Question

After the operation, Peter suffered severe pain, but insisted that he didn’t need any treatment. One evening, he found Susan, his wife, crying in the kitchen of their apartment in a rare outburst of frustration. “If you won’t help yourself, no one else can,” she said.

Peter started a list “How to Help Myself”, and on it he wrote, “Keep communicating with the doctors, even if they are dark thoughts.” On October 20th, a few days before his 33 birthday, Peter wrote in a Facebook post, “It’s been hard to get along with having an incurable Grade 4 brain cancer; it’s been hard not to get angry and sad about it; and it’s been hard to accept that modern medicine isn’t able to fix me.” But at the same time, he wrote, “Every day I wake up not-dead is a gift.”

Peter and Susan had other lists, detailing the things that they hoped to accomplish in life, which included a trip to Wimbledon; climbing Mt. Snowdon in Wales; and a list of musical wishes—from learning the Bach sonatas (奏鸣曲) and partitas (变奏曲) to performing the first violin part in a concert.

Peter started working on Bach’s six sonatas and partitas, the most difficult parts, which George Enescu, a world-famous violinist, once described as the Himalayas (喜马拉雅山) for violinists. Peter practiced every day, even if he could manage only fifteen minutes between medical treatments. As he mastered each piece, he posted his performances on Facebook. He finished on November 12th, then turned to the even more difficult Paganini caprices (随想曲), which he had often listened to in a recording by Itzhak Perlman. “It’s something I always wanted to play when I grew up, like wanting to be a great baseball player,” he said.

1.Susan cried in the kitchen because_______________.

A. she suffered great pain from the Grade 4 brain cancer

B. Peter refused to get medical treatment after the operation

C. nobody else wanted to help them out of the situation

D. no money was left to pay for Peter’s medical treatment

2.Which of the following can best describe Peter’s feeling when he wrote “Every day I wake up not-dead is a gift.”?

A. Grateful.    B. Sad.    C. Frustrated.    D. Determined.

3.The couple’s list of things they hoped to accomplish in life included_______________.

A. playing tennis in Wimbledon

B. cycling in Mt. Snowdon in Wales

C. learning Mozart’s sonatas and partitas

D. playing the first violin part in a concert

4.In the last paragraph, Bach’s six sonatas and partitas is compared to the Himalayas for violinists to stress ____________.

A. its popularity among people

B. its value for learners

C. its difficulty when being learned

D. its importance in violinists’ eyes

Answer

1. B

2. A

3. D

4. C

【解析】

本文为记叙文。患有脑癌的彼得在手术后感到剧痛，但他坚持说他不需要任何治疗。一天晚上，他发现妻子苏珊在公寓的厨房里哭，这是她少有的沮丧情绪爆发。她说:“如果你不帮助自己，别人也帮不了你。”于是彼得列了一张“如何帮助自己”的单子，上面写着:“与医生保持沟通，即使他们有阴暗的想法。”彼得和苏珊还有其他的清单，详细列出了他们希望在生活中完成的事情，并且他们也真正地做了。

1.推理判断题。根据第一段中的After the operation, Peter suffered severe pain, but insisted that he didn't need any treatment…“If you won’t help yourself, no one else can,” she said.可推知，妻子苏珊在公寓的厨房里哭是因为彼得拒绝治疗。故B选项正确。

2.推理判断题。根据第二段中的Every day I wake up not-dead is a gift.（每天醒来，我发现自己并没有死，这是一份礼物。）可推知，现在彼得对还活着充满了感激。故A选项正确。

3.细节理解题。根据第三段中的a list of musical wishes—from learning the Bach sonatas (奏鸣曲) and partitas (变奏曲) to performing the first violin part in a concert.可知，这对夫妇的人生目标包括在一场音乐会上演奏小提琴的第一部分。故D选项正确。

4.推理判断题。根据最后一段中的Peter started working on Bach's six sonatas and partitas, the most difficult parts, which George Enescu, a world-famous violinist, once described as the Himalayas (喜马拉雅山) for violinists.（彼得开始创作巴赫的六首奏鸣曲和帕提塔曲，这是最难的部分，世界著名的小提琴家乔治·埃涅斯库曾将其描述为小提琴家的喜马拉雅山。）可推知，巴赫的六首奏鸣曲和帕提塔斯被比作喜马拉雅山是为了强调其在学习时的难度。故C选项正确。