Question

Sandra Cisneros was born in Chicago in 1954 to a Mexican American family. As the only girl in a family of seven children, she often felt like she had “seven fathers,” because her six brothers, as well as her father, tried to control her. Feeling shy and unimportant, she retreated(躲避)into books. Despite her love of reading, she did not do well in elementary school because she was too shy to participate.

In high school, with the encouragement of one particular teacher, Cisneros improved her grades and worked for the school literary magazine. Her father encouraged her to go to college because he thought it would be a good way for her to find a husband. Cisneros did attend college, but instead of searching for a husband, she found a teacher who helped her join the famous graduate writing program at the University of Iowa. At the university’s Writers’ Workshop, however, she felt lonely－a Mexican American from a poor neighborhood among students from wealthy families. The feeling of being so different helped Cisneros find her “creative voice”.

“It was not until this moment when I considered myself truly different that my writing acquired a voice. I knew I was a Mexican woman, but I didn’t think it had anything to do with why I felt so much imbalance in my life, but it had everything to do with it! That’s when I decided I would write about something my classmates couldn’t write about.”

Cisneros published her first work, The House on Mango Street, when she was twenty-nine. The book talks about a young Mexican American girl growing up in a Spanish-speaking area in Chicago, much like the neighborhoods in which Cisneros lived as a child. The book won an award in 1985 and has been used in classes from high school to graduate school level. Since then, Cisneros has published several books of poetry, a children’s book, and a short-story collection.

1.Which of the following is TRUE about Cisneros in her childhood?

A. She had seven brothers.

B. She felt herself a nobody.

C. She was too shy to go to school.

D. She did not have any good teachers.

2.The graduate program gave Cisneros a chance to ________.

A. run away from her family

B. develop her writing style

C. make a lot of friends

D. search for a husband

3.According to Cisneros, what was the key factor in her success?

A. Her feeling of being different.

B. Her training in the Workshop.

C. Her childhood experience.

D. Her early years in college.

4.What do we learn about The House on Mango Street?

A. It is quite popular among students.

B. It is a book of poetry written by Cisneros.

C. It wasn’t a success as it was written in Spanish.

D. It won an award when Cisneros was twenty-nine.

Answer

1. B

2. B

3. A

4. A

【解析】

本篇文章为我们介绍了一个人物——有一个害羞的小女孩成为知名作家的故事，着重描述了她独特写作风格形成的原因。

1.事实细节题。由第一段的第三句话“感到害羞，不重要，她躲到书本中”可知应选”nobody”“不重要的人，小人物”从文中第一段的第二句提到她有6个哥哥，可删除A 由文中第二段第一句可知B 项不正确。

2.事实细节题。由第二段最后两句“在大学的文学社，她感到孤独……这种与别人不同的认知帮助她找到了她的‘独创声音’即写作风格”可推知B项正确。

3.事实细节题。由第三段第一句她所说的“直到我认识到我真的与众不同我的写作才获得声音”可得知A 项正确。

4.事实细节题。由第四段第二句“……has been used in classes from high school through graduate school level（这本书从高中到大学的课上都被使用）”可知A项正确。由最后一段可知B 项中的"only”不正确。C项是逻辑错误。由最后一段的前两句可知D 项不正确。