Question

    Two of the saddest words in the English language are “if only”. I live my life with the goal of never having to say those words, because they convey regret, lost opportunities, mistakes, and disappointment.

My father is famous in our family for saying, “Take the extra minute to do it right.” I always try to live by the “extra minute” rule. When my children were young and likely to cause accidents, I always thought about what I could do to avoid an “if only” moment, whether it was something minor like moving a cup full of hot coffee away from the edge of a counter, or something that required a little more work such as taping padding (衬垫) onto the sharp corners of a glass coffee table.

I don’t only avoid those “if only” moments when it comes to safety. It’s equally important to avoid “if only” in our personal relationships. We all know people who lost a loved one and regretted that they had foregone an opportunity to say “I love you” or “I forgive you.” When my father announced he was going to the eye doctor across from my office on Good Friday, I told him that it was a holiday for my company and I wouldn’t be here. But then I thought about the fact that he’s 84 years old and I realized that I shouldn’t give up an opportunity to see him. I called him and told him I had decided to go to work on my day off after all.

I know there will still be occasions when I have to say “if only” about something, but my life is definitely better because of my policy of doing everything possible to avoid that eventuality. And even though it takes an extra minute to do something right, or it occasionally takes an hour or two in my busy schedule to make a personal connection, I know that I’m doing the right thing. I’m buying myself peace of mind and that’s the best kind of insurance for my emotional well-being.

1.Which of the following is an example of the “extra minute” rule?

A.Start the car the moment everyone is seated.

B.Leave the room for a minute with the iron working.

C.Wait for an extra minute so that the steak tastes better.

D.Move an object out of the way before it trips someone.

2.The author decided to go to her office on Good Friday to ______.

A.keep her appointment with the eye doctor

B.meet her father who was already an old man

C.join in the holiday celebration of the company

D.finish her work before the deadline approached

3.The underlined word “foregone” in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to ______.

A.abandoned B.lacked

C.avoided D.taken

4.What is the best title for the passage?

A.To Keep Emotional Well-being B.To Prevent “If Only” Moments

C.To Follow the Most Useful Rule D.To Achieve the Peace of Mind

Answer

1.D

2.B

3.A

4.B

【解析】

这是一篇夹叙夹议的文章。文章讲述了作者认为英语中最悲伤的两个词语是"if only"，因为他们表达了遗憾。父亲在作者小的时候经常让她提前做一些能防止意外发生的事，因此她懂得珍惜现在所拥有的一切，而且知道自己正在做对的事。

1.推理判断题。根据第一、二段的内容可知，作者所说的“extra minute”rule是指在遇事时多思考一分钟，从而可以避免以后遗憾、犯错或失望，故D选项“在绊倒别人之前，把障碍物挪走”符合 “extra minute” rule，故选D。

2.推理判断题。根据第三段倒数第二句But then I thought about the fact that he’s 84 years old and I realized that I shouldn’t give up an opportunity to see him.可知，父亲说在周五去看眼科医生时经过作者的办公室，虽然那天是假日，但作者想到父亲八十四了，自己不应该放弃每一次见父亲的机会，于是又改口说那天上班。由此可知作者决定在星期五去她的办公室，是为了见她已经年迈的父亲。故选B。

3.词义猜测题。根据划线词所在句and前后连接语意相似成分，由其前“失去一个心爱的人或物”可推知此处是指“后悔放弃一个机会”可知，foregone的意思是“放弃”，故选A。

4.主旨大意题。通读文章可知，本文主要叙述了作者通过“extra minute”rule来避免以后说“if only”的情况。“if only”作为线索贯穿了整篇文章，且第一段也提到了the saddest words，其他选项比较笼统，不能涵盖本文内容。所以这篇文章最好的题目是“防止出现if only的情况”，故选B。