Question

    My 83-year-old mother came to live with me a year ago last November. She was very ill and I had to put my life on hold to care for her.

Each morning, I got her up and dressed her and made her breakfast and sat with her. I rushed for a bowl when she felt sick, and lit fires to keep her warm. I cooked and persuaded her to take a few bites.

It’s a hard job caring for a sick or dying parent, whoever you are. But it was especially hard for me, I feel, because I am a doctor myself. I couldn’t help looking at her in two different ways. The medical professional saw a body and scrutinized it with the coldness that medicine requires. But the daughter saw the woman who had given birth to me, wiped my nose, sent me off to college and had been a constant presence in my life for over half a century.

Also, my mother didn’t appreciate how hard it was for me to care for her. I remember an exchange between her and the nurse who came to see her once a week:

“You could get some more help with care.”

“Oh, I don’t think I need that,” Mom said.

Mom didn’t understand that the help would have taken some of the burden off me. None of the treatments her doctors gave her worked, and finally her life became about comfort. She refused painkillers (止痛药) for a long time, but finally the pain convinced her. And when she accepted the painkillers she accepted the fact that she would die.

Illness and needs took us across personal boundaries I’d never before considered. And yet, while living and being and dying with Mom I witnessed something precious dawning. We became closer. We shared so many stories from our past that it was as if our memories had become one.

In the past our relationship had been difficult. We had often argued. But when the end came, both of us simply accepted that we looked at the world in different ways. We were daughter and mother and we loved each other. That was all that mattered.

1.Why was taking care of her mom especially hard for the author?

A.She was too busy living her own life.

B.She and her mom had a difficult relationship.

C.She was too old to attend to her mom carefully.

D.She viewed her mom both as a patient and a loved one.

2.The underlined word “scrutinized” in Paragraph 3 probably means “_______”.

A.held B.checked

C.ignored D.left

3.How did the author probably feel about the conversation between her mom and the nurse?

A.Helpful. B.Thankful.

C.Surprised. D.Depressed.

4.What did the author learn from the experience of looking after her sick mother?

A.Love is more important than differences.

B.Being alive was the most important thing.

C.We should learn to understand other people.

D.It was better for family members to live independently of each other.

Answer

1.D

2.B

3.D

4.A

【解析】

这是一篇记叙文。作者讲述了自己照顾病重的母亲，虽然过程很辛苦，但也感谢这段时间让自己和母亲更亲密。在文章最后，作者说爱比差异更重要。

1.细节理解题。根据第三段It’s a hard job caring for a sick or dying parent, whoever you are. But it was especially hard for me, I feel, because I am a doctor myself. I couldn’t help looking at her in two different ways.可知，不管你是谁，照顾生病或奄奄一息的父母都是件很难的工作。但我感觉，对我来说特别难，因为我自己是医生。我忍不住用两种不同的眼光看着她。因此，对作者而言，照顾妈妈特别难是因为妈妈既是病人又是自己爱的人。故选D。

2.词句猜测题。根据下划线前面的The medical professional saw a body可知，医务人员看着一个身体；根据下划线后面with the coldness that medicine requires可知，用药物所需要的冷静。结合这些内容，可以推测出下划线的单词scrutinized意为“检查”（check），即医务人员会冷静地检查任何病人的身体。故选B。

3.推理判断题。根据第四段my mother didn’t appreciate how hard it was for me to care for her.(我妈妈并不知道，对我来说我照顾她有多难)及第五段Mom didn’t understand that the help would have taken some of the burden off me.(妈妈不理解，这个帮助会减轻我的负担)可以推测出，妈妈拒绝了护士给她用止疼药，作者听到妈妈和护士的对话后，感到沮情绪低落（depressed）。故选D。

4.细节理解题。根据最后一段In the past our relationship had been difficult. We had often argued. But when the end came, both of us simply accepted that we looked at the world in different ways. We were daughter and mother and we loved each other. That was all that mattered.可知，在过去，我们的关系一直很难。我们经常争吵。但是，当死亡来临时，我们都接受了我们在用不同的方式看世界。我们是母女，而且我们爱着彼此，而这是最重要的。由此可知，爱比差异更重要。故选A。