Question

    In my mind, there is a moving story about a skinny young boy who loved football with all his heart.

Practice after practice, he eagerly gave everything he had. But being half the size of the other boys, he got absolutely nowhere. Despite his hard training at all the games, this hopeful athlete sat on the bench and hardly ever played.

This teenager lived alone with his father, and the relationship between the two of them was very special. Even though the son was always on the bench, his father was always in the stands cheering. He never missed a game. This young man was still the smallest of the class when he entered high school. But his father continued to encourage him.

The young man loved football and was determined to try his best at every practice, and perhaps he’d get to play when he became a senior. All through high school he never missed a practice nor a game but remained a benchwarmer. Besides, his faithful father was always in the stands, always with words of encouragement for him. When the young man went to college, he decided to try out for the football team as a “walk-on”. Everyone firmly believed that he could never make the cut, but he did.

The news that he had survived the cut thrilled him so much that he rushed to the nearest phone and called his father. His father shared his excitement and was sent season tickets for all the college games. This persistent young athlete never missed practice during his four years at college, but actually he never got the real chance to play in a game.

It was at the end of his senior football season that the coach met him with a telegram. The young man read the telegram and he became totally silent. Swallowing hard, he mumbled to the coach, “My father died this morning. Is it all right if I miss practice today?” The coach put his arm gently around his should and said, “Take the rest of the week off, son. And don’t even plan to come back to the game on Saturday.”

Saturday arrived, and the game was not going well. In the third quarter, when the team was ten points behind, a silent young man quietly slipped into the empty locker room and put on his football gear. As he ran onto the sidelines, the coach and his players were surprised to see their faithful teammate back so soon. “Coach, please let me play. I’ve just got to play today,” said the young man. The coach pretended not to hear him. There was no way he wanted his worst player in this close play-off game. But the young man insisted, and finally feeling sorry for the kid, the coach gave in. “All right,” he said. “You can go in.” Before long, the coach, the players and everyone in the stands could not believe their eyes. This little unknown, who had never played before, was doing everything right. The opposing team could not stop him. He ran, passed, blocked, and tackled like a star. His team began to succeed. The score was soon tied. In the closing seconds of the game, this kid got a pass and ran all the way for the winning touchdown.

Finally, after the stands had emptied, the coach noticed that this young man was sitting quietly in the corner all alone. The coach came to him and said, “Kid, you were unbelievably fantastic! Tell me what got into you? How did you do it?”

He looked at the coach, tears in his eyes, and said, “Well, you knew my dad died, but did you know that my dad was blind?” The young man swallowed hard and forced a smile, “Dad came to all my games, but today was the first time he could see me play, and I wanted to show him I could make it!”

1.What does the underlined sentence “he got absolutely nowhere” mean?

A.He could never make his father see his performance clearly.

B.There was no coach to train him well enough to be a good player.

C.There was no chance of his becoming a top athlete in this sport.

D.He had no idea at all what kind of person he wanted to be in the future.

2.From the passage, we can infer that__________.

A.the young man’s father had a great positive influence on him

B.the young man’s coach played an important role in his growth

C.not until his father passed away did the young man train hard

D.the young man’s road to success in football was always smooth

3.Why did the young man return to the match on Saturday?

A.He planned to make money to cure his father of his blindness.

B.He thought he was much better than other players in his team.

C.He wanted to defeat the opposing team in this significant game.

D.He hoped his dead father could be proud of his performance.

4.What’s the best title of the passage?

A.A thrilling football match B.Determined father and son

C.The power of dreams D.The encouragement of a coach

Answer

1.C

2.A

3.D

4.B

【解析】

本文是一篇记叙文。作者讲述了一个感人的故事，一个小男孩热爱足球，坚持艰苦训练，尽管没有机会上场，而每一次比赛他的盲人父亲都参加，一直鼓励他，就在他父亲去世的那天，小男孩成功的完成了比赛，他希望父亲能看到他比赛并为他自豪。

1.句意猜测题。上文“But being half the size of the other boys,”但是由于他只有其他男孩的一半高，和下文 “Despite his hard training at all the games, this hopeful athlete sat on the bench and hardly ever played.” 尽管他在所有的比赛中都进行了艰苦的训练，这位充满希望的运动员却坐在替补席上，几乎从未上场过。可以推断划线部分意思为C选项There was no chance of his becoming a top athlete in this sport. 在这项运动中，他不可能成为顶尖的运动员。故选C。

2.推理判断题。本文的中心描述的就是小男孩热爱足球并且一直坚持训练，而他的父亲一直鼓励他，而最终小男孩终于成功的打赢比赛。可以看出小男孩的父亲对小男孩有很大的影响，故选A。

3.细节理解题。文中最后一段“He looked at the coach, tears in his eyes, and said, “Well, you knew my dad died, but did you know that my dad was blind?” The young man swallowed hard and forced a smile, “Dad came to all my games, but today was the first time he could see me play, and I wanted to show him I could make it!”他看着教练，眼里含着泪水，说道:“你知道我爸爸去世了，但你知道我爸爸是个盲人吗?年轻人勉强笑了笑，“爸爸来参加我所有的比赛，但今天是他第一次看到我打球，我想让他知道我能行!”。可以看出小男孩是想让他爸爸为他自豪，故选D。

4.推理判断题。本文的中心描述的就是小男孩热爱足球并且一直坚持训练，而他的父亲一直鼓励他，而最后小男孩终于成功的打赢比赛。B选项，坚定的父亲和儿子，符合文中中心思想，而且新颖夺目，适合做标题，故选B。