Question

    It was an extremely cold December night, and I had just settled into the living room sofa with a book when I heard a sharp knocking on the front door. The sound frightened me, mainly because it was 8:45 PM, quite dark outside, and I was alone. My husband had left two days before for a meeting.

I sat thinking for a moment about who could be at my door at that hour. I live on a really quiet street on the North Shore about a block off the main road. Hours can go by without a car or pedestrian(行人)passing in front of my home, a small house that's more than 100 years old.

Another moment passed. More sharp knocking. And then a face pressed against the square window in my front door, with which I made eye contact(接触). A woman's face. She was saying something, but I couldn't make it out.

I wish I could say that the first thing I wanted to do was to jump off the sofa to help this woman, but I hesitated(犹豫)because of all the bad stories about women who open their doors to strangers. What went through my mind was this: What if I open the door and she isn't alone but has an accomplice(同伙)hiding behind that big plant, and then they both come in and kill me?

Still, I opened the door. If I was killed, I had had a good life. She ran into my living room "Gracias. My phone---is dead." Speaking mostly Spanish, but intermixed with bits of English, the woman indicated(暗示)that she was lost, that her phone was dead and that she needed to call her sister who was supposed to have picked her up at the train station but hadn't. So she had decided to try and walk to her sister's but had gotten completely lost in the dark.

I offered to make her some tea while we waited for her phone to charge enough so that she could show me her sister's address.

1.Why does the author mention her surroundings in Paragraph 2?

A.To show off her wealth and social position.

B.To stress her house can seldom be visited.

C.To express her satisfaction with her life.

D.To explain how to find her house easily.

2.How did the author react to the knocking?

A.She turned a deaf ear to it.

B.She answered it immediately.

C.She asked her husband for advice.

D.She thought twice before opening the door.

3.What can we learn about the stranger?

A.She mistook her sister's address.

B.She was a native English speaker.

C.She meant to turn to the author for help.

D.She got in touch with her sister just recently.

4.Which of the following words can best describe the ending of the story?

A.Unusual. B.Relaxing.

C.Frightening. D.Painful.

Answer

1.B

2.D

3.C

4.B

【解析】

本文是记叙文。作者在冬天的晚上独自在家，听到陌生人的敲门声很害怕，考虑再三才开了门。听完陌生人的叙述才知道她是来求助的，作者给陌生人倒茶，等着她的手机充好电后给她指路。

1.推理判断题。第二段I live on a really quiet street on the North Shore about a block off the main road. Hours can go by without a car or pedestrian（行人）passing in front of my home,作者描述了自己家周围的环境，在北岸一条非常安静的街道上，离主干道大约一个街区。经常几个小时没有汽车或行人从我家前面过。这是为了强调自己家很少有人来访，与晚上突然的敲门声形成对比。故选B。

2.推理判断题。根据第四段but I hesitated(犹豫)because of all the bad stories about women who open their doors to strangers. What went through my mind was this: What if I open the door and she isn't alone but has an accomplice(同伙)hiding behind that big plant, and then they both come in and kill me?可知作者听到敲门声后开始犹豫，想到了一些给陌生人开门后不好的故事，考虑这个敲门人是不是和同伙来杀害自己。由此推知作者开门前再三考虑，故选D。

3.细节理解题。根据倒数第二段Gracias. My phone---is dead. the woman indicated(暗示)that she was lost, that her phone was dead and that she needed to call her sister who was supposed to have picked her up at the train station but hadn't. So she had decided to try and walk to her sister's but had gotten completely lost in the dark.和最后一段I offered to make her some tea while we waited for her phone to charge enough so that she could show me her sister's address.可知陌生人的手机没电了，她也迷路了找不到姐姐家。她来作者家给手机充电和问路，故选C。

4.推理判断题。作者在冬天的晚上独自在家，听到陌生人的敲门声很害怕，考虑再三才开了门。听完陌生人的叙述才知道她是来求助的，根据最后一段I offered to make her some tea while we waited for her phone to charge enough so that she could show me her sister's address.作者给陌生人倒茶，等着她的手机充好电后给她指路。由此可知故事的结尾是轻松的，故选B。