Our house was across the street from a hospital. We rented the upstairs rooms to outpatients at the clinic. One summer evening as I was preparing supper, there was a knock at the door. I opened it to see a truly awful looking man hardly taller than my eight-year-old daughter.
But the frightening thing was his swollen face. He told me that he’d been hunting for a room since noon but no one seemed to have a room. For a moment I hesitated, but his next words convinced me: “I could sleep on the porch ( 门廊 ). My bus leaves early in the morning.”
I went inside and finished getting supper. When we were ready, I asked him to join us. “No, thank you. I have plenty.” And he held up a brown paper bag. When I had finished the dishes, I went out to talk with him for a few minutes.
He told me he fished for a living to support his daughter, who was hopelessly disabled, and her five children. He didn’t tell it by way of complaint; in fact, he was grateful that no pain accompanied his disease. He thanked life for giving him the strength to keep going.
At bedtime, we put a small camp bed in the children’s room for him. When I got up in the morning, the bed linens were neatly folded and the little man was out on the porch. He refused breakfast, but just before he left, he smiled, “Your children made me feel at home. Grownups are bothered by my face, but children don’t seem to mind.” I told him he was welcome to come again.
In the years he came to stay overnight with us there was never a time that he did not bring us fish or vegetables. Other times we received packages. Knowing that he must walk three miles to mail these, and knowing how little money he had made the gifts more precious. I know our family always will be grateful to have known him; from him we learned what it was to accept the bad without complaint and the good with gratitude.
1 ． What led to the old man’s failure to get a room before?
A ． His ugly appearance. B ． His fishing job.
C ． His disabled daughter. D ． His lack of money.
2 ． What can we learn about the old man?
A ． He often took his daughter to hospital.
B ． He suffered great pain due to his disease.
C ． He took great trouble to send the author gifts.
D ． He often came to offer the author help from then on.
3 ． What is the best title of the text?
A ． A precious gift. B ． A caring family.
C ． A generous fisherman. D ． An unspoken complaint.
1 ． A
2 ． C
3 ． A
【解析】
【导语】
这是一篇记叙文。文章讲述的是一位渔夫在作者家过夜，为了回报作者一家，渔夫每次来都会带各种礼物，作者表面讲述的是渔夫带给他们礼物，其实是讲渔夫的出现是上帝赠予他们的很好的礼物，因为他教会了他们 “ 感恩，不能以貌取人，心灵美 ” 等诸多道理。
1 ．
推理判断题。根据第一段 “I opened it to see a truly awful looking man hardly taller than my eight-year-old daughter.” （我打开门，看到一个长相非常可怕的男人，几乎没有我八岁的女儿高。）以及第二段 “But the frightening thing was his swollen face. He told me that he’d been hunting for a room since noon but no one seemed to have a room. ” （但最可怕的是他那肿胀的脸。他告诉我从中午他就一直在找房间，但似乎谁也没有房间。）可知，可能因为他丑陋的长相，房东们不愿意让他住下。故选 A 项。
2 ．
细节理解题。根据最后一段 “In the years he came to stay overnight with us there was never a time that he did not bring us fish or vegetables. Other times we received packages. Knowing that he must walk three miles to mail these, and knowing how little money he had made the gifts more precious.” （在他来和我们一起过夜的那些年里，他从来没有一次不给我们带鱼或蔬菜。其他时候我们收到包裹。知道他必须走三英里路才能邮寄这些礼物，知道他的钱是那么少，所以这些礼物更珍贵了。）可知，对于那个老人来说，他不辞辛劳地给作者送礼物。故选 C 项。
3 ．
主旨大意题。根据最后一段 “In the years he came to stay overnight with us there was never a time that he did not bring us fish or vegetables. Other times we received packages. Knowing that he must walk three miles to mail these, and knowing how little money he had made the gifts more precious. I know our family always will be grateful to have known him; from him we learned what it was to accept the bad without complaint and the good with gratitude.” （这些年来，他来我们家过夜，每次都给我们带来鱼和蔬菜。有时我们会收到包裹。知道他必须走三英里路才能邮寄这些礼物，知道他的钱是那么少，所以这些礼物更珍贵了。我知道，我们全家都会因为认识了他而心存感激；从他身上我们学到了什么是不抱怨地接受坏的，带着感激的心情接受好的。）可知，渔夫来作者家过夜，为了回报作者一家，每次来都会带各种礼物，此外，渔夫的出现是上帝赠予作者的很好的礼物，因为他教会了作者 “ 感恩，不能以貌取人，心灵美 ” 等诸多道理，所以 A 项 “ 一份珍贵的礼物 ” 可以作为本文的标题。故选 A 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. |