Question

Sandra Cisneros was born in Chicago in 1954 to a Mexican American family. As the only girl in a family of seven children, she often felt like she had “seven fathers,” because her six brothers, as well as her father, tried to control her. Feeling shy and unimportant, she retreated(躲避) into books. Despite her love of reading, she did not do well in elementary school because she was too shy to participate.

In high school, with the encouragement of one particular teacher, Cisneros improved her grades and worked for the school literary magazine. Her father encouraged her to go to college because he thought it would be a good way for her to find a husband. Cisneros did attend college, but instead of searching for a husband, she found a teacher who helped her join the famous graduate writing program at the University of Iowa. At the university’s Writers’ Workshop, however, she felt lonely----a Mexican American from a poor neighborhood among students from wealthy families. The feeling of being so different helped Cisneros find her “Creative voice.”

“It was not until this moment when I considered myself truly different that my writing acquired a voice. I knew I was a Mexican woman, but I didn’t think it had anything to do with why I felt so much imbalance in my life, but it had everything to do with it! That’s when I decided I would write about something my classmates couldn’t write about.”

Cisneros published her first work, The House on Mango Street, when she was twenty-nine. The book tells about a young Mexican American girl growing up in a Spanish-speaking area in Chicago, much like the neighborhoods in which Cisneros lived as a child. The book won an award in 1985 and has been used in classes from high school through graduate school level. Since then, Cisneros has published several books of poetry, a children’s book, and a short-story collection.

1.Which of the following is TRUE about Cisneros in her childhood?

A．She had seven brothers.                  B．She felt herself a nobody.

C．She was too shy to go to school.            D．She did not have any good teachers.

2.The graduate program gave Cisneros a chance to _____.

A．work for a school magazine                B．run away from her family

C．make a lot of friends                     D．develop her writing style

3.According to Cisneros, what played the decisive role in her success?

A．Her early years in college.                 B．Her training in the Workshop.

C．Her feeling of being different.              D．Her childhood experience.

4.What do we learn about The House on Mango Street?

A．It is quite popular among students.

B．It is the only book ever written by Cisneros.

C．It wasn’t success as it was written in Spanish.

D．It won an award when Cisneros was twenty-nine.

 

Answer 1

【答案】

1.B

2.D

3.C

4.A

【解析】

试题分析：本文介绍了Sandra Cisneros的成长经历以及她与众不同的写作风格，使得她的作品备受赞誉。

1.根据Feeling shy and unimportant, she retreated(躲避) into books.故选B。

2.根据“It was not until this moment when I considered myself truly different that my writing acquired a voice. I knew I was a Mexican woman, but I didn’t think it had anything to do with why I felt so much imbalance in my life, but it had everything to do with it! That’s when I decided I would write about something my classmates couldn’t write about.” 故选D。

3. 根据The feeling of being so different helped Cisneros find her “Creative voice.”故选C。

4. 根据The book won an award in 1985 and has been used in classes from high school through graduate school level，故选A。

考点：人物传记类短文阅读理解

点评：这篇文章非常简单，直接根据问题找到其信息所在的句子即可获得答案。一般地，信息寻找类阅读理解。这类题目可以直接从短文中找到可用的信息。题目设计大多直截了当。只要通读全文，注意文中所述的重要事实或细节，就可以做出正确解答。