Question

At Denver there was an crowd of passengers into the coaches（车厢） on the eastbound B. & M. express. In one coach there sat a very pretty young woman dressed in elegant taste and surrounded by all the luxurious comforts of an experienced traveler. Among the newcomers were two young men, one of handsome presence with a bold, frank face expression and manner; the other a ruffled, glum-faced person, heavily built and roughly dressed. The two were handcuffed（拷上手铐） together.

As they passed down the aisle of the coach the only available seat offered was a reversed one facing the attractive young woman. Here the linked couple seated themselves. The young woman's glance fell upon them with a distant, swift disinterest; then with a lovely smile brightening her face and a tender pink tingeing（稍加染色，影响） her rounded cheeks, she held out a little gray-gloved hand. When she spoke her voice, full, sweet, and deliberate, proclaimed that its owner was accustomed to speak and be heard.

"Well, Mr. Easton, if you will make me speak first, I suppose I must. Don't you ever recognize old friends when you meet them in the West?"

The younger man aroused himself sharply at the sound of her voice, seemed to struggle with a slight embarrassment which he threw off instantly, and then clasped her fingers with his left hand.

"It's Miss Fairchild," he said, with a smile. "I'll ask you to excuse the other hand; "it's otherwise engaged just at present."

He slightly raised his right hand, bound at the wrist by the shining "bracelet" to the left one of his companion. The glad look in the girl's eyes slowly changed to a bewildered horror. The glow faded from her cheeks. Her lips parted in a vague（含糊，犹豫）, relaxing distress. Easton, with a little laugh, as if amused, was about to speak again when the other forestalled him. The glum-faced man had been watching the girl's face expression with veiled glances from his keen, shrewd eyes.

"You'll excuse me for speaking, miss, but, I see you're acquainted with（认识，熟悉） the officer here. If you'll ask him to speak a word for me when we get to the pen（围栏，监狱） he'll do it, and it'll make things easier for me there. He's taking me to Leavenworth prison. It's seven years for cheating."

"Oh!" said the girl, with a deep breath and returning color. "So that is what you are doing out here? An officer!"

"My dear Miss Fairchild," said Easton, calmly, "I had to do something. Money has a way of taking wings with itself, and you know it takes money to keep step with our crowd in Washington. I saw this opening（通道） in the West, and___ well, an officer isn't quite as high a position as that of ambassador, but--"

"The ambassador," said the girl, warmly, "doesn't call any more. I needn't ever have done so. You ought to know that. And so now you are one of these brave Western heroes, and you ride and shoot and go into all kinds of dangers. That's different from the Washington life. You have been missed from the old crowd."

The girl's eyes, fascinated, went back, widening a little, to rest upon the glittering handcuffs.

"Don't you worry about them, miss," said the other man. "All officers handcuff themselves to their prisoners to keep them from getting away. Mr. Easton knows his business."

"Will we see you again soon in Washington?" asked the girl.

"Not soon, I think," said Easton. "My butterfly days are over, I fear."

"I love the West," said the girl irrelevantly. Her eyes were shining softly. She looked away out the car window. She began to speak truly and simply without the gloss of style and manner: "Mamma and I spent the summer in Denver. She went home a week ago because father was slightly ill. I could live and be happy in the West. I think the air here agrees with me. Money isn't everything. But people always misunderstand things and remain stupid--"

"Say, officer," shouted the glum-faced man. "This isn't quite fair. I'm needing a drink, and haven't had a smoke all day. Haven't you talked long enough? Take me in the smoker now, won't you? I'm half dead for a pipe."

The bound travelers rose to their feet, Easton with the same slow smile on his face.

"I can't deny a require for tobacco," he said, lightly. "It's the one friend of the unfortunate. Good-bye, Miss Fairchild. Duty calls, you know." He held out his hand for a farewell.

"It's too bad you are not going East," she said, reclothing herself with manner and style. "But you must go on to Leavenworth, I suppose?"

"Yes," said Easton, "I must go on to Leavenworth."

The two men sidled down the aisle into the smoker.

The two passengers in a seat near by had heard most of the conversation. Said one of them: "That officer is a good sort of man. Some of these Western fellows are all right."

"Pretty young to hold an office like that, isn't he?" asked the other.

"Young!" exclaimed the first speaker, "why--Oh! Didn't you catch on? Say--did you ever know an officer to handcuff a prisoner to his right hand?"

1.From the first three paragraphs, we know that_________

A. the two young were seated opposite to the young woman by accident.

B. it was not difficult for the woman to find the men were handcuffed

C. the young woman found she knew one of the men at the first sight of them.

D. the young woman may not be good at communicate

2. What would be the possible sentence following the underlined “and –-“

A. and it is not easy to make such a fortune

B. and I do the cheating things to collect money

C. and I tried my best to be a good officer

D. and the West is bond to be wealthy

3.When Easton uttered the underlined sentence "My butterfly days are over, I fear", his real meaning was that__________

A. he would have to focus on his work

B. he would be put in prison

C. his chance of being with butterfly is small

D. his workload as an officer was heavy

4. Why did the glum-faced man urge Easton to the smoker?

A. Because he needed a drink and tobacco badly.

B. Because he was angry that Miss Fairchild did not say any good words for him

C. Because he was bored and tired with Miss Fairchild and Easton’s talk.

D. Because he was afraid Miss Fairchild would find the truth.

5.Which of the following can NOT be inferred from the passage?

A. Miss Fairchild was an ambassador

B. Easton was an officer with his prisoner

C. the glum-faced was considerate and careful

D. Easton had been trying to make a big fortune in the West

6. What was the best title of the passage?

A. Miss Fairchild’s Trip B. Hearts and Hands

C. The Story of a Handcuff D. The Meeting of Two Friends

 

Answer 1

1.A

2.B

3.B

4.D

5.B

6.B

【解析】

试题分析: 本文是美国著名批判现实主义作家欧·亨利的短篇小说作品----《心与手》，英文名Hearts and Hands 。这个短篇小说不仅像一篇侦探小说，而且作者通过这个故事让读者体验到了一些生活中的“绅士”风度，比如善意、理解和对人的温情。

1.细节理解题。根据文章前三段中As they passed down the aisle of the coach the only available seat offered was a reversed one facing the attractive young woman.可知这位优雅的女士是和这两位男士面对面坐着，故答案选A。

2.推理判断题。上文提到在华盛顿的生活需要钱，他在西部发现了警察这个空缺，于是就做了警察，做些事情去赚钱，由此判断选B。

3.推理判断题。从上文可知Miss Fairchild 希望很快就会见到Easton，但是他却是认为自己会因为有公务在身而不能像以前那么自由，故答案选B。

4.推理判断题。通过文章内容可知Easton是个被逮捕的罪犯，而另一个才是警察，出于好心警察为了维护Easton的面子，自己假装是罪犯，他怕那位女士发现实情而催促他去吸烟区，故答案选D。

5.推理判断题。根据文章第四段The younger man aroused himself sharply at the sound of her voice, seemed to struggle with a slight embarrassment …….和文章末段" Say--did you ever know an officer to handcuff a prisoner to his right hand?"可以判断Mr. Easton是罪犯，故答案选B。

6.主旨大意题。本文讲述了一名好心的警察为了在熟人面前维护罪犯的形象而把自己说成是罪犯，因为他们的手是用手铐铐在一起的。通过故事可知警察有着善良美丽的心灵，而故事要体现的中心是通过被手铐铐在一起的手体现的，故B选项内容更能体现文章中心。

考点：考查故事类短文阅读