Question

    My wife and I were at a crowded grocery store not long ago. It was a weekday evening, cold and wet-and tense. People were carelessly blocking aisles, complaining and cutting one another off with their carts.

Things got worse at the checkout line. The cashier scanned a man’s discount card, but he misread the savings on her screen as an additional charge. He decided she was acting deliberately and began to argue.

“She is being spiteful (恶意的) !” he yelled. “This is unbelievable.”

Other customers looked away as the cashier tried to reason with him. She called a manager, who accompanied him to customer service. Shaken, she moved to the next customer in line.

We’ve all witnessed uncomfortable scenes like this in public places. The grocery scene was another example of how our trust in others has eroded. But it was also a teachable moment on how we can rebuild our faith-starting with just one person.

Back at the grocery store, my wife and I reached our uneasy cashier. I grabbed a bottle of water from a nearby cooler and handed it to her. “We felt bad about how that man treated you and wanted to buy this for you.” I said. Her face lit up, and we talked as she scanned our items. She told us she had been working that evening through severe foot pain and would be having surgery later that week. We wished her well in her recovery, and she thanked us as we left.

Those are the balancing acts, the moments of responding social and emotional pain with healing, which will add up to restore trust among people. You can start that pattern in someone else’s life, even in a place as ordinary as the neighborhood grocery store.

1.Why did the man at the checkout line argue with the cashier?

A.The cashier called a manager to help her.

B.Someone jumped the queue waiting to check out.

C.There was something wrong with his discount card.

D.He believed the cashier charged him more on purpose.

2.The underlined word “eroded” in Paragraph 5 probably means ________.

A.changed B.increased

C.faded D.formed

3.The author bought a bottle of water for the cashier because ________.

A.he thought the cashier might feel a little bit thirsty

B.he knew she had gone through much trouble recently

C.he wanted to restore the trust between her and the man

D.he wanted to comfort her after the terrible experience just now

4.The last paragraph in the passage is intended to ________.

A.add a warning B.make a suggestion

C.introduce a topic D.present an argument

Answer

1.D

2.C

3.D

4.B

【解析】

这是一篇记叙文。讲述了作者和妻子在百货商场遇到的一桩关于人与人之间相互信任的故事。

1.细节理解题。第二段最后一句“He decided she was acting deliberately and began to argue.”可知收银台前的那个人和收银员争吵的因为是他断定她是故意的，故选D。

2.词义猜测题。根据后文“But it was also a teachable moment on how we can rebuild our faith-starting with just one person.”可知，因为信任正在“慢慢消失”因此需要“重建”，故选C。

3.细节理解题。第六段第三句“We felt bad about how that man treated you and wanted to buy this for you.”可知作者为收银员买了一瓶水的原因是想为她刚刚糟糕的经历安慰她，故选D。

4.推理判断题。根据最后一段最后一句“You can start that pattern in someone else’s life, even in a place as ordinary as the neighborhood grocery store.”可知最后一段，作者提出你可以在别人的生活中开始这种模式，是在提出建议。故选B。