Question

The professor

“A teacher affects eternity(永恒); he can never tell where his influence stops.”

----Henry Adams

He was eight years old. A telegram came from the hospital, and since his father, a Russian immigrant, could not read English, Morrie had to break the news, reading his mother’s death notice like a student read in front of the class. “We regret to inform you...” he began.

On the morning of the funeral, Morrie's relatives came down the steps of his tenement building on the poor Lower East Side of Manhattan.

At the cemetery, Morrie watched as they shoveled dirt into his mother’s grave. He tried to recall the tender moments they had shared when she was alive. She had operated a candy store until she got sick, after which she mostly slept or sat by the window, looking frail and weak. Sometimes she would yell out for her son to get her some medicine, and young Morrie, playing stickball in the street, would pretend he did not hear her. In his mind he believed he could make the illness go away by ignoring it.

How else can a child deal with death?

Morrie's father, whom everyone called Charlie, had come to America to escape the Russian Army. He worked in the fur business, but constantly out of a job. Uneducated and barely able to speak English, he was terribly poor, and the family was on the public assistance much of the time. Sometimes, to make money, Morrie and his younger brother, David, would wash porch steps together for a nickel(镍币).

One morning, David couldn't move. He had polio(小儿麻痹症). For a long time as his brother was taken back and forth to a special medical home and was forced to wear braces on his legs, which left him limping Morrie felt responsible.

So in the mornings, he went to synagogue(犹太教会堂) and he stood among the swaying men in their long black coats and he asked God to take care of his dead mother and his sick brother.

And in the afternoons, he stood at the bottom of the subway steps and sold magazines, turning whatever money he made over to his family to buy food.

In the evenings, he watched his father eat in silence, hoping for-but never getting a show of affection, communication, warmth.

At nine years old, he felt as if the weight of a mountain were on his shoulders.

But a saving embrace came into Morrie, s life the following year: his new stepmother, Eva. She was a short Romanian immigrant with plain features, curly brown hair, and the energy of two women. She had a glow (光) that warmed the otherwise murky atmosphere his father created. She talked when her new husband was silent, she sang songs to the children at night. Morrie took comfort in her smoothing voice, her school lessons, her strong character. When his brother returned from the medical home, still wearing braces from the polio, the two of them shared a rollaway bed in the kitchen of their apartment, and Eva would kiss them good night. Morrie waited on those kisses like a puppy waits on milk, and he felt, deep down, that he had a mother again.

There was no escaping their poverty, however. Because of the Depression, Morrie’s father found even less work in the fur business.

Still, despite their circumstances, Morrie was taught to love and to care. And to learn. Eva would accept nothing less than excellence in school, because she saw education as the only antidote to their poverty. She herself went to night school to improve her English. Morrie's love for education was hatched in her arms.

He studied at night, by the lamp at the kitchen table. And in the mornings he would go to synagogue to say Kaddish-the memorial prayer for the dead for his mother. He did this to keep her memory alive.

“What will you do? Eva would ask him.

“I don' t know,” he would say. He ruled out law, because he didn't like lawyers, and he ruled out medicine, because he couldn't take the sight of blood.

“What will you do?”

It was only through default that the best professor I ever had became a teacher.

1.Why didn't Morrie respond to Mother's yelling for medicine?

A.He didn't know how to help his mother.

B.He was too focused on playing stickball.

C.He was lost in tender moments they shared in the past.

D.He was too young to understand what was happening to his family.

2.After Eva joined in the family, Morrie____________.

A.began to enjoy a materially rich life.

B.witnessed his father changing the atmosphere.

C.partly recovered from the sufferings in his life.

D.was forced to pursue academic achievements.

3.Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined word "antidote"?

A.alterative. B.credit.

C.exception. D.solution.

4.What gives Morrie the initial affection for education?

A.His stepmother’s influence. B.His desire for knowledge.

C.His experience at school. D.His memory of Mother.

5.Which of the following can best describe Morrie?

A.Innocent and adventurous. B.Energetic and ambitious.

C.Responsible and diligent. D.Optimistic and religious.

6.What can we learn from the story?

A.Every cloud has a silver lining. B.No man is wise at all times.

C.Time and tide wait for no man. D.Well begun is half done

Answer

1.D

2.C

3.D

4.A

5.C

6.A

【解析】

这是一篇记叙文。文章记叙了八岁的Morrie失去了母亲，弟弟也患有小儿麻痹症，家境贫困，九岁的时候，Morrie感到好像有一座大山的重量压在他的肩膀上。直到遇到了他的继母Eva的出现给Morrie带来了一些安慰，尽管他们身处困境，Eva还是教导Morrie要去爱、关心他人以及学习。

1.细节理解题。根据第三段中Sometimes she would yell out for her son to get her some medicine, and young Morrie, playing stickball in the street, would pretend he did not hear her. In his mind he believed he could make the illness go away by ignoring it.可知有时她会大声叫儿子给她拿药，而在街上玩曲棍球的小Morrie会假装没听见她的话。在他心里，他相信只要不去管它，疾病就会消失。结合上文第一段中He was eight years old.可知他八岁。由此可知，Morrie对妈妈嚷着要药没有反应，因为他太小了，不明白家里发生了什么事。故选D。

2.细节理解题。根据第十一段中Morrie took comfort in her smoothing voice, her school lessons, her strong character.可知Morrie从她柔和的声音、学校功课和她坚强的性格中得到安慰。由此可知，Eva来到家里后，Morrie从生活中的苦难中部分恢复了过来。故选C。

3.词义猜测题。根据后文to their poverty. She herself went to night school to improve her English. Morrie's love for education was hatched in her arms.可知Eva自己上夜校是为了提高英语水平。Morrie对教育的热爱是在Eva的怀抱中萌发的。由此可知，Eva认为教育是消除贫困的唯一解决方法。故划线单词意思为“解决办法”。故选D。

4.细节理解题。根据倒数第六段中Morrie's love for education was hatched in her arms.可知Morrie对教育的热爱是在她的怀抱中萌发的。由此可知，Morrie最初喜欢上了教育是受了他继母的影响。故选A。

5.推理判断题。根据第六段中For a long time as his brother was taken back and forth to a special medical home and was forced to wear braces on his legs, which left him limping Morrie felt responsible.可知在很长一段时间里，他的弟弟被送进一家特殊的医疗中心，被迫在腿上戴上支架，这让他一瘸一拐的，Morrie觉得自己应当承担起责任。以及倒数第五段中He studied at night, by the lamp at the kitchen table. And in the mornings he would go to synagogue to say Kaddish-the memorial prayer for the dead for his mother.可知晚上，他在厨房桌子旁的灯旁学习。每天早晨，他都会去犹太教堂诵读《圣经》，为死去的人祈祷，为他的母亲祈祷。由此可推知，Morrie负责且勤奋。故选C。

6.推理判断题。结合文章记叙了八岁的Morrie失去了母亲，弟弟也患有小儿麻痹症，家境贫困，九岁的时候，Morrie感到好像有一座大山的重量压在他的肩膀上。直到遇到了他的继母Eva的出现给Morrie带来了一些安慰，尽管他们身处困境，Eva还是教导Morrie要去爱、关心他人以及学习。由此可推知，故事中Eva就像一束光明一样，照亮了Morrie困苦的生活，故故事告诉我们黑暗中总有一线光明。故选A。