Question

    When the novelist Luis Alberto Urrea was 14 or 15, he took a trip deep into Mexico. He was born in Tijuana to a Mexican father and a white American mother before moving just across the border and eventually into the San Diego suburbs. But his father thought he was becoming “too American”, and took him on a 27-hour journey to Mazatian. Along the way, his father gave him a paperback copy of The Godfather and told him it would change his life. “I don’t think he was trying to make a case for us being criminals,” Urrea says, “but he really felt this incredible connection to the family and the traditions and the honor for the old country, as people were making their way in the U.S.”

In his new novel The House of Broken Angels, Urrea has written his own take on the Godfather story with a Mexican-American Don Corleone figure at its center. The story takes place over two days, as Big Angel de la Cruz buries his mother and celebrates his final birthday party on earth; he knows he’s dying, and he’s gathered his extended family around him for a noisy and lively goodbye.

The idea was inspired by the final birthday party of Urrea’s elder brother three years ago. “Everybody was jammed in his backyard, and there was a DJ and people dancing and consuming a serious amount of American junk food — they didn’t want Mexican food, they wanted KFC and pizza. I thought, where are the tacos, dude? And my brother sat in his little chair in the middle of it. People were coming to him and kneeling, and they would thank him and kiss his hand or touch his head and tell him all the ways he had changed their lives.”

Urrea’s brother died of cancer within two weeks at 74, and the heartbreaking event haunted the author. He considered writing a memoir(回忆录)about it—“I was thinking about Truman Capote, when he did those tiny books about Christmas and Thanksgiving.” But his wife encouraged him to aim bigger. When he found himself seated next to the writer Jim Harrison at a dinner event, he shared the story, and Harrison said, “Sometimes God hands you a novel. You have to write it.” Urrea thought to himself “Marching orders from Jim Harrison―this is good stuff. A kid from Tijuana doesn’t get that very often.”

The House of Broken Angels is a celebration of the Mexican-American family, but it also includes moments of frustration with this country’s treatment of the immigrant group. Before he got too sick to work, Big Angel worked in an office and drank coffee from a cup that read BOSS. “Yeah, the employees all got the message,” Urrea writes. “The Mexican-American was calling himself their boss.” In a grocery store, a woman screams at two of his family members that they’ll be kicked out of the country soon. “I had to bite down on the bitterness of my rage(愤怒), man!” Urrea says. “I was having some pretty serious response to Donald Trump’s confusing and empty talk. But you know, it may have shocked a lot of the United States to hear this kind of empty talk and this bald-faced racialism of politics all of a sudden, but to us, this stuff isn’t a surprise?”

“I really wanted to write a tribute to my brother, to my family and to us, but it’s also a love song to the country,” Urrea says. “I think people have this weird, horrible view... that immigrants are evil snakes. People don’t understand that immigration is truly a statement of love for this country, whatever the country represents. People want to be here and work.” And with persistence, they become the boss.

1.Why did Urrea’s father give him the book The Godfather?

A.He wanted Urrea to enjoy the 27-hour journey.

B.He thought the book had changed his own life.

C.He tried to show Urrea a real case of criminals.

D.He hoped Urrea would feel connected to Mexico.

2.The question “where are the tacos, dude?” in Paragraph 3 probably suggests ________.

A.Mexican traditions have been left behind

B.the people like American junk food best

C.it is difficult to buy the Mexican food

D.the tacos are popular with everyone there

3.Urrea thought of Truman Capote because ________.

A.Capote was good at writing tiny books

B.Capote’s books are about Christmas

C.he intended to write a memoir

D.he liked reading Capote’s books

4.In the sentence “A kid from Tijunana doesn’t get that very often”, “A kid” here refers to ________.

A.Jim Harrison B.Luis Alberto Urrea

C.Truman Capote D.Big Angel de la Cruz

5.We can learn from Paragraph 5 that ________.

A.Big Angel himself was the boss of his office

B.Mexican immigrants were treated unfairly

C.Urrea’s family were kicked out of the country

D.Urrea heard Trump’s talk ahead of time

6.The House of Broken Angels mainly focuses on the novelist’s ________.

A.love for the Mexican-American family

B.life in the Mexican-American family

C.mixed feelings towards American people

D.mature reflection on Mexican traditions

Answer

1.D

2.A

3.C

4.B

5.B

6.A

【解析】

这是一篇记叙文。主要记叙了小说家Luis Alberto Urrea的新小说《破碎天使之家》的灵感来源，以及创作过程。这本小说讲述了小说家对墨西哥裔美国家庭的爱，是Urrea为兄弟、家人写的一首颂歌，但这也是一首献给国家的情歌。

1.推理判断题。根据第一段中But his father thought he was becoming “too American”, and took him on a 27-hour journey to Mazatian. Along the way, his father gave him a paperback copy of The Godfather and told him it would change his life.(但他的父亲认为他变得“太美国化了，于是带他去了马萨提安进行了一趟27个小时的旅程。一路上，他的父亲送给他一本平装版的《教父》，并告诉他这会改变他的一生)可知，Urrea的父亲给了他《教父》这本书是希望Urrea能感受到与墨西哥的联系。故选D。

2.推理判断题。根据第三段中Everybody was jammed in his backyard, and there was a DJ and people dancing and consuming a serious amount of American junk food - they didn't want Mexican food, they wanted KFC and pizza.(每个人都挤在自家后院，有一个DJ，人们跳舞，吃大量的美国垃圾食品——他们不想要墨西哥食品，他们想要肯德基和披萨)可知，第3段中的问题“墨西哥玉米卷在哪里，伙计?”暗示着墨西哥传统已经被抛在脑后了。故选A。

3.推理判断题。根据第四段中He considered writing a memoir about it—“I was thinking about Truman Capote, when he did those tiny books about Christmas and Thanksgiving.”(他考虑写一本关于它的回忆录——“我在想Truman Capote，当他写那些关于圣诞节和感恩节的小书的时候。”)可知，Urrea想到了Truman Capote，因为他打算写一本回忆录。故选C。

4.词义猜测题。根据划线句子上文Urrea thought to himself “Marching orders from Jim Harrison-this is good stuff.”(乌里亚心里暗自想道：“Jim Harrison的命令——这是好东西”)可知，划线句子是Luis Alberto Urrea的内心对话，所以划线句子中“一个孩子”指的是Luis Alberto Urrea自己。故选B。

5.推理判断题。根据第五段中In a grocery store, a woman screams at two of his family members that they’ll be kicked out of the country soon. “I had to bite down on the bitterness of my rage, man!” Urrea says.(在一家杂货店里，一名妇女对他的两名家人尖叫，说他们很快就会被赶出这个国家。“我不得不忍气吞声，伙计!”Urrea说)可知，墨西哥移民受到不公平的待遇。故选B。

6.推理判断题。根据第二段中In his new novel The House of Broken Angels, Urrea has written his own take on the Godfather story with a Mexican-American Don Corleone figure at its center.(在他的新小说《破碎的天使之家》中，Urrea以一个墨西哥裔美国人Don Corleone为中心，写了他自己的教父故事)以及最后一段中“I really wanted to write a tribute to my brother, to my family and to us, but it's also a love song to the country,” Urrea says.(“我真的很想为我的兄弟、我的家人和我们写一首颂歌，但这也是一首献给国家的情歌，” Urrea说）可推知，《破碎天使之家》主要讲述了小说家对墨西哥裔美国家庭的爱。故选A。