Question

I began working in journalism when I was eight. It was my mother’s idea. She wanted me to “make something” of myself, and decided I had better start young if I was to have any chance of keeping up with the competition.

With my load of magazines I headed toward Belleville Avenue. The crowds were there. There were two gas stations on the corner of Belleville and Union. For several hours I made myself highly visible, making sure everyone could see me and the heavy black letters on the bag that said THE SATURDAY EVENING POST. When it was suppertime, I walked back home.

“How many did you sell, my boy?” my mother asked.

“None.”

“Where did you go?”

“The corner of Belleville and Union Avenues.”

“What did you do?”

“Stood on the corner waiting for somebody to buy a Saturday Evening Post.”

“You just stood there?”

“Didn’t sell a single one.”

“My God, Russell!”

Uncle Allen put in, “Well, I’ve decided to take the Post.” I handed him a copy and he paid me a nickel. It was the first nickel I earned.

Afterwards my mother taught me how to be a salesman. I would have to ring doorbells, address adults with self-confidence, and persuade them by saying that no one, no matter how poor, could afford to be without the Saturday Evening Post in the home.

One day, I told my mother I’d changed my mind. I didn’t want to make a success in the magazine business.

“If you think you can change your mind like this,” she replied, “you’ll become a good-for-nothing.” She insisted that, as soon as school was over, I should start ringing doorbells, selling magazines. Whenever I said no, she would scold me.

My mother and I had fought this battle almost as long as I could remember. My mother, dissatisfied with my father’s plain workman’s life, determined that I would not grow up like him and his people. But never did she expect that, forty years later, such a successful journalist as me would go back to her husband’s people for true life and love.

1.Why did the boy start his job young?

A．He wanted to be famous in the future.

B．The job was quite easy for him.

C．His mother had high hopes for him.

D．The competition for the job was fierce.

2.From the dialogue between the boy and his mother, we learn that the mother was _______.

A．excited           B．interested         C．a(chǎn)shamed          D．disappointed

3.What did the mother do when the boy wanted to give up?

A．She forced him to continue.               B．She punished him.

C．She gave him some money.                D．She changed her plan.

4.What does the underlined word “nickel” most possibly mean?

A．a(chǎn) note that is worth ten dollars

B．a(chǎn) bill signed in acknowledgement of debt

C．a(chǎn) list showing how much you have to pay

D．a(chǎn) coin that is worth five cents

5.What is the text mainly about?

A．The early life of a journalist.

B．The early success of a journalist.

C．The happy childhood of the writer.

D．The important role of the writer in his family.

 

Answer 1

【答案】

1.C

2.D

3.A

4.D

5.A

【解析】

試題分析：本文敘述了作者在8歲時(shí)就在母親的強(qiáng)迫下開始賣報(bào)，母親教作者如何做一個(gè)推銷員，當(dāng)作者不想干的時(shí)候，母親就責(zé)備作者，因此作者和母親經(jīng)常吵架，出乎她的意料，四十多年后，像作者這樣一個(gè)成功的記者，為了真實(shí)的生活和愛，將回到她丈夫的生活中去。

1.細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)It was my mother’s idea. She wanted me to “make something” of myself, and decided I had better start young if I was to have any chance of keeping up with the competition.主要是母親對她的希望很高，故選C。

2.推理判斷題。根據(jù)My mother, dissatisfied with my father’s plain workman’s life,母親是失望的，故選D。

3.細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)you’ll become a good-for-nothing.” She insisted that, as soon as school was over, I should start ringing doorbells, selling magazines. Whenever I said no, she would scold me.每當(dāng)作者想不干了，母親就責(zé)備她，故選A。

4.詞義猜測題。根據(jù)It was the first nickel I earned ，故選D。

5.主旨大意題。根據(jù)全篇內(nèi)容來看主要講述了作者作為記者的早期生活，故選A。

考點(diǎn)：故事類短文閱讀。

點(diǎn)評：做推理題干擾選項(xiàng)的特點(diǎn)夸大事實(shí)：一是對于原文中的細(xì)節(jié)或論斷的某方面程度進(jìn)行了夸大處理。二是無中生有：捏造原文并不存在的信息，并以此作為依據(jù)進(jìn)行推理。三是摻入常識：根據(jù)考生已有的常識是正確的，但卻不是基于文章。四是推理過頭：引申過度，使結(jié)論過于絕對化。知道了這些特點(diǎn)在容易排除干擾項(xiàng)進(jìn)而做出正確的判斷。