Question

It was a cold day, and I had no desire to drive up the winding mountain road to my daughter Carolyn’s house. But she had insisted that I come to see something at the ________ of the mountain.

So here I was ________ to make the two-hour journey through ________. By the time I saw how thick it was near the top, I’d gone too far to turn back.

“I’ll stay for lunch, but I’m heading back down as soon as the fog lifts,” 
I ________ when I arrived.

“But I need you to drive me to the garage to pick up my car,” Carolyn said. “Could we at least do that?”

“How ________?” I asked.

“About three minutes,” she said. “I’ll drive—I’m used to it.”

After ten minutes on the mountain road, I looked at her ________. “I thought you said three minutes.”

She smiled. “This is a different route.”

Turning down a narrow track, we parked the car and ________ out. We walked along a path that was thick with old pine needles. Huge black-green pines ________over us. Gradually, the peace and silence of the place began to ________ my mind.

When we stopped, I took a deep breath in _______.

From the top of the mountain were rivers of flowers in bloom. A mix of _____from white to lemon to red — unfolded like a carpet before us. At the center was a waterfall of purple flowers and here and there were coral-colored ones. And western bluebirds flew ________ the heads of the flowers happily.

A series of ________ came to my mind. Who created such beauty? How? When?

As we approached home, we saw a sign that read: “I ________ Answers to Your Questions.”

The first answer was: “One Woman—Two Hands, Two Feet, and Very Little Brain.” The second was: “One at a Time.” The third: “________ in 1958.”

As we drove home, I was so ________ by what we had seen, I could hardly speak. “She changed the world,” I ________ said, “one flower at a time. She took her first step almost 60 years ago, probably just the beginning of an idea, but she kept at it.”

“Imagine,” I said, “if I’d had a(n) ________ like her and worked at it, just a little bit every day, what might I have ________?”

Carolyn looked at me, smiling. “Start tomorrow,” she said. “ ________ yet, start today.”

1.A. back    B. bottom    C. top    D. corner

2.A. unwilling    B. unable    C. unlucky    D. unfit

3.A. rain    B. snow    C. storm    D. fog

4.A. announced    B. criticized    C. suggested    D. complained

5.A. much    B. many    C. fast    D. far

6.A. excitedly    B. calmly    C. nervously    D. anxiously

7.A. checked    B. looked    C. got    D. dropped

8.A. floated    B. streamed    C. towered    D. skipped

9.A. empty    B. fill    C. disturb    D. control

10.A. embarrassment    B. amazement    C. disappointment    D. amusement

11.A. materials    B. patterns    C. colors    D. shapes

12.A. over    B. through    C. within    D. along

13.A. predictions    B. decisions    C. imaginations    D. questions

14.A. Understand    B. Know    C. Doubt    D. Forget

15.A. Started    B. Continued    C. Finished    D. Quitted

16.A. troubled    B. moved    C. encouraged    D. confused

17.A. frankly    B. seriously    C. frequently    D. finally

18.A. promise    B. story    C. idea    D. challenge

19.A. gained    B. required    C. regretted    D. remembered

20.A. more    B. better    C. harder    D. later

Answer

1. C

2. A

3. D

4. A

5. D

6. D

7. C

8. C

9. B

10. B

11. C

12. A

13. D

14. B

15. A

16. B

17. D

18. C

19. A

20. B

【解析】

本文为记叙文。女儿带作者去山顶，看到了一片各色水仙花像地毯一样在面前闪闪发光。作者为之吸引，得知这是一位女士多年努力的结果。作者扪心自问：如果自己设定一个目标然后为之努力去做，每天做一点，时间久了就会收获很多。

1.考查名词辨析。A. back背部；B. bottom底部；C. top顶部；D. corner角落。根据下文By the time I saw how thick it was near the top, I’d gone too far to turn back.可知，作者的女儿坚持要作者去山顶看些东西。故C选项正确。

2.考查形容词辨析。A. unwilling不情愿的；B. unable不能的；C. unlucky不幸的；D. unfit不适宜的。根据上文I had no desire to drive up the winding mountain road to my daughter Carolyn’s house.可知，作者不愿意开车去山顶。故A选项正确。

3.考查名词辨析。A. rain雨；B. snow雪；C. storm暴风雨；D. fog雾。根据下文By the time I saw how thick it was near the top可知，作者不愿意在雾中走两个小时的路程。故D选项正确。

4.考查动词辨析。A. announced宣布；B. criticized批评；C. suggested建议；D. complained抱怨。作者到达后宣布“我会留下来吃午饭，但云雾散去之后我会尽快返回”。故A选项正确。

5.考查形容词辨析。A. much大量的；B. many许多的；C. fast快的；D. far远的。根据下文“About three minutes,” she said. “I’ll drive—I’m used to it.”可知，作者问“有多远？”故D选项正确。

6.考查副词辨析。A. excitedly兴奋地；B. calmly平静地；C. nervously紧张地；D. anxiously焦虑地。根据上文提到山上的雾气很浓可知，在山路上走了十分钟后，作者焦虑地看着女儿说“我记得你说的是三分钟。”故D选项正确。

7.考查动词辨析。A. checked检查；B. looked看；C. got得到；D. dropped掉下。根据下文We walked along a path that was thick with old pine needles.可知，作者和女儿把车停在一条狭窄的小路上，从车里出来查看。check out“查看”故C选项正确。

8.考查动词辨析。A. floated浮动；B. streamed流出；C. towered高耸；D. skipped跳过。根据空前Huge black-green pines可知，巨大的黑绿色松树高耸于我们之上。故C选项正确。

9.考查动词辨析。A. empty使……成为空的；B. fill填补；C. disturb打扰；D. control控制。渐渐地，这个地方的宁静充满了作者的脑海。故B选项正确。

10.考查名词辨析。A. embarrassment尴尬；B. amazement惊奇；C. disappointment失望；D. amusement乐趣。根据下文Who created such beauty? How? When? 可知，当他们停下来时，作者惊奇地深吸了一口气。故B选项正确。

11.考查名词辨析。A. materials材料；B. patterns图案；C. colors颜色；D. shapes形状。根据空后from white to lemon to red可知，从白色到柠檬色再到红色的各种颜色像地毯一样铺展在他们面前。故C选项正确。

12.考查介词辨析。A. over在……上方；B. through穿过；C. within在内部；D. along沿着。根据语境可知，西部的蓝知更鸟快乐地飞过花朵的头顶。故A选项正确。

13.考查名词辨析。A. predictions预测；B. decisions决策；C. imaginations想象；D. questions问题。根据下文Who created such beauty? How? When? 可知，作者想起了一连串的问题。故D选项正确。

14.考查动词辨析。A. Understand理解；B. Know知道；C. Doubt怀疑；D. Forget忘记。根据下文The first answer was: “One Woman—Two Hands, Two Feet, and Very Little Brain.” The second was: “One at a Time.”可知，他们看到一个牌子上写着：“我知道你的问题的答案。”故B选项正确。

15.考查动词辨析。A. Started开始；B. Continued继续；C. Finished完成；D. Quitted放弃。根据语境可知，此处指“开始于1958年。”故A选项正确。

16.考查动词辨析。A. troubled；B. moved感动；C. encouraged鼓励；D. confused（使）困惑。根据下文I could hardly speak.可知，当他们开车回家时，作者被看到的景象感动得说不出话来。故B选项正确。

17.考查副词辨析。A. frankly真诚地；B. seriously严肃地；C. frequently经常地；D. finally最终。根据上文I could hardly speak可知，作者最后说“她改变了世界，”。故D选项正确。

18.考查名词辨析。A. promise许诺；B. story故事；C. idea主意；D. challenge挑战。根据语境可知，作者说“如果我有一个像她一样的想法，并付诸实践，每天一点点就好了”。故C选项正确。

19.考查动词辨析。A. gained收获；B. required要求；C. regretted后悔；D. remembered记得。根据语境可知，作者在想如果他有一个像她一样的想法，并付诸实践，每天一点点就好了，他能得到什么?故A选项正确。

20.考查副词辨析。A. more更多；B. better更好；C. harder更努力；D. later后来。作者的女儿告诉他“最好从今天开始。” better yet“更好的是”。故B选项正确。