Question

Thirteen can be a challenging age. Not only did I have to adapt to my changing body, I also had to deal with my parents’ painful separation, a new family and the upsetting move from my country home to a crowded town.

When we moved, my beloved companion, a small brown pony had to be sold. I was heartbroken and terribly lonely. I couldn’t eat or sleep and cried all the time. Finally, realizing how much I missed my pony, my father bought me another horse, Cowboy.

Cowboy was without doubt the ugliest horse in the world. But I didn’t care. I loved him beyond all reasons.

I joined a riding club. When Cowboy and I entered the events where the horse was judged by appearance, we were quickly “shown the gate”. I knew nothing could turn Cowboy into a beauty. My only chance to compete would be in the timed speed events. I chose the jumping race.

For the whole next month we practiced running and jumping for hours in the hot sun and then I would walk Cowboy home, totally exhausted.

All of our hard work didn’t make me feel confident by the time the show came. One girl named Becky rode a big brown horse in the race events. She always won the blue ribbons. I sat at the gate and sweated all out while I watched Becky and her horse charge through the court and finish in first place.

My turn finally came. At the signal, we dashed toward the first fence, jumped over it without trouble and raced on to the next one. Cowboy then flew over the second, third and fourth fences like a bird and I turned him toward the finish line.

No cheers filled the air. The end of our run was met with surprised silence. Cowboy and I had beaten Becky and her fancy horse by two seconds!

I gained much more than a blue ribbon that day. At thirteen, I realized that no matter what the odds, I’d always come out a winner if I wanted something badly enough to work for it. I can be the owner of my destiny(命运).

1.Why did the author like Cowboy so much in spite of its ugliness?

A. Because she was sad and lonely and needed a companion.

B. Because Cowboy was a strong and smart young horse.

C. Because Cowboy had a lot in common with her pony.

D. Because she loved horses more than anything else.

2.The audience fell into silence at the end of the run probably because _______.

A. they didn’t like Cowboy, for it was too ugly

B. they didn’t expect Cowboy would win the event

C. they never saw a horse running as fast as Cowboy

D. they were unhappy that Becky was beaten in the event

3.What did the author come to realize after the competition?

A. She could be the master of her own fate if she tried hard enough.

B. She ought to gather the courage to solve all the problems.

C. It was time to forget her pony and treat Cowboy better.

D. She needed to work harder to win more blue ribbons.

4.What can you infer from the story?

A. All of their hard training was totally in vain.

B. A blue ribbon must be the second highest prize.

C. Both Becky and the author won in the jumping event.

D. Cowboy lost in the event of being judged by appearance.

Answer

1.A

2.B

3.A

4.D

【解析】

试题分析：作者才13岁就承受着家庭的变故,并且失去了宠物小马驹的陪伴她很孤独,需要陪伴。后来，在一次赛马比赛中她的其貌不扬的Cowboy变成了黑马，作者通过这次胜利明白了"通过努力可以成为自己命运的主人"这个人生哲理。

1.A考查推理判断。由第一段内容可知,作者才13岁就承受着家庭的变故,并且失去了宠物小马驹的陪伴,所以她很孤独,需要陪伴,因此尽管Cowboy很丑,她还是很喜欢有它在身边。故选A。

2.B考查细节理解。由第六段中的"One girl named Becky rode a big brown horse in the race events. She always won the blue ribbons."可见,Becky是众望所归。而且,Cowboy其貌不扬,众人都不看好它。所以,最后Cowboy变成黑马大大出乎人们的意料,因此人们看到结果后都沉默了。故选B。

3.A考查细节理解。文章最后一段中的"At thirteen, I realized that no matter what the odds, I’d always come out a winner if I wanted something badly enough to work for it. I can be the owner of my destiny."表明作者通过这次胜利明白了"通过努力可以成为自己命运的主人"这个人生哲理。故选A。

4.D考查推理判断。根据第四段中的"When Cowboy and I entered the events... ‘shown the gate’."和第三段中提到的Cowboy外形丑陋无比,可知前面提及的外形比赛中Cowboy输了。故选D。

【名师点拨】

推理判断题要求在理解原文表面文字信息的基础上，做出一定的推理判断，从而得到文章的隐含意义和深层意义。推理判断题所涉及的内容可能是文中的某一句话，也可能是某几句话，所以，推理题的答案只能是根据原文表面文字信息一步推出的答案：即对原文某一句话或某几句话所作的同义改写或综合。推理判断题的题干中通常含有infer, suggest, imply, conclude indicate等标志性词语。 这种题型主要包括细节判断题、态度观点推断题、写作意图推断题、文章出处判断题和猜测想象推断题。比如第27小题D考查推理判断。根据第四段中的"When Cowboy and I entered the events... ‘shown the gate’."和第三段中提到的Cowboy外形丑陋无比,可知前面提及的外形比赛中Cowboy输了。故选D。

考点：考查人生感悟类阅读