Question

Mark was a great kid from a tough neighborhood. Crime, drugs, fighting and poverty: You name the problem and his neighborhood had it. A scholarship fund provided his tuition to Catholic High, where he was a great baseball player.

Mark struggled in the classroom, though. He was bright, just behind, due to a more than difficult home environment. But there were problems finding the time for all he needed to do. After-school tutoring seemed impossible because of baseball practice. Some suggested Mark abandon sports and concentrate on “schooling”. But, in reality, if he was going to attend college he would need his sports; so to miss practice and then perform any less than at his best on the field was not wise.

A fellow teacher, Mrs. Jones, offered to tutor Mark in math at her home. I asked Mark to come to my house for other areas of work. No one paid us. Mrs. Jones summed it up this way: “Pay day doesn’t always come on Mondays”.

When we were not working with Mark to improve his skills for the ACT, the coach and Mark’s dad took him to various colleges to talk with both baseball and football program coaches. He settled on the college that offered him scholarships to play both sports. But he needed a good ACT score.

It takes months to receive the results of college entrance exams. One afternoon after school, while I was grading papers in my room, there was a noise outside the door.

Mark came in, lifted me out of the seat behind my desk, spun(旋转) me around in the air, and yelled over and over: “I’m going to college! I’m going to college!”

“I guess you got your scores!” I asked.

“Well, yeah!” he laughed. “And guess what? I got one point more than I need to be admitted. One point extra. Thank you! Now, where’s Mrs. Jones? I’ve got to tell her too!”

Until that moment, I had never quite understood what the expression “Pay day doesn’t always come on Mondays” meant. But it was clear to me the instant Mark ran into the room to announce his news. No amount of money could ever replace my spin in the air at the hands of a boy who finally had a chance at a better life.

1.Mark had difficulty in learning mainly because ________.

A. he spent most of his spare time practicing baseball

B. his family couldn’t afford any tutoring for him

C. his parent didn’t care about his study

D. he was constantly involved in the crimes in his neighborhood

2.According to the article, which of the following is false?

A. The teachers offered to tutor Mark free of charge.

B. Theft was a problem in Mark’s neighborhood.

C. Mark owed his success in passing ACT to his teachers.

D. Mark went to college mainly due to his good ACT score.

3.The underlined word “settled on” in the fourth paragraph probably means _____.

A. was accepted by    B. reached a final decision about

C. paid a visit to    D. became familiar with

4.What is the best title for this passage?

A. Pay Day Will Come Some Day.

B. Practice Makes a Better Life.

C. Relationships between Teachers and Students.

D. Never Give up on Yourself.

Answer

1. A

2. D

3. B

4. A

【解析】

这是一篇记叙文。短文叙述了生活环境很糟糕，靠奖学金在天主教高中上学的马克是一名非常出色的棒球手，大多数的时间都在进行棒球训练，用在学习上的时间很少。在老师的帮助以及个人的努力下，顺利通过ACT考试被大学录取，从而改变自己生活的故事。这则故事告诉我们付出总会有回报的道理。

1.细节理解题。由第二段“ But there were problems finding the time for all he needed to do. After-school tutoring seemed impossible because of baseball practice.”可知，但是他很难找到时间做他需要做的事情。因为棒球练习，课后辅导似乎是不可能的。所以马克学习困难主要是因为他把大部分业余时间都花在练习棒球上。故A选项正确。

2.细节理解题。由倒数第二段“I got one point more than I need to be admitted. One point extra. ”可知，马克的分数只比录取分数多了一分。所以只能说分数仅仅及格，不能说良好。故D选项说的不对。故D选项正确。

3.词义猜测题。由第四段“He settled on the college that offered him scholarships to play both sports. But he needed a good ACT score.”可知，他决定去那所为他提供两项运动奖学金的大学。但是他需要一个好的ACT分数。以及第六段“I’m going to college! I’m going to college!”我要上大学了。所以判断出第四段中的settle on的意思是 reached a final decision about“达成最终的决定”。才会有下文马克参加了这所大学的入学考试，才会被录取。故B选项正确。

4.标题归纳题。通读全文可知，短文叙述了生活环境很糟糕，靠奖学金在天主教高中上学的马克是一名非常出色的棒球手，大多数的时间他都在进行棒球训练，用在学习上的时间很少。在老师的帮助下以及个人的努力下，顺利通过ACT考试被大学录取，从而改变自己生活的故事。所以这则故事再告诉我们，无论什么样的出身环境，无论被限制于什么样的条件，付出总有一天会得到回报。故判断出“付出总有回报”为短文的标题。故A选项正确。