Question

【题目】The thing is, my luck’s always been ruined.Just look at my name: Jean.Not Jean Marie, or Jeanine, or Jeanette, or even Jeanne.Just Jean.Did you know in France, they name boys Jean? It’s French for John.And okay, I don’t live in France.But still, I’m basically a girl named John.If I lived in France, anyway.

This is the kind of luck I’ve had since before Mom even filled out my birth certificate.So it wasn’t any big surprise to me when the cab driver didn’t help me with my suitcase.I’d already had to tolerate arriving at the airport to find no one there to greet me, and then got no answer to my many phone calls, asking where my aunt and uncle were.Did they not want me after all? Had they changed their minds? Had they heard about my bad luck—all the way from Iowa—and decided they didn’t want any of it to rub off on them?

So when the cab driver, instead of getting out and helping me with my bags, just pushed a little button so that the trunk (汽车后备箱) popped open a few inches, it wasn’t the worst thing that had ever happened to me.It wasn’t even the worst thing that had happened to me that day.

According to my mom, most brownstones in New York City were originally single-family homes when they were built way back in the 1800s.But now they’ve been divided up into apartments, so that there’s one—or sometimes even two or more families—per floor.

Not Mom’s sister Evelyn’s brownstone, though.Aunt Evelyn and Uncle Ted Gardiner own all four floors of their brownstone.That’s practically one floor per person, since Aunt Evelyn and Uncle Ted only have three kids, my cousins Tory, Teddy, and Alice.

Back home, we just have two floors, but there are seven people living on them.And only one bathroom.Not that I’m complaining.Still, ever since my sister Courtney discovered blow-outs, it’s been pretty frightful at home.

But as tall as my aunt and uncle’s house was, it was really narrow—just three windows across.Still, it was a very pretty townhouse, painted gray.The door was a bright, cheerful yellow.There were yellow flower boxes along the base of each window, flower boxes from which bright red—and obviously newly planted, since it was only the middle of April, and not quite warm enough for them.

It was nice to know that, even in a sophisticated (世故的) city like New York, people still realized how homey and welcoming a box of flowers could be.The sight of those flowers cheered me up a little.

Like maybe Aunt Evelyn and Uncle Ted just forgot I was arriving today, and hadn’t deliberately failed to meet me at the airport because they’d changed their minds about letting me come to stay.

Like everything was going to be all right, after all.

Yeah.With my luck, probably not.

I started up the steps to the front door of 326 East Sixty-Ninth Street, then realized I couldn’t make it with both bags and my violin.Leaving one bag on the sidewalk, I dragged the other up the steps with me.Maybe I took the steps a little too fast, since I nearly tripped and fell flat on my face on the sidewalk.I managed to catch myself at the last moment by grabbing some of the fence the gardeners had put up…

【1】Why did the author go to New York?

A.She intended to go sightseeing there.

B.She meant to stay with her aunt’s family.

C.She was homeless and adopted by her aunt.

D.She wanted to try her luck and find a job there.

【2】According to the author, some facts account for her bad luck EXCEPT that ________.

A.she was given a boy’s name in French

B.the cab driver didn’t help her with her bags

C.her sister Courtney discovered blow-outs

D.nobody had come to meet her at the airport

【3】The underlined phrase “rub off on” in Paragraph 3 probably means _________.

A.have an effect on B.play tricks on

C.put pressure on D.throw doubt on

【4】From the passage, we can know that _________.

A.the author left home without informing her mother

B.the author arrived in New York in a very warm season

C.her aunt’s family lived a much better life than her own

D.her aunt and uncle were likely to forget about her arrival

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】B

【2】C

【3】A

【4】C

【解析】

试题分析：文章介绍作者的运气总是被毁掉，她担心别人害怕受到影响。

【1】B推理判断题。根据第二段Did they not want me after all? Had they changed their minds?他们终究不想要我吗？他们已经改变了他们的想法了吗。故选B。

【2】C细节理解题。根据第六段最后一句Still, ever since my sister Courtney discovered blow-outs, it’s been pretty frightful at home.自从我的妹妹Courtney发现了爆胎，在家里是相当害怕的。故选C。

【3】A词义猜测题。根据第二段最后三句Did they not want me after all? Had they changed their minds? Had they heard about my bad luck—all the way from Iowa—and decided they didn’t want any of it to rub off on them? 他们终究不想要我吗？他们已经改变了他们的想法了吗？他们听说过我的霉运——从Iowa一路上，并且决定他们不希望任何霉运沾上他们吗？故选A。

【4】C推理判断题。根据第七段But as tall as my aunt and uncle’s house was, it was really narrow—just three windows across.Still, it was a very pretty townhouse, painted gray.The door was a bright, cheerful yellow.There were yellow flower boxes along the base of each window, flower boxes from which bright red—and obviously newly planted, since it was only the middle of April, and not quite warm enough for them.但是和我的叔叔和婶婶的房子一样高，它真的窄，只有三个窗口。这是一个非常漂亮的别墅,漆成灰色。门是一个聪明的,快乐的黄色。每个窗口的底部有黄色的花箱,鲜红的花箱，很明显新种的，因为现在只是四月中期，对它们来说还不是足够的暖和。故选C。