Question

My grandfather came from Hungary and was the only one in his family who settled down in the United States. The rest of his family remained in Europe. When World War I broke out, he seemed to have become another man, downhearted. Such obvious change was not born out of concern for his welfare, but out of fear: if his only son, my uncle, had to go to war, it would be cousin fighting against cousin.

One day in 1918, my Uncle Milton received his draft notice. My grandparents were very upset. But my mother, at the age of 10, felt on top of the world about her soldier brother going off to war. Realizing how he was regarded by his little sister and all of her friends, my uncle bought them all service pins, which meant that they had a loved one in the service. All the little girls were delighted.

The moment came when my uncle and the other soldiers, without any training but all in uniforms, boarded the train. The band played and the crowd cheered. Although no one noticed. I’m sure my grandmother had a tear in her eye for the only son. The train slowly pulled out, but not about a thousand yards when it suddenly paused. Everyone stared in wonder as the train slowly returned to the station. There was a dead silence before the doors opened and the men started to step out. Someone shouted, “The war is over!” For a moment, nobody moved, but then the people heard someone bark orders at the soldiers. The men lined up in two lines, walked down the steps, and with the band playing, marched down the street, as returning heroes, to be welcomed home. My mother said it was a great day, but she was just a little disappointed that it didn’t last a tiny bit longer.

What the grandfather was most worried about was ______.

 A. the spread of the world war                      B. the safety of his two cousins

 C. a drop in his living standards                    D. his relatives killing each other

The underlined phrase “draft notice” means “______”.

 A. order for army service                             B. train ticket for Europe

 C. letter of rejection                                     D. note of warning

What did the “service pins” （in Para. 2） stand for in the eyes of the little girls?

 A. Strength.             B. Courage.               C. Victory.                        D. Honor.

Which of the following words can best describe the ending of the story?

 A. Disappointing.    B. Unexpected.          C. Uncertain.             D. Inspiring.

Answer 1

【小题1】 D

【小题2】A

【小题3】D

【小题4】B

解析:

【小题1】细节推理题。根据第1段…a if his only son, my uncle, had to go to war, it would be cousin fighting against cousin可推知孙子一旦参军可能导致亲人间相互斗争，因此担忧。D选项符合本意。

【小题2】词义判断题。根据下文…her soldier brother going off to war可知draft notice的含义应该是征兵令，故选择A。B“去欧洲的火车票”，C“被拒收的信”， D“警告令”。都不合上下文。

【小题3】词义判断题。根据下文which meant that they had a loved one in the service. All the little girls were delighted可知这是令人感到自豪的东西，故service pins 代指honour。

【小题4】推理判断题。开始人们依依不舍地送自己亲友去参军，但火车刚开出去就接到战争已结束的命令，所以这令人感到非常意外，使用Unexpected最能表达这层意思。