Question

A few days ago I asked my sons’ governess（女家庭教师）Julia to come into my study. “Be seated, Julia, ” I said, “Let’s settle our accounts. I guess you most likely need some money, but maybe you’re too polite to mention it. Now then, we agreed on thirty dollars a month...”

? “Forty.”

? “No, thirty. I made a note of it. I always pay our governess thirty. Well, um, you’ve been here two months, so...”

? “Two months and five days.”

? “Exactly two months. I made a special note of it. That means you have sixty dollars coming to you. Take off nine Sundays... you know you didn’t work with Tom on Sundays, you only took walks. And three holidays... ”Julia was biting her finger nail nervously, her face red, but - not a word.

? “Three holidays, therefore take off twelve dollars. Four days Tom was sick and there were no lessons, as you were occupied only with Dick. Three days you had a toothache and my wife gave you permission not to work after lunch. Twelve and seven - nineteen. Take nineteen off ... that leaves. hmm.... forty one dollars. Correct?”

? Julia’s left eye reddened with tears welling up. Her chin trembled; she coughed nervously and blew her nose, but-still not a word.

? “Around New Year’s Day you broke a teacup and a saucer; take off two dollars. The cup cost more, it was a treasure of the family, but- forget it. When didn’t I take a loss! Then, due to your neglect（疏忽）, Tom climbed a tree and tore his jacket; take away ten. Also due to your carelessness the maid stole Dick’s shoes. You ought to watch everything! You get paid for it. So, that means five more dollars off. The tenth of January I gave ten dollars.”

? “You didn’t. ”sobbed Julia.

? “But I made a note of it.”

? “Well... if you say so.”

? “Take twenty seven from forty one -that leaves fourteen.”

? Both her eyes were filled with tears. Beads of sweat stood on the thin pretty little nose. Poor girl!

? “Only once was I given any money,” she whispered, her voice trembling, “and that was by your wife. Three dollars, nothing more.”

? “Really? You see now, and I didn’t know that! Take three from fourteen.. leaves eleven. Here’s your money, my dear. Three, three, three, one and one. Here it is!”

? I handed her eleven dollars. She took them and pocketed them.

? “Merci（法语: 谢谢）,” she whispered.

? I jumped to my feet and started pacing the room. I was overcome with anger. “For what, this - ‘merci’?” I asked.

? “For the money.”

? “But you know I’ve cheated you - robbed you! I have actually stolen from you! Why this‘merci’?”

? “In my other places they didn’t give me anything at all.”

? “They didn’t give you anything? No wonder! I played a little joke on you, a cruel lesson, just to teach you... I m going to give you all the eighty dollars! Here they are in the envelope all ready for you... Is it really possible to be so spineless（懦弱）? Why didn’t you protest? Why were you silent? Is it possible in this world to be without teeth and claws（爪）-to be such a fool?”

? Embarrassed, she smiled. And I could read her expression,“It is possible.”

? I asked her pardon for the cruel lesson and, to her great surprise, gave her the eighty dollars. She murmured her little“merci”several times and went out. I looked after her and thought,“How easy it is to crush the weak in this world!”

1.While talking to Julia, the writer expected from her________.

A. a protest　　　B. gratitude　? C. obedience　　 D. an explanation

2.What shocked the writer was Julia’s ________.

A. nervousness in front of her boss???????

B. acceptance of injustice

C. shyness when talking about money?????

D. unwillingness to express herself

3.The writer said, “Is it possible in this world to be without teeth and claws?” He was actually telling the governess ________.

A. to be more aggressive??????? B. to be more careful in her work

C. to protect her right?????????? D. to live independently

4.At the end of the story, the writer said,“ How easy it is to crush the weak in this world!” to show ________.

A. his understanding of Julia’s anxiety

B. his worry about Julia’s future

C. his concern on the living condition of working-class people

D. his sympathy for the mental state of those exploited

5.From the story, we can tell that Julia’s employer was________.

A. greedy but honest????? 　 B. ill-tempered but warm-hearted

C. strict but forgiving??????? D. none of the above

 

Answer 1

【答案】

1.A

2.B

3.C

4.D

5.D

【解析】

试题分析：文章透过一件小事告诉我们：每个人都应该为自己的权利进行抗争，不要做一个接受不公平待遇的弱者。作者从家庭教师60美元工资里扣掉了将近50美元，女教师并没有为自己争取而是选择了沉默。作者对女教师表现出来的懦弱感到生气，他想教会女教师要为自己争取应得的利益。

1.根据倒数第三段“I played a little joke on you, a cruel lesson, just to teach you... Is it really possible to be so spineless（懦弱）? Why didn’t you protest? Why were you silent?”可知，作者这样做是想教那个家庭教师要学会为应得的东西进行反抗，故选A。

2.根据“I jumped to my feet and started pacing the room. I was overcome with anger. But you know I’ve cheated you - robbed you! I have actually stolen from you! Why this‘merci’?””可知，作者在跟女家庭教师开玩笑，并未扣她的工资，家庭教师对不公平的接受态度让作者感到生气和吃惊，故选B。

3.根据倒数第三段“Why didn’t you protest? Why were you silent?”可知，作者认为，女家庭教师不应该选择沉默，而应该为了自己的权利站起来反抗，故选C。

4.“How easy it is to crush the weak in this world!”作者感叹道，在这个世界上，压榨弱者是那么的容易。这体现出了作者对被剥削者的同情，故选D。

5.A贪婪但真诚；B脾气坏但热心肠；C严厉但大度。作者跟家庭教师算了一笔账，克扣了她的大部分工资，但这其实是一个玩笑，作者想让女教师学会为自己的权利进行反抗。A、B、C三项都没有全面描述作者的性格特点，故选D。

考点：故事类短文阅读