题目内容
After many years of war,
I'm from the South Bronx. At 7, my neighborhood was the beginning and end of my universe. It was a small town to me. Everyone knew each other, so if you got into trouble in school, chances are your mom knew about it before you got home. I felt watched over and safe.
But just before I turned 8, things began to change. I watched two buildings on my block burn down. I remember seeing my neighbor Pito go up and down the fire escape to get people out. Where were the firemen? Where was the truck? Somebody must have called them.
That same summer, after serving two tours in Vietnam, my brother was killed in the South Bronx. He was shot above the left eye and died instantly.
People who could moved out of the neighborhood, and all I wanted to do was get out, too. I used education to get away from there and got good at avoiding the topic of where I was from. To be from the South Bronx meant that you were not a good person. It felt like a stain.
After college, I didn't want to come back to the South Bronx, but in order to afford graduate school, I had to. I was almost 30 and could only afford to live at my parents' home. It felt like a defeat, and I hated it.
At the same time, the city was planning a huge waste facility here, and no one seemed to care — including many of us who lived here. They were like, "Well, it's a poor community; what's the difference?"
I was very angry. It drove me to act. It moved my spirit in a way that I didn't know was possible. And it changed my beliefs — it changed the way I felt about myself and my community. I worked hard with others who felt the same way, and together, we defeated the plan.
After that, I realized it's just as important to fight for something as it is to fight against something. So we dreamed up a new park on the site of an illegal waste dump — and after many community clean-ups, along with $3 million from the city, we have one. And it's a glory. It was the seed from which many new plans for our community have grown.
Today, the South Bronx is no longer a stain; it's a badge(象征) of honor for me. I believe that where I'm from helps me to really see the world. Today, when I say I'm from the South Bronx, I stand up straight. This is home, and it always will be.
41. Paragraphs 2 and 3 make the readers believe ____________.
| A. the author felt watched over and safe |
| B. he author’s brother was a bad man |
| C. the author’s neighbor Pito was braver than a fireman |
| D. the author felt his hometown was not a safe place to live in |
| A. he couldn’t afford to live without his parents’ help |
| B. he loved his hometown very much |
| C. he was defeated in studies at college |
| D. he almost reached the age of 30 |
| A. the author wondered where the firemen and the truck were |
| B. the author wanted someone to call the firemen |
| C. the firemen didn’t come to help although called |
| D. the firemen didn’t find a place to park the truck |
| A. Great changes have taken place in the South Bronx. |
| B. The South Bronx is a beautiful place. |
| C. You can make a difference to your hometown if you act. |
| D. Everyone should love his hometown. |
The 92-year-old, thin, calm and proud lady, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o’clock, even though she is nearly blind, moved to a nursing home today.
Her husband of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. After many hours of waiting patiently in the hall of the nursing home, she smiled sweetly when told her room was ready.
As she walked slowly to the elevator, I provided a true description of her tiny room, including the old sheets that had been hung on her window. “I love it,” she said with the happiness of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.
“Mrs. Jones, you haven’t seen the room…just wait.”
“That doesn’t matter,” she replied. “Happiness is something you decide ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn’t depend on how the furniture is arranged. It’s how I arranged my mind. I have already decided to love it. It’s a decision I make every morning when I wake up. Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I’ll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I’ve stored away.” She went on to explain, “Old age is like a bank account. You take what you’ve put in. So, my advice to you would be to put in a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories. Thank you for your part in filling my memory bank.” And with a smile, she said, “All my memories are happy ones.”
Mrs. Jones was always happy in the nursing home and she died at the age of 108.
【小题1】We can infer from the passage that the author________.
| A．is one of Mrs. Jones’ children |
| B．is a relative of Mrs. Jones |
| C．works in the nursing home |
| D．is the owner of the nursing home |
| A．is very comfortable | B．is fairly big |
| C．isn’t well equipped | D．is equipped with new furniture |
| A．couldn’t see what her room was like |
| B．thought the nursing home was her home |
| C．would have to live in the nursing home |
| D．had already made up her mind to be happy |
| A．Proud. | B．Pleasant. | C．Determined | D．Honest |
Parents whose children show a special interest in a sport feel very difficult to make a decision about their children’s careers．Should they allow their children to train to become top sportsmen and sportswomen? For many children it means starting schoolwork very young．And going out with friends and other interests have to take a second place．It’s very difficult to explain to a young child why he or she has to train five hours a day, even at the weekend, when most of his or her friends are playing．
Another problem is of course money, In many countries money for training is available from government for the very best young sportsmen and sportswomen．If this help can not be given, it means that it is the parents who have to find the time and the money to support their child’s development and sports clothes, transport to competitions, special equipment, etc．All can be expensive．
Many parents are worried that it is dangerous to start serious training in a sport at an early age．Some doctors agree that young muscles may be damaged by training before they are properly developed．Professional trainers, however, believe that it is only by training when young that you can reach the top as successful sports person．It is clear that very few people do reach the top, and both parents and children should be prepared for failure even after many years of training．
1.Where can we most probably find this passage?
|
A．An advertisement． |
B．A diary． |
|
C．A newspaper． |
D．A notice board． |
2.What does the underlined phrase “to take a second place ”in the first paragraph mean?
|
A．to become less important |
|
B．To put it at another place |
|
C．To happen again |
|
D．They are the most important of all the things |
3.Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
|
A．It’s easy to make a decision when your children want to take up sports． |
|
B．Most of the students may become top sports men after a long period of training． |
|
C．Early training may damage young muscles． |
|
D．It’s not very expensive for parents to support their children’s development in sports． |