I was 16 years old the day I skipped school for the first time. It was easily done: Both my parents left for work before my school bus arrived on weekdays, so when it showed up at my house on that cold winter morning, I simply did not get on. The perfect crime!
And what did I do with myself on that glorious stolen day, with no adult in charge and no limits on my activities? Did I get high? Hit the mall for a shoplifting extravaganza ( 狂欢 )?
Nope. I built a warm fire in the wood stove, prepared a bowl of popcorn, grabbed a blanket, and read. I was thrilled and transported by a book—it was Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises —and I just needed to be alone with it for a little while. I ached to know what would happen to Jake Barnes and Lady Brett Ashley and Robert Cohn. I couldn’t bear the thought of sitting in a classroom taking another biology exam when I could be traveling through Spain in the 1920s with a bunch of expatriates ( 异乡客 ).
I spent that day lost in words. Time fell away, as the room around me turned to mist, and my role—as a daughter, sister, teenager, and student—in the world no longer had any meaning. I had accidentally come across the key to perfect happiness: I had become completely absorbed by something I loved.
Looking back on it now, I can see that some subtle things were happening to my mind and to my life while I was in that state of absorption. Hemingway’s language was quietly braiding itself into my imagination. I was downloading information about how to create simple and elegant sentences, a good and solid plot. In other words, I was learning how to write. Without realizing it, I was hot on the trail of my own fate. Writing now absorbs me the way reading once did and happiness is their generous side effect.
1 . Why did the author skip school on that day?
A . Because her parents left home early. B . Because it was a cold winter morning.
C . Because she was fascinated by a novel. D . Because she hated to take the biology exam.
2 . What did the author think is the source of true joy?
A . Reading by the fire. B . Travelling in Spain.
C . Breaking the regulations. D . Being occupied by one’s passion.
3 . Which can best replace the underlined phrase “ braiding itself into ” in the last paragraph?
A . Entering. B . Destroying.
C . Mending. D . Blocking.
4 . What can we infer from the passage?
A . I was tired of my real-life roles.
B . I learnt how to write on the internet.
C . Hemingway skipped school when he was young.
D . Becoming a writer was my childhood dream.
1 . C
2 . D
3 . A
4 . D
【分析】
这是一篇记叙文。文章讲述了作者小时候被海明威的《太阳也会升起》吸引,从此沉浸于小说美妙的语言中。海明威的语言风格慢慢地影响着作者,引导她走上了文学之路。
1 .
细节理解题。文章第一段的 “I was 16 years old the day I skipped school for the first time.” 第一次逃学的时候我 16 岁,以及文章第三段中 “I was thrilled and transported by a book…and I just needed to be alone with it for a little while” 一本书让我兴奋不已,我需要独处一段时间。可知作者被一本小说吸引了。故选 C 项。
2 .
细节理解题。根据文章第四段中 “I had accidentally come across the key to perfect happiness: I had become completely absorbed by something I loved” 我偶然发现了通往完美幸福的钥匙:我完全被我所爱的东西吸引。可知作者认为真正快乐的源泉是沉浸于自己所爱的东西中。故选 D 项。
3 .
词义猜测题。根据上文 “I can see that some subtle things were happening to my mind and to my life while I was in that state of absorption.” 我可以看到一些微妙的事情出现在我的头脑和我的生活中,而我正处于吸收它的状态中。以及下文 “I was downloading information about how to create simple and elegant sentences, a good and solid plot. In other words, I was learning how to write. Without realizing it, I was hot on the trail of my own fate.” 我下载的信息是关于如何创建简单优雅的句子,一个良好而坚实的情节。换句话说,我在学习如何写作。没有意识到,我在追寻自己的命运。由上下文内容可以推断出海明威的语言风格在潜移默化之中影响了我对语言的感悟,可知,海明威的语言风格进入我的想象中,即影响了我,故选 A 项。
4 .
推理判断题。根据文章第四段中 “I had accidentally come across the key to perfect happiness: I had become completely absorbed by something I loved” 我偶然发现了通往完美幸福的钥匙:我完全被我所爱的东西吸引。以及第五段 “In other words, I was learning how to write.” 换句话说,我正在学习如何写作。可推断作者童年的梦想是成为一名作家。故选 D 项。
【点睛】
细节理解题主要考查考生对某句话或某几句话的理解,同学们若能根据题干内容从原文中找到相关的句子,然后进行比较和分析,便可确定最佳答案。多数情况下,作者不会明确的呈现一个事实,读者需要根据已有的信息进行处理,读出言外之意。还要特别注意文章的时间顺序、故事发生的地点、情节的发展和人物之间的关系。例如,第 1 题,文章第一段的 “I was 16 years old the day I skipped school for the first time.” 第一次逃学的时候我 16 岁,以及文章第三段中 “I was thrilled and transported by a book…and I just needed to be alone with it for a little while” 一本书让我兴奋不已,我需要独处一段时间。可知作者被一本小说吸引了。故选 C 项。
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. |