Question

When milk arrived on the doorstep

When I was a boy growing up in New Jersey in the 1960s, we had a milkman delivering milk to our doorstep. His name was Mr. Basille. He wore a white cap and drove a white truck. As a 5-year-old boy, I couldn’t take my eyes off the coin changer fixed to his belt. He noticed this one day during a delivery and gave me a quarter out of his coin changer.

Of course, he delivered more than milk. There was cheese, eggs and so on. If we needed to change our order, my mother would pen a note-“Please add a bottle of buttermilk next delivery”-and place it in the box along with the empty bottles. And then, the buttermilk would magically appear.

All of this was about more than convenience. There existed a close relationship between families and their milkmen. Mr. Basille even had a key to our house, for those times when it was so cold outside that we put the box indoors, so that the milk wouldn’t freeze. And I remember Mr. Basille from time to time taking a break at our kitchen table, having a cup of tea and telling stories about his delivery.

There is sadly no home milk delivery today. Big companies allowed the production of cheaper milk, thus making it difficult for milkmen to compete. Besides, milk is for sale everywhere, and it may just not have been practical to have a delivery service.

Recently, an old milk box in the countryside I saw brought back my childhood memories. I took it home and planted it on the back porch （门廊）. Every so often my son’s friends will ask what it is. So I start telling stories of my boyhood, and of the milkman who brought us friendship along with his milk.

1.Mr Basille gave the boy a quarter out of his coin changer____.

A. to show his magical power.    B. to pay for the delivery

C. to satisfy his curiosity.    D. to please his mother.

2.What can be inferred from the fact that the milkman had the key to the boy’s house?

A. He wanted to have tea there.

B. He was a respectable person.

C. He was treated as a family member.

D. He was fully trusted by the family.

3.Why does home milk delivery no longer exist?

A. Nobody wants to be a milkman now.

B. It has been driven out of the market.

C. Its service is getting poor.

D. It is forbidden by law.

4.Why did the author bring back home an old milk box?

A. He missed the good old days.

B. He wanted to tell interesting stories.

C. He missed it for his milk bottles.

D. He planted flowers in it.

Answer

1.C

2.D

3.B

4.A

【解析】试题分析：作者主要通过回忆少年时代送奶员给自己带来的快乐，想念那时的岁月，逝去的总是美好的和有趣的。

1.

2.

3.

4.

考点：考查故事类短文阅读。

【名师点睛】

本文是故事类的短文，讲述了一个过去的故事来突出回忆怀念那段时光的主旨。

任何一篇文章都是围绕某一个中心思想逐步展开的，也就是说，每篇文章都有主旨要义。英语文章大多有主题段和段落主题句。阅读中，抓住了主题句就抓住了文章的灵魂。

要快速抓住文章的主旨要义就得采用略读法。略读就是重点看首尾段和每段的首尾句，迅速找出主题句，若有小标题的要特别留意。

主题句在哪里?

1. 文体判断法。

(1)议论文的主题句通常在文首，有的在文尾，也有的首尾呼应。

(2)新闻报道的主题句就是导语，即文章的首句。

(3)有关反应科学实验或调研结果的报道或科普类说明文，其内容主要包括“科研实验结果+实验研究过程”两大部分，文章主旨就是科研结果，因此主题句通常在文首，且常伴有according to a study, a study showed/proved, this is suggested by the results of new research, scientists recently reported, a study claimed等。

(4)纯记叙文通常没有主题句，需要读者自己领悟，从中归纳提炼；但有的在文尾作者会发表感慨、感悟或就此发表议论，主旨也就在此；还有的先发表某种议论或感慨再讲一个故事或经历，主旨就在文首了。

(5)有的议论文或说明文，作者首先是描述一种现象或讲述一个故事，为将要说明的事或表达某人观点打下铺垫或提供背景，然后用this/that is ...等承上启下的句子来点明文章要阐述的观点或主题，随后再进一步展开。主题句就出现在文章的中部了。

2. 词句提醒法。

(1)有but, however, in fact等语意转折的地方，其后通常是作者要表达的观点，即主题句。

(2)作者表述观点之后通常会有for example来佐证，也就是说，在举例之前即为作者要表达的观点。

(3)若是以问句开头的文章，其答句很可能就是文章的主题句，要着重理解。

(4)在每个段落中或多个段落中反复出现的词语，很可能就是体现文章主旨的关键词，抓住了这样的关键词也就抓住了文章的主旨。