Question

A

I left university with a good degree in English Literature, but no sense of what I wanted to do. Over the next six years, I was treading water just trying to earn an income. I tried journalism, but I didn’t think I was any good, then finance, which I hated. Finally, I got a job as a rights assistant at a famous publisher. I loved working with books, although the job that I did was dull.

I had enough savings to take a year off work, and I decided to try to satisfy a deep-down wish to write a novel. Attending a Novel Writing MA course gave me the structure I needed to write my first 55,000 words.

It takes confidence to make a new start — there’s a dark period in-between where you’re neither one thing nor the other. You’re out for dinner and people ask what you do, and you’re too ashamed to say, “Well, I’m writing a novel, but I’m not quite sure if I’m going to get there.” My confidence dived. Believing my novel could not be published ,

I put it aside.

Then I met an agent（代理商）who said I should send my novel out to agents. So, I did and, to my surprise, got some wonderful feedback. I felt a little hope that I might actually become a published writer and, after signing with an agent, I finished the second half of the novel.

The next problem was finding a publisher. After two-and-a-half years of no income, just waiting and wondering, a publisher offered me a book deal — that publisher turned out to be the one I once worked for.

It feels like an unbelievable stroke of luck — of fate, really. When you set out to do something different, there’s no end in sight, so to find myself in a position where I now have my own name on a contract of the publisher — to be a published writer — is unbelievably rewarding.

1.What does the underlined part in Paragraph 1 mean?

A.I was waiting for good fortune.

B.I was trying to find an admirable job.

C.I was being aimless about a suitable job.

D.I was doing several jobs for more pay at a time.

2.The author decided to write a novel ______ .

A.to finish the writing course

B.to realize her own dream

C.to satisfy readers’wish

D.to earn more money

3.How did the writer feel halfway with the novel?

A.Disturbed. B.Ashamed. C.Confident. D.Uncertain.

4.What does the author mainly want to tell readers in the last paragraph?

A.It pays to stick to one’s goal.

B.Hard work can lead to success.

C.She feels like being unexpectedly lucky.

D.There is no end in sight when starting to do something.

Answer

1.C

2.B

3.D

4.A

【解析】

这是一篇夹叙夹议文。文章中主人公作者是一个有着英语文学学位的毕业生，但对自己做什么工作在开始的时候很迷茫，做了一段时间的记者，后来又到出版商那里工作，后来有了足够的积蓄暂停了工作去搞写作，开始时对自己的写作并没有足够的信心，见了一次出版商，把自己的作品送了过去结果得到了好的反馈，从而增加了信心，最终幸运地找到自己喜爱的写作这种职业，并最终取得了成功。作者通过自己的故事想告诉我们坚持自己的目标就会得到回报。

1.词句猜测题。根据第一段but no sense of what I wanted to do. I tried journalism, but I didn’t think I was any good, then finance, which I hated,可知，但不知道我想做什么。我尝试过新闻工作，但我认为自己一点也不是很擅长，然后是我讨厌的金融。由此推之第一段划线部分是指作者漫无目的地寻找一份合适自己的工作。故选C项。

2.细节理解题。根据第二段的"I decided to try to satisfy a deep-down wish to write a novel"可知作者决定写小说的目的只是满足自己内心深处的愿望，实现自己的梦想说明写作是他一直以来的梦想，故选B项。

3.推理判断题。根据文章第三段最后一句My confidence dived. Believing my novel could not be published, I put it aside可知，我的信心下降了。我相信我的小说不能出版，就把它放在了一边。由关键词“dived，put it aside”此判断出作者写这本小说写到一半时对自己的小说很不确定。故选D项。

4.推理判断题。根据最后一段When you set out to do something different, there’s no end in sight, so to find myself in a position where I now have my own name on a contract(合同)of the publisher—to be a published writer—is unbelievably rewarding(有回报的)可知，当你开始做一些不同的事情时，是看不到尽头的，以至于陷于困境，但是作者摆脱了困境，成为了一名出版作家，这是令人难以置信的回报。所以通过作者的叙述可以判断出，作者在最后一段想告诉读者，只要坚持自己的目标，努力是一定会有回报的。故选A项。