About five weeks ago, I noticed the skin of our pet lizard was growing dusty. It worried me. I reported the strange surface on the skin of the lizard to my husband and children the next morning. Seconds later, our lizard emerged from its tank with its old skin flowing behind it.
I didn't think about it much until a morning last week when I knocked my favorite teapot off the table. It burst into hundreds of pieces. As I swept up the mess, I wondered why we had been breaking so many things over the months.
The destruction started three months ago. It was my husband's birthday. He had just lost his job. The uncertainty was starting to wear on us, so I wanted to do something special.
“Let's make a cake for Dad!” I cried.
My kids screamed with joy. We baked, iced and sprinkled for most of the day. Candles on the cake! Balloons on the walls! Flowers on the table!
Two hours before my husband came back home from another job interview, my daughter climbed up to grab a glass vase from a high shelf. It fell and crashed beside the cake. Tiny pieces of glass were everywhere. She sobbed loudly as I threw the cake away. My husband had banana pudding for his birthday.
Three days ago, the light in our living room suddenly went out. After several frustrating hours of unsuccessful attempts to fix it, my husband suggested watching the Michael Jordan documentary series The Last Dance.
The poignancy of Jordan retiring from his beloved basketball to play baseball and what had pushed him to make such a tough decision took me by surprise. As I watched him take off his basketball uniform and replace it with a baseball uniform, I saw him leaving behind the layer that no longer served him, just as our lizard had. Neither of them chose the moment that had transformed them. But they had to live with who they were after everything was different. Just like us. I realized that we have to learn to leave the past behind.
Humans do not shed skin as easily as other animals. The beginning of change is upsetting. The process is tiring. Damage changes us before we are ready. I see our lizard, raw and nearly new.
Jordan said that no matter how it ends, it starts with hope. With our tender, hopeful skin, that is where we begin.
1 ． What can we learn about the pet lizard from Paragraph 1?
A ． Its tank grew dirty. B ． Its old skin came off.
C ． It got a skin disease. D ． It went missing.
2 ． Why did the author's husband have banana pudding for his birthday?
A ． The birthday cake was ruined. B ． The author made good puddings.
C ． Pudding was his favorite dessert. D ． They couldn't afford a birthday cake.
3 ． Why does the author mention The Last Dance in the passage?
A ． To prove a theory. B ． To define a concept.
C ． To develop the theme. D ． To provide the background.
4 ． The underlined part "leaving behind the layer" in Paragraph 8 can be understood as .
A ． letting go of the past B ． looking for a new job
C ． getting rid of a bad habit D ． giving up an opportunity
5 ． What does the author most likely want to tell us?
A ． Love of family helps us survive great hardships. B ． It's not the end of the world if we break things.
C ． We should move on no matter what happens. D ． Past experiences should be treasured.
1 ． B
2 ． A
3 ． C
4 ． A
5 ． C
【分析】
这是一篇夹叙夹议文。讲述了作者的丈夫刚刚丢了工作，这种不确定性开始影响到家人，直到作者看到家里的宠物蜥蜴换皮和观看了 Michael Jordan 的纪录片《最后的舞蹈》后，领悟到我们必须学会把过去抛在脑后，像蜥蜴一样，用我们柔嫩、充满希望的皮肤，作为人生的起点。
1. 细节理解题。根据第一段中 “I reported the strange surface on the skin of the lizard to my husband and children the next morning. Seconds later, our lizard emerged from its tank with its old skin flowing behind it.( 第二天早上，我向丈夫和孩子们报告了蜥蜴皮肤上奇怪的表面。几秒钟后，我们的蜥蜴从水箱里出来，旧皮肤蜕了下来 )” 可知，宠物蜥蜴旧的皮肤脱落了。故选 B 。
2. 细节理解题。根据第六段 “Two hours before my husband came back home from another job interview, my daughter climbed up to grab a glass vase from a high shelf. It fell and crashed beside the cake. Tiny pieces of glass were everywhere. She sobbed loudly as I threw the cake away. My husband had banana pudding for his birthday.( 就在我丈夫参加另一场工作面试回家前两个小时，我女儿爬到一个高高的架子上，抓起一个玻璃花瓶。它掉下来摔碎在蛋糕旁边。到处都是细小的玻璃碎片。我把蛋糕扔掉时，她大声抽泣。我丈夫生日吃了香蕉布丁 )” 可知，作者的丈夫过生日吃了香蕉布丁是因为生日蛋糕毁了。故选 A 。
3. 推理判断题。根据倒数第三段 “The poignancy of Jordan retiring from his beloved basketball to play baseball and what had pushed him to make such a tough decision took me by surprise. As I watched him take off his basketball uniform and replace it with a baseball uniform, I saw him leaving behind the layer that no longer served him, just as our lizard had. Neither of them chose the moment that had transformed them. But they had to live with who they were after everything was different. Just like us. I realized that we have to learn to leave the past behind.( Jordan 从心爱的篮球退役，转而打棒球，这是多么令人痛心的事情，是什么促使他做出如此艰难的决定，让我感到惊讶。当我看着他脱下篮球服，换上棒球服时，我看到他脱下了那层不再适合他的衣服，就像我们的蜥蜴一样。他们都没有选择那个改变了他们的时刻。但他们必须和自己生活在一起因为一切都变了。就像我们一样。我意识到我们必须学会把过去抛在脑后 )” 以及最后一段 “Jordan said that no matter how it ends, it starts with hope. With our tender, hopeful skin, that is where we begin.( Jordan 说，不管结局如何，都是以希望开始的。用我们柔嫩、充满希望的皮肤，那是我们的起点 )” 可推知，作者在文章中提到 The Last Dance 是为了展开文章关于放手过去，重新开始的主题。故选 C 。
4. 词义猜测题。根据画线词后文 “Neither of them chose the moment that had transformed them. But they had to live with who they were after everything was different. Just like us. I realized that we have to learn to leave the past behind.( 他们都没有选择那个改变了他们的时刻。但他们必须和自己生活在一起因为一切都变了。就像我们一样。我意识到我们必须学会把过去抛在脑后 )” 可知，作者看着乔丹脱下篮球服，换上棒球服时，意识到看到他放开了过去，把过去抛在脑后了。即画线词意思是 “ 放开过去 ” 。故选 A 。
5. 推理判断题。根据倒数第二段 “Humans do not shed skin as easily as other animals. The beginning of change is upsetting. The process is tiring. Damage changes us before we are ready. I see our lizard, raw and nearly new.( 人类不像其他动物那样容易蜕皮。变革的开始令人不安。这个过程很累人。伤害在我们准备好之前就改变了我们。我看到了我们生嫩的、几乎是全新的蜥蜴 )” 以及最后一段 “Jordan said that no matter how it ends, it starts with hope. With our tender, hopeful skin, that is where we begin.( Jordan 说，不管结局如何，都是以希望开始的。用我们柔嫩、充满希望的皮肤，那是我们的起点 )” 可推知，作者最有可能想告诉我们无论发生什么，我们都应该继续前进。故选 C 。
请认真阅读下列短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入一个最恰当的单词。注意：每个空格只填1个单词。
Feeling extreme loneliness can increase an older person’s risk of premature (过早的)death by 14 percent, according to research by John Cacioppo, professor of psychology at the University of Chicago.
Cacioppo and his colleagues’ work shows that the impact of loneliness on premature death is nearly as strong as the impact of disadvantaged socioeconomic status, which they found increases the chances of dying early by 19 percent. A 2010 meta﹣analysis showed that loneliness has twice as much impact on early death as obesity does, he said.
The researchers looked at dramatic differences in the rate of decline in physical and mental health as people aged. Cacioppo and his colleagues have examined the role of satisfying relationships on older people to develop their resilience ([rɪˈzɪliəns] 快速恢复的能力；适应力), the ability to feel better quickly after something unpleasant, and grow from stresses in life.
The consequences for health are dramatic, as feeling isolated or separated from others can disturb sleep, elevate blood pressure, increase morning rises in the stress hormone cortisol ([‘kɔ:tɪsɒl] 皮质醇), change the gene expression in immune cells, increase depression and lower overall subjective well﹣being, Cacioppo pointed out in a talk, “ Rewarding Social Connections Promote Successful Aging.”
Cacioppo, one of the nation’s leading experts on loneliness, said older people can avoid the consequences of loneliness by staying in touch with former co﹣workers, taking part in family traditions, and sharing good times with family and friends ﹣ all of which give older adults a chance to connect with others about whom they care and who care about them.
”Retiring to Florida to live in a warmer climate among strangers isn’t necessarily a good idea if it means you are disconnected from the people who mean much to you,” said Cacioppo. Population changes make understanding the role of loneliness and health all the more important,he explained. “People have to think about how to protect themselves from depression, low subjective well﹣being and early death. “
Although some people are happy to be alone, most people develop from social situations in which they provide mutual support and establish a strong bond. Evolution encourages people to work together to survive and accordingly most people enjoy companionship compared to be alone.
It is not solitude (独处)or physical isolation itself, but rather the subjective sense of isolation that Cacioppo’s work shows to be so destructive. Older people living alone are not necessarily lonely if they remain actively engaged in social life and enjoy the company of those around them. Some aspects of aging, such as blindness and loss of hearing, however, place people at special risk of becoming isolated and lonely, he said.
| Passage outline | Supporting details |
| The main idea | Chances are that older people will die early if they feel extremely 51．. |
| 52． with loneliness | • Like disadvantaged socioeconomic status and obesity, loneliness can 53． old men’s premature death. • When 54． from others, one will find physical health impacted and tend to feel depressive and unhappy. |
| Suggestions | • Keep in touch with others and take part in 55． activities. • Choosing to live in a pleasant climate don’t necessarily make sense if the elder are disconnected from people who are 56． to them. • Think about how to57． depression, low subjective well﹣being and early death. • Work together with others to 58．, to gain mutual support and establish a strong bond. |
| Conclusions | • The sense of isolation, rather than solitude or physical isolation itself, isn’t 59．to elders. • Living alone doesn’t mean loneliness if older people live an 60． social life. |