Question

Peanuts to This

Proudly reading my words, I glanced around the room, only to find my classmates bearing big smiles on their faces and tears in their eyes.Confused, I glanced toward my stone­faced teacher.Having no choice, I slowly raised the report I had slaved over, hoping to hide myself.“What could be causing everyone to act this way？”

Quickly, I flashed back to the day Miss Lancelot gave me the task.This was the first real task I received in my new school.It seemed simple: go on the Internet and find information about a man named George Washington.Since my idea of history came from an ancient teacher in my home country, I had never heard of that name before.As I searched the name of this fellow, it became evident that there were two people bearing the same name who looked completely different! One invented hundreds of uses for peanuts, while the other led some sort of army across America.I stared at the screen, wondering which one my teacher meant.I called my grandfather for a golden piece of advice：flip(掷) a coin.Heads—the commander, and tails—the peanuts guy. Ah! Tails, my report would be about the great man who invented peanut butter, George Washington Carver.

Weeks later, standing before this unfriendly mass, I was totally lost.Oh well, I lowered the paper and sat down at my desk, burning to find out what I had done wrong.As a classmate began his report, it all became clear, “My report is on George Washington，the man who started the American Revolution.”The whole world became quiet! How could I know that she meant that George Washington?

Obviously, my grade was awful.Heartbroken but fearless, I decided to turn this around.I talked to Miss Lancelot, but she insisted: No re­dos; no new grade.I felt that the punishment was not justified, and I believed I deserved a second chance.Consequently, I threw myself heartily into my work for the rest of the school year.Ten months later, that chance unfolded as I found myself sitting in the headmaster's office with my grandfather, now having an entirely different conversation.I smiled and flashed back to the embarrassing moment at the beginning of the year as the headmaster informed me of my option to skip the sixth grade.Justice is sweet!

16．What did the author's classmates think about his report?

A．Controversial.  B．Ridiculous.

C．Boring.  D．Puzzling.

17．Why was the author confused about the task?

A．He was unfamiliar with American history.

B．He followed the advice and flipped a coin.

C．He forgot his teacher's instruction.

D．He was new at the school.

18．The underlined word “burning” in Para.3 probably means ________．

A．annoyed  　B．ashamed  　C．ready  D．eager

19．In the end, the author turned things around ________．

A．by redoing his task

B．through his own efforts

C．with the help of his grandfather

D．under the guidance of his headmaster

Answer 1

本文是一篇记叙文。记叙了作者作为一个外来移民初到新学校时由于不了解美国历史而成为同学们的笑料，此后作者通过自己的努力扭转了局面而成功的故事。

16．B　推理判断题。由文章第一段第一句中的“…only to find my classmates bearing big smiles on their faces and tears in their eyes.”可知同学们认为作者的报告是可笑的(ridiculous)，所以选B。controversial有争议的；boring令人厌烦的；puzzling令人困惑的，三者都不合文意。

17．A　细节理解题。由第二段“Since my idea of history came from an ancient teacher in my home country，I had never heard of that name before.”可知作者对美国历史不了解，因而作者不知如何完成老师的作业，所以选A。

18．D　词义猜测题。由文章第一句同学们都笑作者以及第三段中“I was totally lost.”可推知，作者是急着想知道自己究竟哪儿出了错误，所以eager“急切的，渴望的”符合题意。annoyed生气的，烦恼的；ashamed羞愧的；ready准备好的，情愿的。

19．B　细节理解题。由最后一段“Consequently，I threw myself heartily into my work for the rest of the school year.”可知作者通过自己的努力扭转了局面，故选B。