Question

    I promised to myself on the way down to the vacation beach cottage. For two weeks I would try to be a loving husband and father. Totally loving. No ifs, ands or buts.

The idea had occurred to me as I listened to a talk on my car radio. The speaker was reading a passage about husbands being thoughtful of their wives. Then he went on to say, “Love is an act of will. A person can choose to love.” To myself, I had to admit that I had been a selfish husband. Well, for two weeks that would change.

And it did. Right from the moment I kissed Evelyn at the doctor and said, “That new yellow sweater looks good on you.”

“Oh, Tom, you noticed,” she said, surprised and pleased. Maybe a little puzzled.

After the long drive, I wanted to sit and read. Evelyn suggested a walk on the beach. I started to refuse, but then I changed my mind. We walked on the beach while the children flew their kites.

So it went. Two weeks of not calling the Wall Street firm; a visit to the shell museum though I usually hate museums. Relaxed and happy, that’s how the whole vacation passed.

There was one thing that went wrong with my experiment, however. On the last night at our cottage, Evelyn stared at me with the saddest expression.

“What’s the matter?” I asked her.

“Tom,” she said in a voice filled with distress, “do you know something I don’t?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well… that checkup I had several weeks ago… our doctor… did he tell you something about me? Tom, you’ve been so good to me… am I dying?”

It took a moment for it all to sink in. Then I burst out laughing.

“No, honey,” I said, wrapping her in my arms. “You’re not dying; I’m just starting to live.”

1.What do”No ifs, ands or buts”in Paragraph 1 probably mean?

A.Unnecessarily. B.Unexpectedly.

C.Impossibly. D.Unconditionally.

2.Why did Tom try to be a loving husband and father?

A.Evelyn looked lovely in her sweater.

B.Evelyn suffered a deadly disease.

C.He regretted about his past behaviors.

D.He had made lots of money in Wall Street.

3.What does the underlined sentence probably mean?

A.Tom thought Evelyn’s words were funny.

B.It took Tom a while to understand Evelyn’s words.

C.Tom’s heart sank suddenly on hearing Evelyn’s words.

D.Tom tried to prevent Evelyn knowing the truth about her illness.

4.What can we infer about Evelyn’s feeling towards her husband’s change?

A.Relaxed and happy. B.Pleased and grateful.

C.Pleased but sorrowful. D.Surprised but pleased.

Answer

1.D

2.C

3.B

4.C

【解析】

这是一篇记叙文。这篇文章讲述的是汤姆对自己过去的行为感到后悔，他决心要做一个慈爱的丈夫和父亲。但妻子Evelyn对她丈夫变化既高兴又难过，因为她刚做过体检，她认为自己快要死了，丈夫才会对自己这么好，汤姆告诉妻子，她不会死，他们才刚刚开始。

1.词义猜测题。根据第一段中的I promised to myself on the way down to the vacation beach cottage. For two weeks I would try to be a loving husband and father. Totally loving.“在去度假海滩小屋的路上，我向自己保证。在这两个星期里，我要努力成为一个有爱心的丈夫和父亲。完全的爱。”由此推知第一段中“No ifs, ands or buts”的意思是“无条件地”。故选D。

2.推理判断题。根据第二段中The idea had occurred to me as I listened to a talk on my car radio. The speaker was reading a passage about husbands being thoughtful of their wives. Then he went on to say, “Love is an act of will. A person can choose to love.” To myself, I had to admit that I had been a selfish husband. Well, for two weeks that would change.这个主意是我在车上听收音机时想到的。播音员正在读一篇关于丈夫体贴妻子的文章。然后他继续说:“爱是一种意志的行为。一个人可以选择去爱”。对我自己来说，我不得不承认我是个自私的丈夫。接下来的两周，那些将会改变可知，汤姆之所以要做一个慈爱的丈夫和父亲是因为他对自己过去的行为感到后悔。故选C。

3.词义猜测题。根据上文“Well… that checkup I had several weeks ago… our doctor… did he tell you something about me? Tom, you’ve been so good to me… am I dying?”“ 妻子几天前做过体检，认为医生和Tom说了什么，汤姆对妻子很好，她认为自己快要死了。”和下文Then I burst out laughing.“然后我突然大笑起来。”可知，汤姆听了妻子的话，一时没能理解什么意思，想了一会儿，才明白妻子误解了自己，于是笑了起来。由此推知，划线句子的意思是“Tom过了一会儿才明白Evelyn的话。”故选B。

4.推理判断题。根据第六段的“Relaxed and happy, that’s how the whole vacation passed.”可知，妻子对于丈夫的改变，感动高兴；再根据第七段的“On the last night at our cottage, Evelyn stared at me with the saddest expression.”可知，Evelyn很伤心，结合下文提到的“Well… that checkup I had several weeks ago… our doctor… did he tell you something about me? Tom, you’ve been so good to me… am I dying?”可推断， 妻子几天前做过体检，认为医生和Tom说了什么，她认为自己快要死了。综上所述，Evelyn对她丈夫的变化既高兴又难过。故选C。