Question

From childhood, Moira loved to write. Throughout school she enjoyed writing, but pursuing it professionally was never a possibility. Her father was a doctor, her mother a nurse. “Medicine was a fairly safe choice,” Moira says, “and writing was a career where it wasn’t a certainty that you’d have high income.”

She became a doctor but still wanted to write something. However, being a doctor was so demanding that she didn’t take up writing until her thirties. She produced a novel—a fictionalized version of her travel in China after university. She got excellent reviews. Moira sent it off to as many agents as she could find, and found one who wanted to represent her. Suddenly, it seemed she was on her way as an author.

“I had one lengthy phone call with the agent where we went through all possible areas that she thought needed polishing. I worked on those and sent it back to her but didn’t hear anything.” It wasn’t long before Moira found another agent who was interested if she was willing to rewrite it from the first person to the third person. She did the hard work and sent it off again. “I got back a really brief letter: ‘Thank you, I’m no longer interested.’ It was really disappointing.”

A decade went by, and Moira found herself eager to write again, this time purely for her own enjoyment. She set herself the challenge of creating a thriller and chose Western Australia as her setting.

As she was writing just for herself, something surprising began to happen. “The characters took on a life of their own; they started doing things I hadn’t thought about. It just flew.” One day, an agent called from Australia. Three weeks later, Moira had a publication deal. Her novel, Cicada, was published in March.

“Even if it hadn’t been published I still gained so much from the process,” says Moira.

1.What do we know about Moira?

A. She was a writer.    B. She was a doctor.

C. She was an agent.    D. She was a nurse.

2.What does the author imply about her first novel?

A. It was produced after she graduated from university.

B. It was published by one of the agents.

C. It was modified according to the agents’ requirements.

D. It was made into a thriller with Western Australia as the setting.

3.What made Moira write again ten years later?

A. The money.    B. The setting.

C. The challenge.    D. The pleasure.

4.What does the underlined word “flew” in paragraph 5 refer to?

A. Succeeded.    B. Survived.

C. Broke.    D. Failed.

5.What would be the best title of the passage?

A. An Adventure in China    B. How to Be a Writer

C. Moira’s First Novel    D. A Passion for Writing

Answer

1. B

2. C

3. D

4. A

5. D

【解析】

本文为记叙文。Moria一直没有放弃过写作的梦想，她创作了以西澳大利亚州为背景的惊险小说，最终获得了成功。

1.细节理解题。根据第二段中的She became a doctor but still wanted to write something.可知，Moira曾经做过医生。故B选项正确。

2.细节理解题。根据第三段中的we went through all possible areas that she thought needed polishing. I worked on those and sent it back to her …It wasn’t long before Moira found another agent who was interested if she was willing to rewrite it from the first person to the third person. She did the hard work and sent it off again.可知，她的第一部小说根据代理商们的要求进行了多次修改。故C选项正确。

3.细节理解题。根据第四段中的A decade went by, and Moira found herself eager to write again, this time purely for her own enjoyment.可知，写作的热爱让Moria在十年后再次写作。故D选项正确。

4.词义猜测题。根据上文Moria的小说一直没有被认可，下文One day, an agent called from Australia. Three weeks later, Moira had a publication deal. Her novel, Cicada, was published in March.可知，她的这部小说被出版了，这说明她的这部小说成功了。故A选项正确。

5.推理判断题。根据全文对Moria的描述可知，她从小就热爱写作，一直都没有放弃写作的梦想，她创作了以西澳大利亚州为背景的惊险小说，最终获得了成功。由此可知，D项“对写作的热情”适合做本文最佳标题。故D选项正确。