Question

I owe a young lady a letter. She wrote to me last week asking how I was, saying she was fine and that she was _______ the dress we sent for her birthday. She even drew a picture of herself wearing the dress. Then she wrote, “Please _______.”

I can’t _______ the last time someone asked me to write back. We don’t write letters anymore. The _______ is gone; there’s never anything good in the mail. We know what’s in the mail – advertisements and circulars (印刷信函).

When I was the same age as the young lady writing to me, my father took a new job. We only moved 200 miles, but it felt like we had been _______ from friends, extended family and all things familiar by two continents and an ocean. Long distance phone calls were _______ and expensive then, most often _______ for emergencies or bad news.

But people wrote. Both of my grandmothers, and two of my great-aunts wrote to me. It was special that someone took an interest in a _______ kid. That someone would take the time to put pen to _______ and share their lives and ________ about mine meant a lot. It would mean a lot to anybody, ________.

I spent many a Sunday evening straining (竭力) to ________ thoughtful and well-written letters. “Dear Aunt Mary, How are you? I am fine. I hope you are the same.”

My mother was a great letter writer. I looked forward to her letters when I left home, went to college and then traveled across the country working newspaper jobs. When I married, had children and moved again, still far from home, she wrote ________. Letters were a way of ________ the distance.

She was a natural storyteller. She could make a story about a ________ gathering where everyone sat on metal folding chairs and had nothing but water to drink sound like a wonderful party. Back then, letter writers were storytellers because they were ________ of the world around them.

As phone calls became affordable, then cheap, the flow of letters ________ and eventually stopped.But it is different for me today. What a ________ to get a letter! There were ________ circulars and advertisements in the mailbox. There was something truly special, which takes me to my most delightful task ________, “Dear Audrey .”

By Lori Borgman

1.A. comparing    B. taking    C. enjoying    D. considering

2.A. respond    B. react    C. relax    D. recommend

3.A. forget    B. remember    C. regret    D. resist

4.A. surprise    B. thrill    C. terror    D. disappointment

5.A. prevented    B. divided    C. deserted    D. separated

6.A. convenient    B. sensible    C. rare    D. common

7.A. reserved    B. prepared    C. provided    D. sacrificed

8.A. boring    B. homesick    C. troublesome    D. homeless

9.A. desk    B. envelope    C. paper    D. mail

10.A. doubt    B. talk    C. think    D. enquire

11.A. though    B. really    C. anyway    D. regardless

12.A. compose    B. compile    C. compromise    D. compensate

13.A. carefully    B. thankfully    C. faithfully    D. anxiously

14.A. keeping    B. putting    C. closing    D. finding

15.A. sad    B. dull    C. exciting    D. happy

16.A. creators    B. discoverers    C. admirers    D. observers

17.A. broke down    B. slowed down    C. settled down    D. fell down

18.A. coincidence    B. genius    C. pity    D. treat

19.A. more than    B. no more than    C. other than    D. rather than

20.A. by hand    B. at hand    C. on hand    D. in hand

Answer

1. C

2. A

3. B

4. B

5. D

6. C

7. A

8. B

9. C

10. D

11. B

12. A

13. C

14. C

15. B

16. D

17. B

18. D

19. A

20. B

【解析】

本文是一篇夹叙夹议文，由一位女士要求作者给她回信，作者却没有了写信的激情引出话题，作者回忆了以前自己离家时总是收到祖母和母亲的信，那种感觉很特别，但后来随着电话的普及，人们很少写信了，现在收到一封信是多么难得，想到这，作者又提笔给那位女士回信了。

1.考查动词词义辨析。A. comparing比较；B. taking拿；C. enjoying喜欢；D. considering考虑。根据本空后的“the dress we sent for her birthday. She even drew a picture of herself wearing the dress.”可知，她很喜欢我们送她的连衣裙，他甚至画了一张自己穿连衣裙的照片，故C选项切题。

2.考查动词词义辨析。A. respond回复；B. react反应；C. relax放松；D. recommend推荐。上文说我欠这位女士一封信，再结合本空后的“write back”可知，她在信的最后写了“请回复”，故A选项切题。

3.考查动词词义辨析。A. forget忘记；B. remember记得；C. regret后悔；D. resist抵抗。根据本空后的“the last time someone asked me to write back.”可知，我记不清上次有人让我回信是什么时候了，故B选项切题。

4.考查名词词义辨析。A. surprise惊喜；B. thrill激动；C. terror恐怖；D. disappointment失望。根据本空前的“We don’t write letters anymore.”可知，我们不再写信了，写信时的那种激动已经没有了，故B选项切题。

5.考查动词词义辨析。A. prevented防止；B. divided分裂；C. deserted遗弃；D. separated分开、隔开。根据本空后的“from friends, extended family and all things familiar by two continents and an ocean.”可知，虽然我们只隔了200英里，但感觉与朋友和家人就像两块大陆被一片海洋隔开一样，故D选项切题。

6.考查形容词词义辨析。A. convenient方便的；B. sensible合乎情理的；C. rare稀有的、极少；D. common常见的。根据本空后的“and expensive then”可知，那时长途电话很少而且很贵，故C选项切题。

7.考查动词词义辨析。A. reserved储备、保留；B. prepared准备；C. provided提供；D. sacrificed牺牲、奉献。根据本空后的“for emergencies or bad news.”可知，那时的长途电话常用于紧急情况或坏消息，故A选项切题。

8.考查形容词词义辨析。A. boring讨厌的；B. homesick想家的；C. troublesome麻烦的；D. homeless无家可归的。根据本空前的“Both of my grandmothers, and two of my great-aunts wrote to me. It was special that someone took an interest in a”可知，我的祖母和两个伯祖母都给我写信，一个想家的孩子有人关心的感觉很特别，故B选项切题。

9.考查名词词义辨析。A. desk桌子；B. envelope信封；C. paper纸；D. mail邮件。根据本空前的“That someone would take the time to put pen”可知，有人愿意花时间动笔给我写信分享他的生活并询问我的生活对我意味很多，故C选项切题。

10.考查动词词义辨析。A. doubt怀疑；B. talk谈论；C. think认为；D. enquire询问、打听。句意参考上题解析，enquire about表示“打听、询问……”，故D选项切题。

11.考查副词词义辨析。A. though然而；B. really真正地；C. anyway无论如何；D. regardless不管怎样。根据本空前的“It would mean a lot to anybody,”可知，它真的对每个人都意味很多，此处用really标识强调，故B选项切题。

12.考查动词词义辨析。A. compose写作；B. compile编译；C. compromise妥协；D. compensate补偿。根据本空后的“thoughtful and well-written letters. “Dear Aunt Mary, How are you? I am fine. I hope you are the same.””可知，我花很多个周日的晚上竭力写出好信，故A选项切题。

13.考查副词词义辨析。A. carefully认真地；B. thankfully感激地；C. faithfully忠实地；D. anxiously不安地。根据本空前的“When I married, had children and moved again, still far from home, she wrote”可知，我结婚生子后，妈妈仍然忠实地给我写信，故C选项切题。

14.考查动词词义辨析。A. keeping保持；B. putting放；C. closing失去；D. finding发现。根据文章情境可知，写信是消除距离的一种方式，故C选项切题。

15.考查形容词词义辨析。A. sad伤心的；B. dull无趣的；C. exciting兴奋的；D. happy快乐的。根据本空后的“gathering where everyone sat on metal folding chairs and had nothing but water to drink sound like a wonderful party.”可知，聚会上的人除了水什么都没喝，由此可知这是一个无聊的聚会，故B选项切题。

16.考查名词词义辨析。A. creators创作者；B. discoverers发现者；C. admirers赞赏者；D. observers观察者。根据本空后的“of the world around them.”可知，会写信的人都会讲故事是因为他们善于观察身边的世界，故D选项切题。

17.考查动词短语辨析。A. broke down打破；B. slowed down减速、放缓；C. settled down定居； D. fell down倒下。根据本空后的“and eventually stopped”可知，随着电话的普及，信件的流动放慢了，最终停止了，故B选项切题。

18.考查固定搭配。信件的流动放慢了，最终停止了，现在收到一封信是多么难得啊！ what a treat是固定搭配，表示“多么难得”，故D选项切题。

19.考查介词短语辨析。A. more than不只；B. no more than只是、不超过；C. other than除了；D. rather than而不是。根据本空后的“circulars and advertisements in the mailbox. There was something truly special”可知，邮箱里不只有通知和广告，还有特别的东西——信，故A选项切题。

20.考查介词短语辨析。A. by hand用手；B. at hand在手边、即将到来；C. on hand在场；D. in hand在控制中。根据本空后的““Dear Audrey .””可知，这封信让我开始手头上最愉快的工作，即：给Audrey回信。