Question

A member of our class told us of a request made by his wife. She and a group of other women in her church were involved in a self-improvement program. She asked her husband to help her by listing six things he believed she could do to help her become a better wife. He reported to the class, “I was surprised by such a request. Frankly, it would have been easy for me to list six things I would like to change about her---my heavens, she could have listed a thousand things she would like to change about me---but I didn’t. I said to her, ‘Let me think about it and give you an answer in the morning.’”

“The next morning I got up very early and called the florist(花商)and had him send six red roses to my wife with a note saying, ‘ I can’t think of six things I would like to change about you. I love you the way you are.’”

“When I arrived at home that evening, who do you think greeted me at the door? That’s right. My wife! She was almost in tears. Needless to say, I was extremely glad I had not criticized her as she had requested.”

“The following Sunday at church, after she had reported the result of her request, several women with whom she had been studying came up to me and said, ‘That is the most considerate thing I have ever heard.’ I was then that I realized the power of appreciation.”

Lincoln once began a letter saying, “Everybody likes a compliment.” William James said, “The deepest principle in human nature is the desire to be appreciated.” So let’s give honest, sincere appreciation to others instead of criticizing them. This will make a great difference to your life as well as others’.

1.What can we learn from the husband’s words in the text?

A. He had to end his marriage    B. His wife actually wanted some praise

C. He was angry with his wife    D. His wife’s request was a joke

2.What does the underlined phrase “the result” in Paragraph 4 refer to?

A. Being criticized    B. Getting the flowers

C. Listing the six things    D. Becoming a better wife

3.What kind of person is the husband according to the text?

A. Childlike    B. Ambitious

C. Courageous    D. Thoughtful

4.What’s the author’s purpose in writing the text?

A. To stress the value of recognition

B. To tell us the power of knowledge

C. To tell us the meaning of perfection

D. To stress the importance of forgiveness

Answer

1.B

2.B

3.D

4.A

【解析】文章是一篇夹叙夹议类文章，描述了一对夫妻之间发生的小事情而引发的人生思考：即学会真诚欣赏他人将会对我们的人生都有很大的帮助作用。文章难度中等。

1.推理判断题。根据原文的but I didn’t. I said to her, Let me think about it and give you an answer in the morning.(实际上我并没有那么做，而是回答她：让我想一想明天再给你答复)，从这里可以判断出作者的朋友实际上可以列出很多条妻子可以提升的建议，但是作者的朋友并没有这样做，而是感谢欣赏表扬妻子，所以答案选择Ｂ项。

2.推理判断题。因为原文是在探讨“sincere appreciation to others instead of criticizing”这件事情，作者的朋友并没有直接列出妻子需要提高的方面，而是给她买了6支玫瑰以表感谢。所以答案选择B项。

3.推理判断题。该小题询问这一丈夫应该是怎样的一个人。丈夫本可以列出很多条妻子有待提高的方面的建议。但是丈夫把真诚的感恩表达给了自己的妻子，以激励她成为一个很好的妻子。从这小事情上可以看出作者的是一个很体谅的，深思熟虑的人。

4.主旨大意题。文章的断尾通过一句话表达了作者的真实意图，即“sincere appreciation to others instead of criticizing them……make a great difference to your life as well as others’所以答案选择A项。