Question

    Fred Rogers was a curious man, six feet tall and without pretense (虚伪). He liked to pray, to play the piano, to swim, and to write, and he somehow lived in a different world than I did. We became friends for some 20 years, and I made lifelong friends with his wife, Joanne. I remember thinking that it seemed as if Fred had access to another realm (领域) like the way pigeons have some special magnetic compass that helps them find home.

Fred died in 2003, somewhat quickly, of stomach cancer. He was 74. “Just don’t make Fred into a saint (圣人),”  That has become Joanne’s refrain (叠句). 91 now, still full of energy, she lives alone in the same roomy apartment, in the university section of Pittsburgh, that she and Fred moved into after they raised their two boys. Throughout her 50-year marriage to Fred, she wasn’t the type to hang out on the set or attend production meetings. That was Fred’s thing. He had his career, and she had hers as a concert pianist. For decades she toured the country with her college classmate, Jeannine Morrison, as a piano duo; they didn’t retire the performance until 2008.

“If you make him out to be a saint, people might not know how hard he worked,” Joanne said. Disciplined, focused; a perfectionist — an artist. That was the Fred she and the cast and crew knew. “I think people think of Fred as a child-development expert,” David Newell, the actor who played Mr. “Speedy Delivery” McFeely, told me recently. “As a moral example maybe. But as an artist? I don’t think they think of that.” that was the Fred I came to know. Creating, the creative impulse (冲动), and the creative process were our common interests. He wrote or co-wrote all the scripts for the program — all 33 years of it. He wrote the melodies. He wrote the lyrics. He structured a week of programming around a single theme, many of them difficult topics, like war, divorce, or death.

I don’t know that he cared whether people saw him as an artist. He seemed more intent (急切的) that people not see him at all. The focus was always on you. Or children. Or the tiny things. It was hard to see Fred.

I like you just the way you are. One day he told me where that core message came from. His grandfather, Fred Brooks McFeely, who like the rest of the Rogers family lived in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, about 40 miles east of Pittsburgh. “He was a character,” he said. “Oh, a lot of me came from him.”

His grandfather represented a life of risk and adventure, the very things Fred’s boyhood lacked. He was a lonely kid, an only child until he was 11, when his sister came. He was bullied. Here comes Fat Freddie! He was sickly. He had asthma. He was not allowed to play outside by himself. He spent much of his childhood in his bedroom.

He had music, and he had puppets to keep himself amused. He didn’t need much. He was expected to fill his father’s shoes, become his business partner at the brick company. “My dad was pretty much Mr. Latrobe,” he told me. “He worked hard to accomplish all that he did, and I’ve always felt that that was way beyond me. And yet I’m so grateful that he didn’t push me to do the kinds of things that he did or to become a miniature (缩小的) version of him. It certainly would have been miniature.”

Fred wanted to be like his grandfather. “He taught me all kinds of really neat stuff!” he told me. “I remember one day my grandmother and my mother were telling me to get down, or not to climb, and my grandfather said: ‘Let the kid climb on the wall! He’s got to learn to do things for himself!’ I heard that. I will never forget that. What a support that was. He had a lot of stone walls on his place.” “I think it was when I was leaving one time to go home after our time together,” Fred told me, “that my grandfather said to me: ‘You know, you made this day a really special day. Just by being yourself. There’s only one person in the world like you. And I happen to like you just the way you are.”

1.What is the author’s impression of Fred?

A.Fred had many lifelong friends.

B.Fred lived in a strange world.

C.Fred could always find way home.

D.Fred was an amazing person.

2.Why does Joanne try to persuade people not to make Fred into a saint?

A.To show the great success the couple achieved.

B.To underline the great pains Fred spared at work.

C.To remind people of the contributions she made.

D.To keep the weaknesses of Fred’s character hidden.

3.Who may think Fred a moral example?

A.David Newell. B.The author. C.Common people. D.Joanne.

4.What did Fred prefer to do according to the author?

A.Write scripts and music on his own.

B.Act as the man behind the curtain.

C.Focus more on difficult topics.

D.Present himself as an artist.

5.Which of following might have the greatest influence on Fred’s growth?

A.His poor health condition. B.His father’s expectation.

C.His unhappy childhood. D.His grandfather’s attitude.

6.What is mainly talked about in the passage?

A.The making of Fred Rogers.

B.The importance of a good wife.

C.The influence of a moral example.

D.The achievements of Fred and his wife.

Answer

1.D

2.B

3.C

4.B

5.D

6.A

【解析】

本文是记叙文。Fred Rogers在祖父的影响下，努力地过着自己想要的生活。他喜欢弹钢琴，喜欢游泳，喜欢写作。在大家的心目中是一个有自我约束力，做事情专注的完美主义者。

1.推理判断题。根据第一段中的“I remember thinking that it seemed as if Fred had access to another realm like the way pigeons have some special magnetic compass that helps them find home.”可知，作者认为Fred似乎可以进入另一个领域，就像鸽子有特殊的磁罗盘帮助它们找到家一样。因此作者认为Fred是个了不起的人。故选D。

2.细节理解题。根据第三段中的“If you make him out to be a saint, people might not know how hard he worked, Joanne said.”可知，妻子Joanne说：“如果你把他说成圣人，人们可能就不会知道他付出了多少努力”。因此乔安妮试图说服人们不要把Fred说成圣人的原因在于为了强调Fred在工作中所付出的巨大努力。故选B。

3.细节理解题。根据第三段中的“I think people think of Fred as a child-development expert, David Newell told me recently. As a moral example maybe. But as an artist? I don’t think they think of that.”可知，乔安妮说在人们心中Fred是一个儿童发展方面的专家，也许他是个道德榜样，但乔安妮不认为他们会把Fred当作艺术家。句子中的they指的是people，因此普通人认为Fred是个道德榜样。故选C。

4.推理判断题。根据第四段中的“I don’t know that he cared whether people saw him as an artist. He seemed more intent that people not see him at all. The focus was always on you. Or children. Or the tiny things. It was hard to see Fred.”可知，作者不知道他是否在乎人们将他视为艺术家。他似乎更希望人们看不到他。人们关注的重点始终在你身上或是孩子或是一些小事上。很难看到Fred，即Fred喜欢在幕后做事情。因此B项“做一个幕后的人”符合文意。故选B。

5.推理判断题。根据第五段中的“Oh, a lot of me came from him.”和最后一段中的“Fred wanted to be like his grandfather. Let the kid climb on the wall! He’s got to learn to do things for himself! I heard that. I will never forget that. What a support that was.”可知，Fred从祖父那里得到了精神上的支持，他很大程度上与祖父相似，因此祖父的生活态度对Fred的成长影响最大。故选D。

6.主旨大意题。文章开始介绍了人们对Fred的印象。由第5小题的分析可知，他从祖父那里得到了精神上的支持，他很大程度上与祖父相似，祖父的生活态度对Fred的成长影响最大，使他成为了大家心中的一个有自我约束力，做事情专注的完美主义者。用英语来解释“the making of sb.”，即what makes sb. who he is，意为“是什么造就了某人”。因此结合文章内容，A项The making of Fred Rogers.符合文意。故选A。