Question

    Brandon Smith, in Houston, Texas, turned 12 on April 11. It is a tough time to have a birthday. But he still had a socially distanced birthday celebration that he will always remember.

Celebrations in the age of the coronavirus（冠状病毒） have forced people to get creative. Brandon’s father, Jody Smith, went on Twitter with a simple request. He posted a picture of Brandon on it. In the photo, Brandon is holding up a drawing. It is a blank map of the world. Mr. Smith asked people on Twitter to reply to his post and say where they are. That way, his map-loving son could mark the locations.

“I thought it would be fun to get 50-maybe 100-people to reply from around the world, and most would be in the US.” Smith said, “That’s really what my expectations were.”

To his surprise, however, thousands of responses to Smith’s request came in. Pictures were sent from the Caribbean, South America and Europe.

Brandon would add each spot to his map. “He is having a blast,” Mr. Smith said.

In the afternoon of April 11, Brandon was popular on Twitter. He was the most-talked-about topic.

Brandon did not really want a birthday party. He wanted to do an activity he likes. “Brandon is on the autism spectrum（自闭症）.” Smith said. Children with autism have different abilities. They get very interested in things. They will be interested in it for just a few weeks, Sometimes, months, One thing that Brandon continues to love is maps.

Mr. Smith’s phone pinged with so many birthday messages. Each time one arrived, Brandon put a mark on his map. He put it wherever the message came from. He knew where most places were. He hardly had to look at a real map to check.

By noon, Brandon’s map was covered in marks. Mr. Smith was grateful for all the responses.

“These are pretty trying times,” Mr. Smith said. He was glad to see people being kind. Mr. Smith said the responses made Brandon feel so special on his birthday.

1.Why did Smith ask people on Twitter to send birthday messages to his son?

A.Brandon needed encouragement during this difficult time.

B.He wanted to see how many responses he could get.

C.Brandon spends much of his time talking to people on the internet.

D.He could not celebrate how he usually would because of the coronavirus.

2.What happened after people told Brandon where they were?

A.He marked the locations on his map.

B.He added the spots to a list.

C.He mailed them a letter.

D.He read about the places.

3.Why does Brandon does not like birthday parties?

A.The coronavirus has changed how people are celebrating.

B.Friends have what is being called socially distanced birthday parties.

C.Children with autism have different abilities.

D.Mr. Smith explained that Brandon gets very interested in things.

4.Why does Smith feel surprised about the response to his Twitter post?

A.He thought that more people would reply to it.

B.He did not expect so many people to reply to it.

C.He thought that more people from Texas would reply to it.

D.He did not know that he had so many Twitter followers.

5.What does the underlined word “trying” mean?

A.Difficult. B.hard-working.

C.Interesting. D.tiring.

Answer

1.D

2.A

3.C

4.B

5.A

【解析】

这是一篇记叙文。本文记叙了Brandon的特殊的生日——新冠期间他父亲为他在推特上发帖子征求回应你在世界的哪里，出人意料的是回应来自于全世界各地，Brandon成了热门话题人物。而Brandon有自闭症，不愿意有什么生日聚会，他喜欢做自己想要做的事情。Smith先生说他很高兴看到人们的善举，这种回应让Brandon感到生日过的很特别。

1.

细节理解题。审题得知为什么Smith在推特上请求人们发送生日信息给他儿子。可以定位于：It is a tough time to have a birthday. But he still had a socially distanced birthday celebration that he will always remember.第一段末尾的句子告诉我们：在这时候过生日是很艰难的。但他依然度过了一个难忘的社交距离生日庆祝。第二段开始点睛之笔：Celebrations in the age of the coronavirus（冠状病毒） have forced people to get creative.在冠状病毒时期庆祝生日迫使人们创新性的想办法去过一个生日。故逆向思维得知在冠状病毒期间想像平时那样庆祝生日是不可能的事情。故D选项：He could not celebrate how he usually would because of the coronavirus.“因为冠状病毒期间，他不能像以往那样庆祝自己的生日了。”切合文意。故选D。

2.

推理判断题。审题得知Brandon得知人们告诉他他们的地点后发生了什么。可以定位于：Brandon would add each spot to his map. Brandon会将每一个地点添加到地图上。换一句话说就是会在地图上标识地点。后文也有类似表达：Each time one arrived, Brandon put a mark on his map. 每次电话告知时，Brandon都会在地图上贴上一个标识。He put it wherever the message came from. He knew where most places were. He hardly had to look at a real map to check.他几乎等不及在真正的地图上看来自于何方的人。By noon, Brandon’s map was covered in marks.到中午的时候，Brandon的地图上贴满了标识。综合这些信息，可以得出A选项：He marked the locations on his map.“他在他的地图上标识地点。”切合文意。故选A。

3.

细节理解题。审题得知关键词信息为does not like birthday parties不喜欢生日聚会。定位于Brandon did not really want a birthday party. He wanted to do an activity he likes. “Brandon is on the autism spectrum（自闭症）.” Smith said. Smith先生说他喜欢做他自己喜欢的事情，“Brandon有自闭症。”接下来文章说Children with autism have different abilities.有自闭症的孩子都有不同常人的能力。从这里可以推出选项C切合文意。故选C。

4.

推理判断题。审题得知：为什么Smith先生很惊讶于推特帖子的回应是如此多。根据此意可定位于：“I thought it would be fun to get 50-maybe 100-people to reply from around the world, and most would be in the US.” Smith said, “That’s really what my expectations were.”前一句说预料到50个人回应，最多100人罢了，且多半是美国人。但是：To his surprise, however, thousands of responses to Smith’s request came in. Pictures were sent from the Caribbean, South America and Europe令他惊讶的是成千上万的对Smith先生请求的回应以及图片发送自于加勒比地区、南美洲和欧洲。这些线索足以说明B选项：He did not expect so many people to reply to it.“他没有期待有那么多的人回应此事。”切合文意。故选B。

5.

猜测词义题。审题定位于times，同意表达见于文首：It is a tough time to have a birthday.庆祝生日是一个艰难的时刻。然后在划线单词处说：He was glad to see people being kind. Mr. Smith said the responses made Brandon feel so special on his birthday.他很高兴 看到人们的善举，Smith先生说这些回应使得Brandon感觉他的生日过得如此的特别。前者交代这是一个什么样的时刻，后者交代在这个时刻里我们可以做到什么。反过来也证明tough一词就是trying的转义说法。故A选项Difficult困难的，艰难的切合文意。故选A。