Question

I loved my aunt Suzy. She was such a kind old lady. I loved going to her house on holiday. She had been sick for the last few years and, though my job had taken me away across the town, I tried to visit her as much as possible. I helped with the shopping, the cooking and the cleaning and taking her pet cat Mazy to the vet.

Sad as her passing away was, what happened to Mazy was even more worrying. Because aunt Suzy had no children, there wasn’t anyone who seemed to care for her beloved cat friend. I would have taken her in a short time, but my apartment doesn’t allow pets. First, we talked with her neighbors. Mr. Jenkins, who was alone and lived across the street, wasn’t interested. Joe and Sally who lived next door had a small child with serious skin allergies(过敏症). My aunt’s best friend Molly who had lived just down the road was unable to take care of herself as she had serious health problems.

Second, we thought about our family members. My brother Bobby and his wife Jill were eliminated at once as they aren’t cat people. My cousin in California was a bit interested, but we weren’t sure about the trip as Mazy was nearly as old as my aunt (in cat years!). Finally, we came to the local humane society to see whether they would be able to help her find a new home. The problem was that most people and families only welcomed a smart little cat into their home, not a dull old one.

In the end, we had to put Mazy to sleep. I had spoken with the vet and realized it was possible for the best. It was so hard to lose aunt Suzy and then have nowhere for Mazy to live. A few months went by and I had gone to my aunt’s house to clear out some of her belongings. I happened to see her mailman. Jerry and we started to talk about my aunt when he asked about Mazy. I told him that we had to put Mazy to sleep because we couldn’t find a home for her. Jerry got really quiet. “I promised Suzy that if anything ever happened to her, I’d take care of Mazy”, he said sadly. “Suzy always said she’d told her lawyer the arrangement.”

Hearing this, my heart sank to my feet and I almost cried. The saddest part, I realized, was this all could have been avoided. I guess we were just so busy in those final months that we didn’t think about it. We could have called my aunt’s lawyer to take care of it in less than 10 minutes. I’ll never forgive myself for not thinking of it sooner. And I’ll never forgive myself for losing Mazy.

1.To care for her aunt’s cat the writer first thought of ________.

A. her aunt’s neighbors

B. her own neighbors

C. her own relatives

D. her family members

2.What does the underlined word “eliminate” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?

A. Think over for a while.

B. Remove or get rid of.

C. Call somebody for something.

D. Give somebody a surprise.

3.Why didn’t the writer think her cousin was suitable for taking care of the cat?

A. Her cousin had skin allergies.

B. Her cousin disliked animals.

C. Her cousin lived too far away.

D. Her cousin was in poor health.

4.It can be inferred from the passage that ________.

A. the writer let the cat take medicine to sleep

B. most families there didn’t want to raise a cat

C. the cat was killed without pain

D. the writer’s aunt was very forgetful

5.What the writer regretted was that she didn’t ________.

A. try her best to care for her aunt’s cat

B. ask her aunt who would take care of the cat

C. talk with her aunt’s mailman months earlier

D. manage to find out her aunt’s arrangement for Mazy

Answer

1.A

2.B

3.C

4.C

5.D

【解析】

试题分析：姑姑去世之后，如何照顾她的猫Mazy让作者费尽心机，最后在无人照顾的情形下对猫实施了安乐死。其实姑姑已经让律师为Mazy做好了安排，作者为此事后悔不已。

1. 细节理解题。根据第二段中First, we talked with her neighbors.可知，首先考虑到让她的邻居照顾猫。故选A。

2. 词义猜测题。根据第三段的二句My brother Bobby and his wife Jill were eliminated at once as they aren’t cat people.可知，作者我的哥哥Bobby和他的妻子不是养猫的人”，故他们是被排除在外，故选B。

3. 推理判断题。根据第三段第三句My cousin in California was a bit interested, but we weren’t sure about the trip as Mazy was nearly as old as my aunt (in cat years!)可知，作者的堂哥住的太远。故选C。

4. 推理判断题。根据倒数第二段中的I told him that we had to put Mazy to sleep because we couldn’t find a home for her.最后一段最后一句 I’ll never forgive myself for losing Mazy.可知，猫是被实施安乐死了。故选C。

5. 推理判断题。根据最后一段中We could have called my aunt’s lawyer to take care of it in less than 10 minutes. I’ll never forgive myself for not thinking of it sooner.可知，作者后悔没有弄清楚姑姑对Mazy的安排。故选D。

【学法指导】

任何一篇文章中的句子在内容上都不是绝对孤立的，都跟句子所在的段落及整整篇文章有关。利用上下文提供的情景和线索，进行合乎逻辑的综合分析进而推测词义，是阅读过程中的一大关键，这也是近年来高考考查的热点。最常见的就是利用上下文语境、常识和语法关系推断词义。1.抓住所需推断词汇前后的“mean”或系动词或破折号等直接定义该词的部分。2.抓住文章主旨与该段所表达的中心。特别对于议论文要牢记论点与论据的相互支撑关系。6. eliminated at once as they aren’t cat people.中“我的哥哥Bobby和他的妻子不是养猫的人”，可知他们被排除在外，故选B。

考点：考查故事类阅读