Question

Two of the saddest words in the English language are “if only”. I live my life with the goal of never having to say those words, because they convey regret, lost opportunities, mistakes, and disappointment.

My father is famous in our family for saying, “Take the extra minute to do it right.” I always try to live by the “extra minute” rule. When my children were young and likely to cause accidents, I always thought about what I could do to avoid an “if only” moment, whether it was something minor like moving a cup full of hot coffee away from the edge of a counter, or something that required a little more work such as taping padding (衬垫) onto the sharp corners of a glass coffee table.

I don’t only avoid those “if only” moments when it comes to safety. It’s equally important to avoid “if only” in our personal relationships. We all know people who lost a loved one and regretted that they had foregone an opportunity to say “I love you” or “I forgive you.” When my father announced he was going to the eye doctor across from my office on Good Friday, I told him that it was a holiday for my company and I wouldn’t be here. But then I thought about the fact that he’s 84 years old and I realized that I shouldn’t give up an opportunity to see him. I called him and told him I had decided to go to work on my day off after all.

I know there will still be occasions when I have to say “if only” about something, but my life is definitely better because of my policy of doing everything possible to avoid that eventuality. And even though it takes an extra minute to do something right, or it occasionally takes an hour or two in my busy schedule to make a personal connection, I know that I’m doing the right thing. I’m buying myself peace of mind and that’s the best kind of insurance for my emotional well-being.

1.Which of the following is an example of the “extra minute” rule?

A. Start the car the moment everyone is seated.

B. Leave the room for a minute with the iron working.

C. Wait for an extra minute so that the steak tastes better.

D. Move an object out of the way before it trips someone.

2.The author decided to go to her office on Good Friday to ________.

A. keep her appointment with the eye doctor

B. meet her father who was already an old man

C. join in the holiday celebration of the company

D. finish her work before the deadline approached

3.The underlined word “foregone” in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to ________.

A. avoidedB. lackedC. abandonedD. took

4.What is the best title for the passage?

A. The Emotional Well-being

B. The Two Saddest Words

C. The Most Useful Rule

D. The Peace of Mind

Answer

1.D

2.B

3.C

4.B

【解析】

试题分析：本文讲述了作者认为英语中最悲伤的两个词语是“if only”，因为它们表达了遗憾。父亲在作者小的时候经常让作者提前做一些能防止意外发生的事，因此作者懂得珍惜现在所拥有的一切，而且知道他正在做对的事。

1. 推理判断题。由第二段whether it was something minor like moving a cup full of hot coffee away from the edge of a counter，or something that required a little more work such as taping padding （衬垫） onto the sharp corners of a glass coffee table．可知，在物体绊住别人之前将它移动属于the "extra minute" rule，故选D。

2. 细节理解题。由第三段"When my father announced he was going to the eye doctor across from my office on Good Friday，I told him that it was a holiday for my company and I wouldn't be here．But then I thought about the fact that he's 84 years old and I realized that I shouldn't give up an opportunity to see him.可知，作者在周五休息的时候去办公室是为了去看作者的父亲，故选B。

3.C 猜测词意题。由第三段We all know people who lost a loved one and regretted that they had foregone an opportunity to say "I love you" or "I forgive you. "可知，我们都知道失去亲人的人当初放弃了一个机会说“我爱你”或“我原谅你”的机会。划线词语指“放弃”，与C项同义，故选C。

4. 主旨大意题。本文围绕英语中两个最悲伤的词语展开叙述，故选B。

考点：考查人生感悟类短文阅读。

【名师点睛】

关于词义猜测题

做这种类型的题，要根据词、词组、句子所在的语境上下文来判断其意义。因此熟练掌握一些猜词技巧是做好这类题的关键。命题者在出这类题时惯用常规词义来麻痹考生，我们要特别注意熟词生义，切不可脱离语境主观臆断。

下面结合文本及近几年高考试题，对词义猜测的技巧加以解读。

1.根据定义或上下文解释进行猜测

有时短文中出现一个需要猜测其意义的词或短语，下面接着出现其定义或解释，这就是判断该词或短语意义的主要依据。例如：It will be very hard but also very brittle—that is, it will break easily.从后面that is(也就是说)的解释中我们可以了解到brittle 是“脆”的意思。

2.根据同位关系进行猜测

阅读中出现的难词有时后面紧跟一个同位语，对前面的词进行解释，这时可利用同位关系对前面或后面的词义或句意进行猜测。例如：The “Chunnel”, a tunnel(隧道) connecting England and France, is now complete.此句中a tunnel connecting England and France是Chunnel的同位语。因此，The “Chunnel”就是英法之间的海底隧道。

3.根据构词法(前缀、后缀、复合、派生等)进行猜测

在英语中，有很多词可以在前面加前缀，在后面加后缀，从而构成一个词，乍看起来，这个词可能是新词，但掌握了一定的构词知识，就不难猜出它的词义。例如：“Our parties are aimed for children 2 to 10,” Anaclerio said, “and they’re very interactive and creative in that they built a sense of drama based on a subject.”文中interactive是由前缀inter-(相互的)和active(活动的，活跃的)而构成的，同时根据上下文的意思可以判断，该词的含义应是“互动的”。

4.根据转折或对比关系进行猜测

根据上下句的连接词，如but, however, otherwise等就可以看到前后句在意义上的差别，从而依据某一句的含义，来确定另一句的含义。另外，分号也可以表示转折、对比或不相干的意义。例如：A child’s birthday party doesn’t have to be a hassle; it can be a basket of fun.从前后两句的意思可以看出，hassle和a basket of fun肯定是近乎相反的意义。所以不难判断hassle的意思是“困难，麻烦”。