Question

One evening last summer, when I asked my 17-year-old son, Ray, for help with dinner, his response surprised me, “What’s a colander（漏勺）?” he asked.

I could only blame myself. Nobody’s hands went in the sauce except my own. But that night, as I explained with a touch of panic that a colander is the thing with holes in it, I wondered what else I hadn’t prepared Ray for. I felt confident that I’d raised a self-reliant boy, as we all try to do. But could he boil water? Sew on a button? Wash his clothes without turning them pink? No, no and no. Suddenly it hit me: He’d be leaving the house in a year to attend college. No way was I going to set a spoiled prince into the world.

As parents, while we focus on our child’s confidence and character, we perhaps don’t always consider that we are also raising someone’s future roommate, boyfriend, husband, or father. I wanted to know that I’d raised a boy who would never ask the woman in his life, “What’s for dinner?” So I came up with a plan: I would offer Ray a private home economics course. I was delighted to find that he didn’t say no.

For two hours, three days a week, Ray was all mine. One day, as his tomato sauce reduced on the stove, he washed and seasoned a chicken for toasting. Then he rolled out the piecrust（馅饼皮）and filled it with apples, all while listening to my explanation on the importance of preheating an oven.

Three of my four grandparents were tailors, so Ray was genetically programmed to quickly master the basics, like mending a split seam or refastening a button. One day we covered Advanced Laundry, in which I taught him never to mix a red sweatshirt with white shirts or put sweaters in the dryer. I knew that he would rather have been shooting hoops in the driveway than learning to mend socks with his mother -- he tried to beg off sewing lessons, even though I insisted that one day, someone would find the sight of him fixing his own shirt very attractive -- but it couldn’t be denied that he was learning, and more than just housekeeping. “I appreciate more what you do as a mom,” he told me one day.

Ray now understands the finer points of cooking, and more important, he realizes there’s nothing masculine（男子气的）about being helpless. Not only can he make his own dinner, he can make it for his family, too. That’s what I call a man.

1.Hearing her son’s question, the author felt _______.

A. shocked    B. angry

C. disappointed    D. calm

2.We can learn from the text that Ray ________.

A. made great progress in cooking

B. preferred sewing to cooking

C. was unwilling to take the course at first

D. always thought it attractive to do housework

3.The underlined part “more than just housekeeping” shows that Ray _______.

A. fell in love with housework    B. did other work in the house

C. acknowledges the author’s efforts    D. began to be more independent

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

A. Are Women Programmed for Housework?    B. Should Boys Be Involved in Housework?

C. I’m Proud I’ve Raised a Curious Son    D. A Present for My Future Daughter-in-law

Answer

1. A

2. A

3. C

4. D

【解析】

本文为记叙文。本文讲述母亲震惊于儿子连漏勺都不认识决心让儿子学家务，培养儿子成为一个真正的男人的故事。

1.细节理解题。根据第一段中的his response surprised me, “What’s a colander（漏勺）?” he asked.可知，当儿子问“什么是漏勺？”的时候，作者感到很吃惊。故A选项正确。

2.推理判断题。根据最后一段中的Not only can he make his own dinner, he can make it for his family, too.可知，Roy不仅可以为自己做晚餐，还可以为家人做。因此，他的厨艺有了很大的进步。故A选项正确。

3.推理判断题。根据倒数第二段中的“I appreciate more what you do as a mom,” he told me one day.（有一天他对我说:“我更感激你作为一个母亲所做的一切。”）可知，Roy向她表示感谢。换言之，他认可了作者的努力。故C选项正确。

4.标题判断题。根据第三段中的I wanted to know that I’d raised a boy who would never ask the woman in his life, “What’s for dinner?”（我想知道的是，我养育了一个男孩，他从来不会问他生命中的那个女人:“晚餐吃什么?”）及对自己儿子展开的培训可知，D项“这是给我未来儿媳妇的礼物”适合做本文最佳标题。故D选项正确。