Question

    John H. Johnson was born in a black family in Arkansas City in 1918. His father died in an accident when John was six. He was reaching high school age, but his hometown offered no high school for blacks.

Fortunately he had a strong-willed, caring mother. John remembers that his mother told him many times, “Son, you can be anything you really want to be if you just believe.” She told him not to be dependent on others, including his mother. “You have to earn success,” said she. “All the people who work hard don’t succeed, but the only people who do succeed are those who work hard.”

These words came from a woman less than a third grade education. She also knew that believing and hard work don’t mean everything. So she worked hard as a cook for two years to save enough to take her son — then 15 — to Chicago.

Chicago in 1933 was not the promised land that black southerners were looking for, John’s mother and stepfather could not find work. But there John could go to school, and there he learned the power of words — as editor of the newspaper and yearbook of Du Stable High School. His wish was to publish a magazine for blacks.

While others discouraged him, John’s mother offered him more words to live by: “Nothing beats a failure but a try.” She also let him pawn (典当) her furniture to get the $500 he needed to start the Negro magazine.

It is natural the difficulties and failures followed John closely until he became very successful. He always keeps his mother’s words in mind. “Son, failure is not in your vocabulary.”

Now John H. Johnson is one of the 400 richest people in America — worth $150 million.

1.Why did John’s mother decide to move to Chicago? Because ________.

A.John’s father died in his hometown when he was very young

B.life was too hard for them to stay on in their hometown, while life in Chicago would be better for blacks

C.there were no schools for blacks in their hometown

D.John needed more education and he could go to school there

2.Which of the following is TRUE?

A.Chicago was the promised land for black southerners in 1933.

B.John’s mother worked hard as a cook to make their life better.

C.With the help of his mother, John got the money to start the Negro magazine.

D.Now John is the richest man in America.

3.What kind of woman was John’s mother? She was a ________.

A.strong woman with much knowledge

B.woman who would do anything for her son

C.woman with little school education but knew a lot about life

D.loving mother with different kinds of experience in life

4.The underlined sentence in the fifth paragraph means ________.

A.if you try, you will succeed in the end

B.a failure is difficult to beat, even if you try

C.a try is always followed by a failure

D.nothing but a try can help you out of failure

5.What’s the main idea of the passage?

A.How John H. Johnson became somebody.

B.The mental support John’s mother gave him.

C.The importance of a good education.

D.The key to success for blacks.

Answer

1.D

2.C

3.C

4.D

5.B

【解析】

这是一篇记叙文。本文讲述了John H. Johnson的成功之路主要是由于他的妈妈对他的精神支持，妈妈一直都在鼓励他尝试和努力。

1.推理判断题。根据第四段Chicago in 1933 was not the promised land that black southerners were looking for, John’s mother and stepfather could not find work. But there John could go to school, and there he learned the power of words — as editor of the newspaper and yearbook of Du Stable High School.可知, 1933年的芝加哥并不是南方黑人寻找的乐土，约翰的母亲和继父都找不到工作。但是在那里约翰可以上学，在那里他学会了文字的力量——作为报纸和杜斯特布尔高中年鉴的编辑。由此可知，约翰的妈妈决定到芝加哥是因为约翰需要更多的教育，他可以去那里上学。故选D。

2.细节理解题。根据第五段最后一句She also let him pawn (典当) her furniture to get the $500 he needed to start the Negro magazine.她还让他把她的家具当掉，以获得创办黑人杂志所需的500美元。由此可知，在母亲的帮助下，约翰得到了创办the Negro杂志的钱。故选C。

3.推理判断题。根据第二段She told him not to be dependent on others, including his mother. “You have to earn success,” said she. “All the people who work hard don’t succeed, but the only people who do succeed are those who work hard.” 她告诉他不要依赖别人，包括他的母亲。“你必须获得成功，”她说。“不是所有努力工作的人都成功，但真正成功的人是那些努力工作的人。”和第三段中These words came from a woman less than a third grade education. She also knew that believing and hard work don’t mean everything.这些话出自一位未受过三年级教育的妇女之口。她也知道，信念和努力并不意味着一切。由此可知，John的妈妈是一个几乎没有接受过学校教育的女人，但对生活却很了解。故选C。

4.词义猜测题。根据本句While others discouraged him, John’s mother offered him more words to live by.“Nothing beats a failure but a try.” 当其他人劝他放弃的时候，约翰的母亲给了他更多的词让他生活下去。“除了尝试，没有什么能打败失败。”由此可知，妈妈说“除了尝试，没有什么能打败失败。”的意思是“只有尝试才能帮助你摆脱失败”。故选D。

5.主旨大意题。根据文章所描述的内容可知，在约翰的成功过程里，妈妈起了巨大的作用，妈妈一直都在鼓励他，给他的精神支持是他成功的关键。故选B。