Question

    Nothing good generally comes of a conversation that start with the words, "I think you should probably sit down before I tell you this.”

And so it came to pass. Away for Christmas, we got a call from kind friends at home, our neighbour's house had caught fire while they were out. The fire didn't spread to our house but the smoke very much did.

It's weeks of either throwing out, or sending away for specialist cleaning, every single thing into which smoke could have permeated(渗透)because the particles(微粒) are an ongoing health risk and washing isn't enough. Anything soft—sofas and carpets and children’s teddy bears, clothes—is suspected. We will be seeing in the New Year in a decidedly minimalist fashion.

What I didn't expect to feel, however, is this lucky. Friends and neighbours have come together with incredible generosity. We will never again underestimate the closeness of the village community in which we live, or the innate kindness that is most people's natural reaction to trouble, and are grateful to be reminded of so much that is good. But that's not the only thing I've learned. For in a sense, we have a chance to start again.

The surprise on being forced to think about what might urgently need replacing is how short the list of essentials seems; how much we must have been hanging on to out of habit, and how much we have been conditioned to think was important.

It's all too easily assumed that family history lives in tangible(有形的)things— old photographs, a dress bought decades ago for a night heavy with memories — but that's not quite right. These things were only reminders of what we already carry with us in head and heart.

Walking through the house, sweeping up the broken glass, I realised that the answer to the old question of “What would you save in a fire? ” is actually that nothing really matters but each other.

1.What happened to the author's house?

A.It caught a fire.

B.It was affected by a fire.

C.It was broken into by friends.

D.Its windows were broken.

2.What does the underlined word "suspected" in Paragraph 3 refer to?

A.something that may be damaged.

B.something that may not be genuine.

C.something that may not be so good.

D.something that may be dangerous.

3.What did the author expect to feel?

A.People around him were cold to others' trouble.

B.His friends and neighbours were so generous.

C.People in his community were close to each other.

D.He was so lucky to find much that was good.

4.How will the author probably feel when the New Year finally comes?

A.Worried. B.Surprised.

C.Excited. D.Contented.

Answer

1.B

2.A

3.A

4.D

【解析】

本文是记叙文。作者家房子受到火灾影响，物品受损，一切都需要清理，但朋友们和邻居们提供的帮助，让作者感受到了他们的善良，对他们感恩。作者感受到拥有彼此才是最重要的。

1.细节理解题。根据第二段our neighbour's house had caught fire while they were out. The fire didn't spread to our house but the smoke very much did.第三段every single thing into which smoke could have permeated可知邻居家在外出时着火了，虽然火没有蔓延到作者家，但烟殃及了房子，作者家的房子受到了影响。故选B。

2.猜测词义题。上句提到every single thing into which smoke could have permeated(渗透)because the particles(微粒) are an ongoing health risk and washing isn't enough.可知每件被烟雾渗透的物品都要专门清洗或扔掉，因为那些微粒威胁健康，有的仅清洗是不行的。此句涉及的那些柔软的东西被认为可能是被污染损害的东西，suspected指的就是这些东西。故选A。

3.推理判断题。根据第四段What I didn't expect to feel, however, is this lucky.作者没想到的是自己家很幸运，下文提到朋友们和邻居们都提供了帮助，作者从中感受到了他们的善良。由此推知作者原来认为的是人们会对别人家的困难很冷漠，故选A。

4.推理判断题。根据第三段最后We will be seeing in the New Year in a decidedly minimalist fashion.可知作者家房子受到火灾影响，物品受损，一切都需要清理，作者认为即将到来的新年肯定是简约的。但朋友们和邻居们提供的帮助，让作者感受到了他们的善良，对他们感恩。文章最后提到I realised that the answer to the old question of “What would you save in a fire? ” is actually that nothing really matters but each other.作者感受到拥有彼此才是最重要的。这些说明作者是满足的，故选D。