Question

    From my earlier memory of Mother, it seemed quite natural to think of her as different, nor of everyday things as Father was. In those days he was a young-looking man. He did not hesitate to make friends with children as soon as they were able to talk to him and laugh at his stories. Mother was older than he was. She must have been a woman of nearly forty, but she seemed even older. She changed little for a long time, showing no indication of growing old at all until, towards the end of her life, she suddenly became an old lady.

I was always inquisitive about Mother’s age. She never had birthdays like other people, nor did anyone else in our family. No candles were ever lit or cakes made or presents given in our house. To my friends in the street who talked delightfully about their birthday parties, I would repeat my mother’s words that such celebrations were only foolish.

“Nothing but deception,” she would say. “As though life can be marked by birthdays. It’s deeds, not years, that matter.”

Although I often repeated her words and even prided myself on not having birthdays, I once could not help asking Mother when she was born.

“I was born. I’m alive as you can see, so what more do you want to know?” she replied, so sharply that I never asked her about her age again.

In so many other ways Mother was different. Whereas all the rest of the women I knew in the neighboring houses took pride in their housewifely abilities, their new furniture, the neat appearance of their homes, Mother regarded all those things as of little importance. Our house always looked as if we had just moved in or were about to move out.

1.How did Father impress the author?

A.He liked writing stories. B.He talked a lot.

C.He was a very young man. D.He was popular with children.

2.Before the end of her life, Mother ______.

A.looked quite young B.looked like an old lady

C.looked younger than she was D.looked like a 40-year-old woman

3.What does the underlined word “inquisitive” (in Paragraph 2) probably mean?

A.Certain B.Curious.

C.Cautious. D.Confident.

4.What do we learn about Mother?

A.She was lazy. B.She was strict.

C.She was proud. D.She was special.

Answer

1.D

2.C

3.B

4.D

【解析】

这是一篇记叙文。文章中作者凭借小时候对妈妈的记忆，讲述了一个在外貌、性格、对待年龄的态度和家庭生活方面都与众不同的妈妈。

1.

推理判断题。根据第一段中He did not hesitate to make friends with children as soon as they were able to talk to him and laugh at his stories.可知他毫不犹豫地和孩子们交朋友，只要他们能和他说话，能因为他讲的故事而发笑。由此可推知，父亲给作者留下了很受孩子们欢迎的印象。故选D。

2.

细节理解题。根据第一段中She changed little for a long time, showing no indication of growing old at all until, towards the end of her life…可知在很长一段时间里，她几乎没有什么变化，丝毫没有变老的迹象，直到生命的尽头……由此可知，在她的生命结束之前，母亲看起来比她的实际年龄年轻。故选C。

3.

词义猜测题。根据后文about Mother’s age. She never had birthdays like other people可知因为母亲从来不像其他人那样过生日，所以作者对母亲的年龄感到好奇。由此可知，划线单词“inquisitive”意思为“好奇的”。A. Certain必然的；B. Curious.好奇的；C. Cautious.谨慎的；D. Confident.自信的。故选B。

4.

推理判断题。根据第一段中From my earlier memory of Mother, it seemed quite natural to think of her as different…可知在我之前对母亲的记忆中，似乎很自然地认为她是与众不同的……结合最后一段中In so many other ways Mother was different.可知在许多其他方面，母亲都是不同的。由此可推知，作者的母亲是个特别的人。故选D。