I had assumed it to be, not a light-hearted, instantly forgettable escape in a hammock (吊床) (though I have since enjoyed many of those, too). A book, if it arrives before you at the right moment, in the proper season, at an internal in the daily business of things, will change the course of all that follows.
1.Before his encounter with Mr. Ballou, the author used to read _____________.
A.a(chǎn)nything and everything B.only what was given to him
C.only serious novels D.nothing in the summer
2.The author found the first book Mr. Ballou gave him _____________.
A.light-hearted and enjoyable B.dull but well written
C.impossible to put down D.difficult to understand
3.From what he said to the author we can guess that Mr. Ballou _______________.
A.read all books twice B.did not do much reading
C.read more books than he kept D.preferred to read hardbound books
4.The following year the author _______________.
A.started studying anthropology at college
B.continued to cut Mr. Ballou’s lawn
C.spent most of his time lazing away in a hammock
D.had forgotten what he had read the summer before
5.The author’s main point is that _____________.
A.summer jobs are really good for young people
B.you should insist on being paid before you do a job
C.a(chǎn) good book can change the direction of your life
D.books are human beings’ best friends
1.A
2.C
3.C
4.B
5.C
【解析】
試題分析:本文通過自己為Mr. Ballou割草,對方給我書來讀,結(jié)果正是這些書讓作者的人生發(fā)生了巨大的變化,最后成為了一名大學教授。說明了書對于人生的重大的價值和作用。
1.A 細節(jié)題。根據(jù)“I don’t know.” And I didn’t. I generally read what was in front of me, what I could get from the paperback stack at the drugstore, what I found at the library, magazines, the back of cereal boxes, comics.可知我之前看到什么就讀什么,很隨意,也沒有什么特別的愛好的書。故A正確。
2.C 推理題。根據(jù)I started after supper, sitting outdoors on an uncomfortable kitchen chair. Within a few pages, the yard, the summer, disappeared, and I was plunged into the aching tragedy of the Holocaust, the extraordinary clash of good, represented by one decent man, and evil. Translated from French, the language was elegant, simple, impossible to resist. When the evening light finally failed I moved inside, read all through the night.可知我對這本書愛不釋手,整天都在看,晚上也不愿意放手。說明我非常喜歡這本書,難以放下。故C正確。
3.C 推理題。根據(jù)“You actually read all of these?”
“This isn’t much,” Mr. Ballou said. “This is nothing, just what I’ve kept, the ones worth looking at a second time.”可知這些書只是Mr. Ballou收藏的書,他度過的書比這個要多得多。故C正確。
4.B 推理題。根據(jù)最后一段前3行To make two long stories short, Mr. Ballou never paid me a cent for cutting his grass that year or the next, but for fifteen years I taught anthropology at Dartmouth College.可知在接下來的多年里,他一直都在為Mr. Ballou割草。故B正確。
5.C 主旨大意題。本文通過自己為Mr. Ballou割草,對方給我書來讀,結(jié)果正是這些書讓作者的人生發(fā)生了巨大的變化,最后成為了一名大學教授。說明了書對于人生的重大的價值和作用。故C正確。
考點:人生哲理類短文閱讀
點評:本文旨在說明書籍對人生的重大作用。要求在理解原文表面文字信息的基礎上,做出一定判斷和推論,從而得到文章的隱含意義和深層意義。推理題所涉及的內(nèi)容可能是文中某一句話,也可是某幾句話,但做題的指導思想都是以文字信息為依據(jù),既不能做出在原文中找不到文字根據(jù)的推理,也不能根據(jù)表面文字信息做多步推理,要根據(jù)原文表面文字信息一步推出的答案。
科目:高中英語 來源:江蘇省木瀆高級中學2010屆高三下學期課堂測試練習試題英語(一) 題型:完型填空
第二節(jié) 完形填空(共20小題;每小題1.5分,滿分30分)
閱讀下面短文,掌握其大意,然后從36-55各題所給的四個選項(A,B,C和D)中,選出最佳選項。
When I was 16 years old,I made my first visit to Disneyland in America.It wasn't the first time I had been _16_.Like most English children I learned French 17_school and I had often been to France,so I 18_ speaking a foreign language to people who didn't understand _19 .But __20_ I went to America,I was really looking forward to _2l_ a nice easy holiday without any _22_ problems.
_23 wrong I was! The misunderstanding began _24_ the airport。I was looking for a _25_ telephone to give my friend Danny a _26_ and tell her that I had arrived.A _27 old man saw me looking lost and asked _28_ he could help me.
“Yes,”I said,“I want to give my friend a ring.”“Well,that's nice,”he said,“Are you getting _29 ? But aren't you a bit young?”“_30_ is talking about marriage?”I replied.“I just want to give my friend a ring to tell her I've arrived.Can you tell me 31 there’s a phone box?”“Oh!”he said,“there's a phone downstairs.”
When at last we did meet up,Danny explained the misunderstanding to me.“Don't worry,”she said to me,“I had so many _32 at first.There are lots of words which the Americans _33_ differently in meaning from us British.You'll soon get used to 34 funny things they say.Most of the _35_ , British and American people understand each other!”
16. A.out B.a(chǎn)way C.outside D.a(chǎn)broad
17. A.from B.during C.a(chǎn)t D.a(chǎn)fter
18. A.get used to B.was used to C.used to D.used
19. A.English B.French C.Russian D.Latin
20. A.when B.while C.if D.for
21. A.buying B.having C.giving D.receiving
22. A.time B.human C.1anguage D. money
23. A. Too B. What a C.What D.How
24. A.with B. to C.over D.a(chǎn)t
25. A.cheap B.popular C.public D.good
26. A. letter B. ring C. news D. information
27.A. friendly B. strange C. stupid D. tough
28.A.how B. if C. where D. what
29.A. to marry B. to be married C. marrying D. married
30.A.You B.She C.Who D.He
31.A.where B.in which C.over there D.that
32. A.trouble B.difficulties C.things D.fun
33. A.write B.speak C.use D.read
34. A.every B.these C.some D.a(chǎn)ll the
35. A.chance B.situation C.condition D.time
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改編(十五)
My name is Jane Eyre and my parents died when I was a baby. For ten years I lived a ___1___ life with my aunt and cousins who treated me unfairly. My cousins teased me and my aunt never showed me any ___2___. The only person who cared about me was the maid, Bessie. One day my cousin John 3me: “You should go and beg, not live with rich folks like us!” After fighting with him I was locked in a room, where I ___4___ for hours crying.
Things ___5___ the same until a tall gentleman called Mr Brockehurst came to visit. My aunt told me that I was going to a school ___6___ by the gentleman. “Train her to be useful and humble,” said Aunt. Two days later I ___7___ my home.
At first my ___8___ at Lowood School was easy. The food was bad and I was often cold but I made ___9___ and enjoyed studying. But after an illness killed several students, new owners ___10___ the school and life improved. Six years later I ___11___ a teacher and was very happy. But eventually(最后) I felt that I should explore more of the world and found a job as a private teacher in a ___12___.
Before I left Lowood, I was ___13___ by Bessie, who told me that seven years ago my father’s brother had come ___14___ me but left again to go abroad. “He looked like quite a gentleman,” said Bessie. I wondered if he would ever look for me again.
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1. A. happy B. long C. sad D. comfortable
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3. A. shouted at B. cried over C. found out D. talked with
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5. A. appeared B. worked C. seemed D. remained
6. A. built B. designed C. owned D. opened
7. A. built B. reached C. left D. sold
8. A. food B. life C. book D. study
9. A. noise B. friends C. mistakes D. faces
10. A. took over B. took up C. took off D. took away
11. A. turned B. met C. became D. found
12. A. school B. home C. library D. country
13. A. taught B. visited C. brought D. required
14. A. looking for B. looking after C. looking into D. looking at
15. A. stopped B. continued C. started D. remained
16. A. showing B. teaching C. searching D. wanting
17. A. often B. hardly C. happily D. quietly
18. A. yet B. so C. still D. though
19. A. interesting B. good C. instructive D. strange
20. A. come B. drop C. fall D. Go
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A Strange Greeting, a True Feeling Last week I was invited to a doctor’s meeting at the Ruth hospital for incurables. In one of the wards a patient, an old man, got up shakily from his bed and moved towards me. I could see that he hadn't long to 1 , but he came up to me and placed his right foot close mine on the floor.
“Frank!” I cried in astonishment. He couldn’t 2 , as I knew, but all the time 3 his foot against mine.
My 4 raced back more than thirty years to the 5 days of 1941, when I was a student in London. The 6 was an air-raid shelter, in which I and about hundred other people slept every night. Two of the regulars were Mrs. West and her son Frank.
7 wartime problems, we shelter-dwellers got to 8 each other very well. Frank West 9 me because he wasn’t 10 , not even at birth. His mother told me he was 37 then, but he had 11 of a mind than a baby has. His “ 12 ” consisted of rough sounds——sounds of pleasure or anger and 13 more. Mrs. West, then about 75, was a strong, capable woman, as she had to be, of course, because Frank 14 on her entirely. He needed all the 15 of a baby.
One night a policeman came and told Mrs. West that her house had been flattened by a 500-pounder. She 16 nearly everything she owned.
When that sort of thing happened, the rest of us helped the 17 ones. So before we 18 that morning, I stood beside Frank and 19 my right foot against his. They were about the same size. That night, then, I took a pair of shoes to the shelter for frank. But as soon as he saw me he came running and placed his right foot against mine. After that, his 20 to me was always the same.
( )1. A. work B. stay C. live D. expect
( )2. A. answer B. speak C. smile D. laugh
( )3. A. covering B. moving C. fighting D. pressing
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( )5. A. better B. dark C. younger D. old
( )6. A. cave B. place C. sight D. scene
( )7. A. Discussing B. Solving C. Sharing D. Suffering
( )8. A. learn from B. talk to C. help D. know
( )9. A. needed B. recognized C. interested D. encouraged
( )10. A. normal B. common C. unusual D. quick
( )11. A. more B. worse C. fewer D. less
( )12. A. word B. speech C . sentence D. language
( )13. A. not B. no C. something D. nothing
( )14. A. fed B. kept C. lived D. depended
( )15. A. attention B. control C. treatment D. management
( )16. A. lost B. needed C. destroyed D. left
( )17. A. troublesome B. unlucky C. angry D. unpopular
( )18. A. separated B. went C. reunited D. returned
( )19. A. pushed B. tried C. showed D. measured
( )20. A. nodding B. greeting C. meeting D. acting
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科目:高中英語 來源:2010-2011學年浙江省富陽二中高一下學期第一次月考英語卷 題型:完型填空
完形(15%)
Albert Einstein said, “In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity.” Once __41 __, such opportunities are like valuable diamonds hidden in the sand.
Several years ago, I spoke at a school about how we were surrounded by “___42___ ” if we could only recognize them. A man stopped by to see me, and I remembered him as somebody who had suffered through a(n) ___43___ divorce (離婚) and was examining what was most important to him. He took a small ___44___ out of his pocket. Here is what he said to me that day.
“I ___45___ on this stone when I was leaving church last Sunday. You had spoken about ___46___ opportunities—diamonds. I put the stone in my ___47___ to remind me to look for those “diamonds” that I need. I have been trying to sell my business . On Monday morning, a man who seemed interested in ___48___ some of my stock (股票) stopped by. I thought, ‘Here’s my diamond—don’t let it ___49___!’ I sold the entire stock to him by noon. Now my next diamond is to find a new ___50___ !”
Not long afterward, he did find a new and better job. From then on, he decided to keep his stone with him all the time as a ___51___ to look for “diamonds” as he dug through the ___52___ of life.
Richard DeVos is right when he points out. “This is an exciting world. It is filled with opportunities. Great moments wait around every corner.” Those moments are diamonds that, ___53___ left unrecognized, will be forever lost.
Are you looking for “diamonds” every day? If not, you may ___54___ pass them by! Perhaps there is a diamond of opportunity hidden in the difficulty you’re ___55___ now.
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科目:高中英語 來源:2011-2012學年江蘇省常熟中學高二上學期期中考試英語試卷 題型:完型填空
完形填空 (共20小題;每小題1分,滿分20分)
請認真閱讀下面短文,從短文后各題所給的A、B、C、D四個選項中,選出最佳選項,并在答題卡上將該項涂黑。
We often talk about ourselves as if we have permanent genetic defects (缺陷) that can never be changed. “I’m impatient.” “I’m always behind.” “I always put things 31 !” You’ve surely heard them. Maybe you’ve used them to describe 32 .
These comments may come from stories about us that have been 33 for years—often from 34 childhood. These stories may have no 35 in fact. But they can set low expectations for us. As a child, my mother said to me, “Marshall, you have no mechanical skills, and you will never have any mechanical skills for the rest of your life.” How did these expectations 36 my development? I was never 37 to work on cars or be around 38 . When I was 18, I took the US Army’s Mechanical Aptitude Test. My scores were in the bottom for the entire nation!
Six years later, 39 , I was at California University, working on my doctor’s degree. One of my professors, Dr. Bob Tannbaum, asked me to write down things I did well and things I couldn’t do. On the positive side, I 40 down, “research, writing, analysis, and speaking.” On the 41 side, I wrote, “I have no mechanical skills.”
Bob asked me how I knew I had no mechanical skills. I explained my life 42 and told him about my 43 performance on the Army test. Bob then asked, “ 44 is it that you can solve 45 mathematical problems, but you can’t solve simple mechanical problems?”
Suddenly I realized that I didn’t 46 from some sort of genetic defect. I was just living out expectations that I had chosen to 47 . At that point, it wasn’t just my family and friends who had been 48 my belief that I was mechanically hopeless. And it wasn’t just the Army test, either. I was the one who kept telling myself, “You can’t do this!” I realized that as long as I kept saying that, it was going to remain true. 49 , if we don’t treat ourselves as if we have incurable genetic defects, we can do well in almost 50 we choose.
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