Question

It's pleased to receive gifts from your loved ones. I have received many Christmas gifts over the years. But the best gift I ever received was presented to me by a stranger. I never even knew his name and I only had contact with him for less than 60 seconds. His Christmas present to me changed the way I had thought about people and Christmas.

It was several years ago when my wife asked me to meet her at the local department store on Black Friday morning. They had advertised a child's bike that she wanted to purchase for our son. We stood with a very large crowd, waiting for the manager to blow the whistle. After a while, the whistle blew. It was like throwing a bucket of fish into a tank of sharks. I told my wife that if we obtained a bike, fine, but if we did not, I was OK with that too.

As the shelf of bikes began to gradually decrease in size, I saw my polite opportunity to wrap my hands around the corner of one of the boxes. I lifted it off the box and suddenly felt some mild resistance. I looked up to see one of the largest gentlemen I had ever seen in my life. Threat was not the word to describe his presence. He was decorated with numerous belts of metal pointed leather around both arms and even his neck. Tattoos (文身) were an obvious passion of his.

I started to return anxiously the box but he gently pushed it back in my direction and back into my hands. He then directed it into my shopping cart. He looked at me, smiled, and said, “Merry Christmas. ” My wife and I went to the checkout, paid for the bike and went home. All the way home I was thinking that this moment was by far the best Christmas gift I had ever received. The kindness of a stranger that broke all previous views I may have had of stereotypes and prejudices. I will never forget the tenderness of a human heart in a simple act.

1.Why does the author view the gift as the best one?

A. Because it was given by a stranger.

B. Because it was donated by a charity:

C. Because it improved his level of living.

D. Because it changed his opinion on people.

2.What can we know about the bike mentioned in Paragraph 2?

A. It sold well that night.

B. It was attractive to women.

C. It was sold at a lower price.

D. It was equipped with a whistle.

3.What can we infer about the stranger with tattoos?

A. He was awful in appearance but kind in heart.

B. He was handsome and good-mannered.

C. He was big but cautious in behavior.

D. He was lovely and energetic.

4.What may be the best title for the text?

A. A True Gentleman I Met

B. The Best Gift I Ever Received

C. A Choice That Changed My View

D. A Stranger Who Gave Me a Gift

Answer

1. D

2. C

3. A

4. B

【解析】

本文为记叙文。黑色星期五的早晨，在商店的广告中恰好有一辆妻子想买的打折自行车。后来在一位陌生人的谦让下，让“我”买到了。作者认为这是陌生人送给自己的圣诞礼物，也是迄今为止“我”收到的最好的圣诞礼物。一个陌生人的善良打破了“我”以前所有的成见和偏见。“我”永远不会忘记一个人在一个简单的行为中内心的柔情。

1.细节理解题。根据第一段的“But the best gift I ever received was presented to me by a stranger. …His Christmas present to me changed the way I had thought about people and Christmas.”和最后一段The kindness of a stranger that broke all previous views I may have had of stereotypes and prejudices. I will never forget the tenderness of a human heart in a simple act.可知，作者把这份礼物看作为最好的礼物是因为他送给我的圣诞礼物改变了我对人和圣诞节的看法。分析选项可知D符合题意，故选D。

2.推理判断题。根据第二段“…. on Black Friday morning. They had advertised a child's bike that she wanted to purchase for our son.”可知在黑色星期五早晨，当地的百货公司登了一个儿童自行车的广告，是她想给我们儿子买的那种自行车。Black Friday在美国，意味着去商店抢购特价商品。由此可知，这辆自行车的价格是打折的，因此价格比较低，故选C项。

3.推理判断题。根据第三段“Threat was not the word to describe his presence. He was decorated with numerous belts of metal pointed leather around both arms and even his neck. Tattoos (文身) were an obvious passion of his”可知，这个人的身上有纹身，作者认为无法用词来形容感觉到来自他的威胁，可推断出他的外表很可怕（awful）。根据第四段可知，我把盒子推向他，他却把它放入我的购物车中，微笑着说“圣诞快乐”。作者认这是他迄今为止收到的最好的圣诞礼物。由此可知，这个有纹身的陌生人心地善良（kind）。分析选项可知A符合题意，故选A。

4.主旨大意题。本文在第一段说我一生中收到的最好的礼物是一个陌生人送给我的圣诞礼物。而这件圣诞礼物改变了我对人和圣诞节的看法。下面讲述了这件礼物的由来。最后再次呼应首段“是迄今为止我收到的最好的圣诞礼物”。一个陌生人的善良打破了我以前所有的成见和偏见。我永远不会忘记一个人在一个简单的行为中内心的柔情。文章中多次出现“the best gift”并且本文围绕着这个礼物展开。由此可推断出“收到的最好的礼物”是最佳标题。