Question

A year after graduation, I was offered a position teaching a writing class. Teaching was a profession I had never seriously considered, though several of my stories had been published. I accepted the job without hesitation, as it would allow me to wear a tie and go by the name of Mr. Davis. My father went by the same name, and I liked to imagine people getting the two of us confused. “Wait a minute,” someone might say, “are you talking about Mr. Davis the retired man, or Mr. Davis the respectable scholar?”

The position was offered at the last minute, and I was given two weeks to prepare, a period I spent searching for briefcase and standing before my full-length mirror, repeating the words, “Hello, class. I’m Mr. Davis.” Sometimes I would give myself an aggressive voice. Sometimes I would sound experienced. But when the day eventually came, my nerves kicked in and the true Mr. Davis was there. I sounded not like a thoughtful professor, but rather a 12-year-old boy.

I arrived in the classroom with paper cards designed in the shape of maple leaves. I had cut them myself out of orange construction paper. I saw nine students along a long table. I handed out the cards, and the students wrote down their names and fastened them to their breast pockets as I required.

“All right then,’’ I said. “Okay, here we go.” Then I opened my briefcase and realized that I had never thought beyond this moment. I had been thinking that the students would be the first to talk, offering their thoughts and opinions on the events of the day. I had imagined that I would sit at the edge of the desk, overlooking a forest of hands. Every student would shout. “Calm down, you’ll all get your turn. One at a time, one at a time!”

A terrible silence ruled the room, and seeing no other opinions, I asked the students to pull out their notebooks and write a brief essay related to the theme of deep disappointment.

1.The author took the job to teach writing because       .

A. he wanted to be respected    B. he had written some stories

C. he wanted to please his father    D. he had dreamed of being a teacher

2.What can we learn about the author from Paragraph 2?

A. He would be aggressive in his first class.

B. He was well-prepared for his first class.

C. He waited long for the arrival of his first class.

D. He got nervous upon the arrival of his first class.

3.Before he started his class, the author asked the students to       .

A. cut some cards out of the construction paper

B. write down their names on the paper cards

C. cut maple leaves out of the construction paper

D. write down their suggestions on the paper cards

4.What did the students do when the author started his class?

A. They began to talk.    B. They raised their hands.

C. They kept silent.    D. They shouted to be heard.

Answer

1.A

2.D

3.B

4.C

【解析】

本文是记叙文。作者叙述了自己成为老师所上的第一节课的情景。这节课和自己事先预想的不一样，这节课竟然很沉闷，这令作者很失望。

1.推理判断题。根据文章第一段I accepted the job without hesitation, as it would allow me to wear a tie and go by the name of Mr. Davis.及最后一句someone might say, “are you talking about Mr. Davis the retired man, or Mr. Davis the respectable scholar?”可知，我毫不犹豫地接受了这个工作，因为他想自己像父亲一样受人尊敬，所以选A。

2.推理判断。根据文章第二段But when the day eventually came, my nerves kicked in and the true Mr. Davis was there. I sounded not like a thoughtful professor, but rather a 12-year-old boy.可知当作者第一次进入课堂的时候，神经紧张。他的声音不像是一名有思想的教授，倒像一个12岁的小男孩。这表明作者很紧张。故选D 。

3.细节理解。第三段的I arrived in the classroom with paper cards … I saw nine students along a long table. I handed out the cards, and the students wrote down their names and fastened them to their breast pockets as I required.可知作者上课的第一件事是让学生把自己的名字写在卡片上。可知选B。

4.细节理解题。根据文章最后一段倒数第二行A terrible silence ruled the room, and seeing no other opinions.可知学生都很安静地坐在那里，都没有说话，故本题选C项。