Question

A young mother set her feet on the pathway of the life. “Is the way long?”

And her guide said, “Yes, and the way is hard. And you will be old ____ you reach the end of it, but the end will be better than the beginning.” But the young mother was happy and would not ____ anything could be better than these years. So she ____ with her children and gathered flowers for them along the way and bathed with them in the clear springs. The sun shone on them, and life was good. And the young mother cried, “ Nothing will be ____ than this.”

Then the night came. And the storm (暴风雨) ____ them and the path was dark, and the children shook with ____ and cold. And the mother drew them close and covered them with her clothes, and the children said, “ Oh, Mum, we are not afraid, for you are ____, and we know that no harm (伤害) can come to us.” And the mother said, “This is better than the ____ of the day, for I have taught my ____ courage.”

And the morning came. There was a hill ahead, and the children ____ it and soon grew tired. And the mother was ____, too. But she said to the children, “ A little patience and we are there.” So the children climbed and climbed, and when they reached the top, they said, “Mum, we ____ not have done it without you.” And when the mother lay down to sleep that night, she ____at the stars and said, “This is a better day than the ____ , for my children have learned determination(决心) in the face of ____. Yesterday I gave them courage—today I gave them strength.”

1.A. after                                                 B. before                                          C. since                               D. until

2.A. know                                    B. believe                                C. feel                                            D. find

3.A. worked                                    B. stayed          C. played                                D. studied

4.A. worse                                             B. better                                 C. easier                                  D. sadder

5.A. hit                                                 B. beat                                          C. took                                            D. carried

6.A. excitement                               B. happiness                   C. interest                              D. fear

7.A. far                                       B. away                                          C. near                                            D. out

8.A. coldest                                   B. coolest                                          C. darkest                               D. brightest

9.A. students                                   B. classmates                             C. friends                              D. children

10.A. walked                                   B. moved                                          C. climbed                              D. flew

11.A. tired                                             B. happy                                  C. angry                                  D. proud

12.A. will                                             B. can                                          C. could                               D. shouldn’t

13.A. looked over                     B. looked on                   C. looked after                D. looked up

14.A. last                                                B. next                                          C. latest                                  D. second

15.A. dark                                             B. difficulties                            C. failure                              D. success

Answer

1.B

2.B

3.C

4.B

5.A

6.D

7.C

8.D

9.D

10.C

11.A

12.C

13.D

14.A

15.B

【解析】

试题分析：这篇短文讲述了一位年轻母亲和她的孩子们的故事。平日里他们过着无忧无虑的生活，自认为这是最美好的生活；然而，他们还是经历了暴风雨，不过他们在暴风雨中得到了勇气，学会了决心。他们懂得了经历过风雨的生活才是最美好的生活。

1.考查连词及语境的理解。A. after“在……之后”；B. before “在……之前”；C. since“自从……到现在”；D. until“直到……才”。句意为：你到达生命尽头之前你会变老，故选B.

2.考查动词及语境的理解。A. know知道； B. believe相信；C. feel觉得；D. find发现。句意为：年轻的母亲很幸福，她相信没有什么会比这些年更好了，因此应选B。

3.考查动词及语境的理解。A. worked“工作”；B. stayed“留在……呆在……”；C. played“玩耍”；D. studied“学习、研究”。从下文中的给孩子们采花，在清泉中洗澡可以知道她是与孩子们一起玩耍。故选C.

4.考查形容词及语境的理解。A. worse“更糟糕”；B. better“更好”；C. easier“更容易”；D. sadder“更悲伤”。从上文的一系列动词可以看出她觉得现在的生活是很美好的。故选B.

5.考查动词及语境的理解。A. hit“打击、袭击”；B. beat“打，击败”；C. took“拿走、带走”；D. carried“背、带”。句意：暴风雨袭击了他们，道路很黑暗。故选A.

6.考查名词及语境的理解。A. excitement“激动”；B. happiness“幸福快乐”；C. interest“兴趣、利益”；D. fear“害怕、恐惧”。结合下文可知，他们在寒冷和恐惧中颤抖。故选D.

7.考查介词及语境的理解。A. far“远的”；B. away“远离”；C. near“近、靠近”；D. out“外面、在外面”。句意：我们不害怕因为你和我们在一起。故选C.

8.考查形容词及语境的理解。A. coldest“最冷的”；B. coolest“最凉爽的”；C. darkest“最黑的”；D. brightest“最明亮的、最鲜明的”。这里是把白天的温馨与现在的黑暗恐惧做对比。故选D.

9.考查名词及语境的理解。A. students“学生们”；B. classmates“同学们”；C. friends “朋友们”；D. children“孩子们”。从语境可以看出她是在 跟孩子们说话。故选D.

10.考查动词及语境的理解。A. walked “步行、散步”；B. moved “移动”；C. climbed“攀爬”；D. flew“飞行”。句子的意思是说孩子们爬山，然后很累. 故选C.

11.考查形容词及语境的理解。A. tired“疲劳的”；B. happy“幸福的、高兴的”；C. angry“生气的”；D. proud“骄傲的”。从too可以知道孩子们累了，母亲也累了。故选A.

12.考查情态动词及语境的理解。shouldn’t have done是虚拟语气的用法，表示"不该做某事而做了"。句意为没有你我们是不可能爬上山的。故选C.

13.考查动词短语及语境的理解。A. looked over“检查”；B. looked on“观看, 面向, 旁观, 看待”；C. looked after“照顾、照料”；D. looked up“抬头看；查阅”。句子的意思是说她抬头看着天上的星星。故选D.

14.考查形容词及语境的理解。A. last“最后的；最近的，最新的”；B. next“下一个的；其次的”；C. latest“最新的，最近的”；D. second“次等的, 次要的”。句子意思是这是比以前都要好的日子。故选A.

15.考查名词及语境的理解。A. dark“黑暗”；B. difficulties“困难”；C. failure“失败”；D. success“成功”。句子的意思是我的孩子们在面对困难时学会了决心。故选B.

考点：人生百味短文。