Question

    “Could you see the whites of their eyes?” said the man, who was seated on a soap box.

“Nothing of the kind,” replied old Henry warmly. “Just a lot of figures running towards us, and I let go at where there appeared to be most. Bang!”

“Mr. Fleming, ” said the grocer — his respectful voice expressed somehow the old man’s exact social weight — “Mr. Fleming, you never were frightened much in those battles, were you?”

The veteran (老兵) looked down and smiled. Observing his manner, the entire group laughed a little. “Well, I guess I was,” he answered finally, “Pretty well scared, sometimes. Why, in my first battle, I thought the sky was falling down. I thought the world was coming to an end. You bet I was scared.”

Everyone laughed. Perhaps it seemed strange and rather wonderful to them that a man should admit the thing, and in the tone of their laughter there was probably more admiration than if old Fleming had declared that he had always been a lion. Moreover, they knew that he had ranked as an orderly sergeant (中士), and so their opinion of heroism was fixed. None, to be sure, knew how an orderly sergeant ranked, but then it was understood to be somewhere just shy of a major-general’s stars. So, when old Henry admitted that he had been frightened, there was a laugh.

“The trouble was,” said the old man, “I thought they were all shooting at me. Yes, sir, I thought every man in the other army was aiming at me in particular, and only me. And it seemed so unreasonable, you know. I wanted to explain to them what an almighty good fellow I was, because I thought then they might quit all trying to hit me. But I couldn’t explain, and they kept on being unreasonable. Blim! Blam! Bang! So, I ran!”

Two little triangles of wrinkles appeared at the corners of his eyes. Evidently he appreciated some comedy in this storytelling. Down near his feet, however, little Jim, his grandson, was obviously horror-stricken. His hands were clasped nervously, and his eyes were wide with astonishment at this terrible scandal (丑闻), his most magnificent grandfather telling such a thing.

“That was at Chancellorsville. Of course, afterwards I got kind of used to it. A man does. Lots of men, though, seem to feel all right from the start. I did, as soon as ‘I got on to it,’ as they say now; but at first I was pretty well scared. Now, there was young Jim Conklin, old Si Conklin’s son—that used to keep the leather factory—you none of you recall him―well, he went into it from the start just as if he was born to it. But with me it was different. I had to get used to it.”

When little Jim walked with his grandfather, he was in the habit of skipping along on the stone pavement, in front of the three stores and the hotel of the town, and betting that he could avoid the cracks. But upon this day he walked calmly, with his hand gripping two of his grandfather’s fingers. Sometimes he kicked abstractedly at dandelions that curved over the walk. Anyone could see that he was much troubled.

“Um,” said the boy, with a strange lack of interest. He continued his reflections. Then finally he asked: “Grandpa—now—was that true what you were telling those men?”

“What?” asked the grandfather. “What was I telling them?”

“Oh, about your running.”

“Why, yes, that was true enough, Jimmie. It was my first fight, and there was an awful lot of noise, you know.”

Jimmie seemed a bit confused that this idol (偶像), of its own will, should be so weak. His stout boyish idealism was injured and then lapsed into a moody silence.

1.What was the old man talking about at the very beginning of the story?

A.A brave hero. B.A funny joke.

C.A terrible scandal. D.A battlefield experience.

2.What can be inferred from everyone’s laugh when Fleming admitted he was scared sometimes?

A.They didn’t expect a man like Fleming should admit his fright.

B.They thought that he was just making some kind of joke.

C.They were scared of his social weight and could do nothing else.

D.They teased him for his not being ashamed of his escape from the battlefield.

3.Why was little Jim astonished when Fleming told his story?

A.Because people laughed at his grandfather.

B.Because his grandfather failed to keep the secret.

C.Because his grandfather disappointed him.

D.Because people knew how an orderly sergeant ranked.

4.Which of the following can best describe Henry Fleming?

A.Shy but brave. B.Smart and admirable.

C.Honest and courageous. D.Frightened but heroic.

5.How does the author expose the character of Henry Fleming?

A.In a way of Romanticism.

B.By a means of Impressionism.

C.With a method of Symbolism.

D.In a stytle of Naturalism.

6.Which of the following can be served as the best title for the story?

A.The scandal B.The veteran C.The war D.The lion

Answer

1.D

2.A

3.C

4.C

5.D

6.B

【解析】

这是一篇记叙文。一个退役老兵给大家描述自己第一场战斗，在这场战斗中他很害怕，甚至想要当逃兵。老兵的孙子听后很羞愧，因为他一直把爷爷当作自己的偶像来崇拜。

1.细节理解题。根据文章第四段中Why, in my first battle I thought the sky was falling down. I thought the world was coming to the end.可知，故事开始他首先说的是自己第一次上战场时无比害怕的往事。故选D项。

2.推理判断题。根据文章第四段的Moreover, they knew that he had ranked as an orderly sergeant (中士), and so their opinion of heroism was fixed.和So, when old Henry admitted that he had been frightened, there was a laugh.可知，当老人讲述他害怕的事情后大家都笑了，因为他是一个中士，在人们心中这应该是一个英雄才有的称号，故推测大家笑是因为他们觉得一个中士是不会说自己在战场上害怕的事情。故选A项。

3.推理判断题。根据文章第6段的his eyes were wide with astonishment at this terrible scandal, his most magnificent grandfather telling such a thing和最后一段的Jimmie seemed a bit confused that this idol (偶像), of its own will, should be so weak. His stout boyish idealism was injured and then lapsed into a moody silence.可知，little Jim一直是十分崇拜他的爷爷的，但却没有想到他爷爷居然也会有逃跑这种丑闻，使他十分震惊，他崇拜的偶像居然害怕战争，这让他很困惑，心情低落。故推测他感到震惊是因为爷爷让他失望了。故选C项。

4.推理判断题。根据文章第四段中Pretty well scared, sometimes.可知，Fleming承认他感到害怕，故推测他是诚实的，而当众承认自己的弱点需要极大的勇气，故推测Fleming是勇敢的。故选C项。

5.推理判断题。文章整篇从用主人公的自我叙述来衬托出他的性格特征，故推测作者采用自然的风格来揭示人物特点。故选D项。

6.主旨大意题。整篇文章采用老兵Fleming向他人讲述战场经历的故事，来揭示Fleming的特点，故本文可以用“一个老兵”作为标题。故选B项。