Question

Phillida Eves and her husband Tedd Hamilton weren't unhappy living in the Galway countryside with their sons, Cian and Oisín, and their daughter, Soracha. "We had a lovely home, a car, lots of friends, and weekends sailing our boat," says Phillida. "But there's a line from a poem that goes: 'Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?' That says it all for me. We felt there was more to life."

So they quit their jobs, took their sons, then aged six and nine, out of school and went to southern Spain where they bought a 15-metre yacht(游艇) and headed up the coast to Barcelona. Soracha was not even three. And they brought along Poppy, the family dog. Now, two and a half years and 10,000 km later, they don't intend to stop. Tedd is a yacht engineer and can find work in ports. But, says Phillida, a supply teacher (代课老师), "Any family could do this."

The children are home-schooled using a correspondence course (函授课程). "My son had a recent project on the weather. The weather is crucial to us. My son knows more than most adults about weather systems, compasses, maps and directions. The weather, for him, means life or death."

Other subjects have become equally vivid. "They're living geography and history all the time. We've sailed round Italy, Sardinia, Sicily, and seen tiny islands we didn't know. The kids learned about ancient Romans by visiting Rome."

But what about social development? Again, Phillida is sanguine. "The children have become much more socially confident since we set out. They play with tons of families of all nationalities on other boats we meet."

Living for the moment, they believe, is a huge life lesson. "Our children never say they're bored." The other day they stopped mid-ocean and the kids swam, 110 km from land. "That's the kind of freedom we want for them," says Phillida. "That's the kind of freedom they've got."

1.The couple quit their jobs and took their children traveling because                 .

A. their children wanted to make friends of all nationalities

B. they wanted to experience more in their lives

C. their children wanted complete freedom

D. they were unhappy with their lives

2.The underlined word "sanguine" in Paragraph 5 is closest in meaning to "                ".

A. patient    B. curious

C. excited    D. optimistic

3.The author describes the children's home schooling by                 .

A. using examples

B. making comparisons

C. following the order of importance

D. describing the changes in space order

Answer

1.B

2.D

3.A

【解析】本文介绍了Phillida Eves和Tedd Hamilton这对夫妻放弃工作带着两个儿子和一个女儿去旅行，让孩子体验生活中更多的东西。

1. 推理判断题。根据第一段最后两句"But there's a line from a poem that goes: 'Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?' That says it all for me. We felt there was more to life."可知这对夫妻决定放弃工作带着孩子去旅行，让孩子体验生活中更多的东西，故B正确。

2.词义猜测题。根据后两句“The children have become much more socially confident 

since we set out.They play with tones of families of all nationalities on other boats we meet.”可知孩子在旅行的过程中和很多不同国籍的孩子一起玩耍，在与人交往方面变得更加自信。说明Phillida对于孩子的社交能力一点也不担心。故D项正确。

3. 推理判断题。文章在第三段中介绍了旅行中对孩子的教育问题，根据本段第二句My son had a recent project on the weather.作者列举了儿子学习地理的例子来说明旅行并不会影响孩子的学习。可知作者通过举例说明的方法描述孩子的家庭教育问题。故A正确。