Question

    I moved to the Phoenix area in my early twenties, and to expand my social life I joined a young adult group at a church. Because I love music, I started singing in the choir (合唱队), where I met Lisa. We were about the same age. Finding people with similar interests helped reduce my feelings of loneliness after moving to a new city.

“Are you going to go on the retreat (静修)?” Lisa asked. Once or twice a year, the young adult group put on a retreat. I hesitated. I had little experience with retreats and I still felt like an outsider. “Come on,” Lisa said. “Everyone goes.” “Okay.” I agreed. After all, some cute guys were in the group. As the retreat weekend approached, I learned that the theme was forgiveness.

In my twenties, the world revolved(旋转)around me and what I wanted. And, as most people do, I learned how to be pleasant enough without giving in and having to apologize any more than necessary. In short, the forgiveness theme made me uncomfortable. I would attend the retreat, but I planned to sit quietly in the background and watch.

The retreat was held at a camp in Prescott, Arizona. The first night we gathered in the common room where we also ate our meals. According to the plan, I found a spot in the back where I could watch, unnoticed. The leader got up and spoke about the healing power of forgiveness. His words were touching. “Now comes the hard part,” he said. “I want to invite you to look into your hearts and if you feel moved to do so, go to a person here in the room and ask to be forgiven for something you’ve done.”

At the beginning, there was total silence. Was he kidding? Then Lisa stood up and made her way through the crowd toward me. Lisa planted her feet firmly in front of me. “Kathleen, I’d like to ask your forgiveness.” I shook my head. Then nodded, not sure how to respond. I felt the heat rise into my cheeks. I could hardly breathe knowing that everyone could hear and see all this. I had no idea what I was forgiving her for. I wanted her to just go away.

“I have been angry at how easily you joined our group. Even though you became my friend when we worked on music together, I still thought you were doing it for yourself. I’ve held that against you and I’m sorry.” “It’s okay,” I choked out. Stunned, I stood up, gave her an awkward hug and then sat back down. Lisa turned and went back to her seat. Lisa’s bravery broke the ice and everyone started to ask forgiveness for various injuries, some big, some small.

The world began to change for me. I learned empathy the day that Lisa asked my forgiveness. I had read To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee several times. But I realized that I had never understood the message Atticus Finch taught his children: “You never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them.” Through the years my friendships were better, stronger and deeper. I apologized and forgave quickly. Lisa allowed me the gift of friendship because her example taught me to forgive.

1.The author joined the adult group because she wanted to         .

A.have a better social life B.practice singing with her friends

C.learn the importance of forgiveness D.get to know more about her neighbors

2.Which of the following can describe the writer before she attended the retreat?

A.Self-confident. B.Dishonest.

C.Responsible. D.Self-centered.

3.Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A.The writer didn’t want to join the retreat at first.

B.The writer thought Lisa should say sorry to her.

C.The writer thought the leader of the retreat was funny.

D.The writer knew Lisa before she moved to the new city.

4.According to Paragraph 5, how did the writer feel when Lisa asked for forgiveness?

A.Scared. B.Curious.

C.Stressed. D.Satisfied.

5.What did Lisa apologize to the writer for?

A.That she made the writer feel lonely.

B.That she was envious of the writer.

C.That she once took advantage of the writer.

D.That she refused to make friends with the writer.

6.What does the underlined phrase “stand in his shoes” probably mean in the last paragraph?

A.try to apologize and forgive others B.get to know people’s true face

C.value the friendship with others D.place oneself in others’ position

Answer

1.A

2.D

3.A

4.C

5.B

6.D

【解析】

本文是一篇记叙文，讲述了在静修班上，作者的好友丽莎的道歉让她学会了原谅。

1.细节理解题。根据第一段中的“and to expand my social life I joined a young adult group at a church.”可知，为了扩展我的社交生活，我加入了一个教堂的青年团体，故A项正确。

2.推理判断题。根据第三段中的“In my twenties, the world revolved(旋转)around me and what I wanted.”可知，我二十多岁的时候，世界围绕着我和我想要的东西转，言外之意，在参加静修班之前，作者是以自我为中心的，故D项正确。

3.细节理解题。根据第二段中的“I hesitated. I had little experience with retreats and I still felt like an outsider.”可知，（丽莎问我参不参加静修班时）我犹豫了一下，我几乎没有静修的经验，觉得自己是个局外人，由此可知，作者一开始并不想参加静修班，故A项正确。

4.推理判断题。根据第五段中的“I shook my head. Then nodded, not sure how to respond. I felt the heat rise into my cheeks. I could hardly breathe”可知，（当丽莎请求我的原谅时）我摇摇头，然后又点点头，不知道该怎么回答，我感到热气往脸上涌，几乎无法呼吸，这一系列的动作和表情描写表明作者当时很紧张，故C项正确。

5.细节理解题。根据倒数第二段中的““I have been angry at how easily you joined our group. Even though you became my friend when we worked on music together, I still thought you were doing it for yourself. I’ve held that against you and I’m sorry.””可知，丽莎说：“我很生气你这么容易就加入了我们的团体，尽管我们一起在合唱队唱歌时你成了我的朋友，但我仍然认为你这么做是为了自己，我一直反对你，我很抱歉”，由此可知，丽莎为自己嫉妒作者而道歉，故B项正确。

6.词句猜测题。根据画线句后的“Through the years my friendships were better, stronger and deeper. I apologized and forgave quickly. Lisa allowed me the gift of friendship because her example taught me to forgive.”可知，这些年来，我们的友谊越来越好，越来越牢固，越来越深厚，我很快就向丽莎道歉并原谅了她，丽莎给了我友谊的礼物，因为她教会了我原谅，这说明作者站在丽莎的立场看待问题，最终了解并原谅了她，因此阿提克斯·芬奇教给孩子们的道理是：只有站在别人的立场，才能真正了解那个人，由此可知，画线句的意思是“站在别人的立场”，故D项正确。