Question

When other nine-year-old kids were playing games, she was working at a petrol station. When other teens were studying or going out, she struggled to find a place to sleep on the street. But she overcame these terrible setbacks to win a highly competitive scholarship and gain entry to Harvard University. And her amazing story has inspired a movie, "Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story" shown in late April.

Liz Murray, a 22.year-old American girl, has been writing a real-life story of willpower and determination. Liz grew up in the shadow of two drug-addicted parents. There was never enough food or warm clothes in the house. Liz was the only member of the family who had a job. Her mother had AIDS and died when Liz was just l5 years old. The effect of that LOSS became a turning point in her life. Connecting the environment in which she had grown up with how her mother had died,she decided to do something about it.

Liz went back to school. She threw herself into her studies, never telling her teachers that she was homeless. At night, she lived on the streets. ".What drove me to live on had something to do with understanding, by understanding that there was a whole other way of being. I had only experienced a small part of the society,'' she wrote in her book Breaking Night.

She admitted that she used envy to drive herself on. She used the benefits that come easily to others, such as a safe living environment, to encourage herself that "next to nothing could hold me down".

She finished high school in just two years and won a full scholarship to study at Harvard University. But Liz decided to leave her top university a couple of months earlier this year in order to take care of her father, who has also developed AIDS."I love my parents so much. They are drug addicts. But I never forget that they love me all the time."

Liz wants moviegoers to come away with the idea that changing your life is ''as simple as making a decision".

1.In which order did the following things happen to Liz?

a. Her mother died of AIDS.      

b. She worked at a petrol station.

c. She got admitted into Harvard.  

d. The movie about her life was put on.

e. She had trouble finding a place to sleep.

A. b, a, e, c, d    B. a, b, c, e, d    C. e, d, b, a, c    D. b, e, a, d, c

2.The main idea of the passage is_______.

A. how Liz managed to enter Harvard University

B. what a hard time Liz had in her childhood

C. why Liz loved her parents so much

D. how Liz struggled to change her life

3.What actually made her go towards her goal?

A. Envy and encouragement.    B. Willpower and determination.

C. Decisions and understanding.    D. Love and respect for her parents.

Answer

1.A

2.D

3.B

【解析】

本文讲述了美国的一个女孩靠自己的意志力和决心，克服了种种困难，考取了哈佛大学的故事。

1.A 排序题。根据第4段可知她妈妈是在他15岁的时候去世的，而第一段中说她9岁就工作了，说明b在a前面；妈妈去世以后她才难以找到睡觉的地方，最后她考取了哈佛大学，故A正确。本题可以使用排除法。

2.D 主旨大意题。通读全文可知，本文主要讲述的是Liz生活在如何恶劣的家庭环境中，她又是如何努力地在这样的环境下考取哈佛大学的。故D正确。

3.B 细节题。根据文章第三段Liz Murray , a year- old American girl , has been writing a real-life story of willpower and determination.可知，她是用自己的意志力和决心才做到这一点的，故B正确。

【名师点睛】

本文没有明显的主题句，所以要解答主旨大意题，必须抓住文章主线，弄清每一段落主要讲的是什么，这些内容在逻辑上有什么联系，然后加以归纳形成主题。第2小题问文章的主题思想是什么？第一段简述了Liz在多么困难的境地下考入哈佛大学，并催生了一部电影；第二段讲述她成长的环境以及母亲去世带给她的影响；第三、四段描述她如何努力学习；第五段讲述她最终上了大学，但在父亲生病之后决定去照顾父亲；最后一段则讲述她对观影者的期待，希望观影者能够明白改变命运像做一个决定那么简单。全文无论是描述她的成长环境还是她如何努力学习，都是为了说明Liz是怎样努力地改变她的生活的。