One summer I was driving from my hometown of Tahoe City, California, to New Orleans. In the middle of the desert, I came upon a young man standing by the roadside. He had his thumb out and held a gas can in his other hand. I drove right by him. There was a time in the country when you’d be considered a stupid person if you passed by somebody in need. Now you are a fool for helping. With gangs, drug addicts, murderers, thieves everywhere, “I don’t want to get involved” has become a national motto.
Several states later I was still thinking about the hitch-hiker(免费搭车的人). Leaving him standing in the desert did not bother me so much. What bothered me was how easily I had reached the decision. I never even lifted my foot off the accelerator(加速器).
Does anyone stop any more? I wondered. I recalled Blanche DuBois’s family line: “I have always depended on the kindness of the strangers”. Could anyone rely on the kindness of the strangers these days? One way to test this would be for a person to journey from coast to coast without any money, relying only on the good will of his fellow Americans. What kind of Americans would he find? Who would feed him, shelter him, and carry him down the road?
The idea interested me.
So I decided to travel from the Pacific to the Atlantic without a penny. It would be a cashless journey through the land of the almighty dollar. I would only accept offers of rides, food and a place to rest my head. My final destination would be Cape Fear in North Carolina, a symbol of all the fears I’d have to conquer during the trip.
I rose early on September 6, 1994, and headed for the Golden Gate Bridge with a 50-pound pack on my back and a sign displaying my destination to passing vehicles: “America”.
For six weeks I hitched 82 rides and covered 4,223 miles across 14 states. As I traveled, folks were always warning me about someplace else. In Montana they told me to watch out for the cowboys in Wyoming; in Nebraska they said people would not be as nice as in Iowa. Yet I was amazed by people’s readiness to help a stranger, even when it seemed against their own best interests.
小题1:Why did the author drive past the young man in the desert without stopping?| A．Because he failed to notice this man. | | B．Because he was driving too fast. | | C．Because he was afraid of being cheated. | | D．Because he thought the young man didn’t need help. |
小题2:What was it that made the author upset?| A．Making the decision of not offering help so easily. | | B．Leaving the young man alone in the desert. | | C．Being considered a fool. | | D．Keeping thinking about the young man. |
小题3:What is the structure of the text?| A．①—②③④—⑤—⑥⑦ | | B．①②—③④—⑤⑥⑦ | | C．①②—③④⑤⑥—⑦ | | D．①②③—④—⑤⑥⑦ |
小题4:The author decided to travel without a penny in order to ___________.| A．find out how long he could survive without help | | B．figure out how strangers thought of his plan | | C．go through the great difficulty in surviving unexpected environment | | D．find out whether strangers would offer help to him |
小题5:The following part might probably___________.| A．describe how the author fooled the strangers | | B．describe how strangers went out their way to help the author | | C．explain why people refused to help strangers | | D．explain how the author overcame his difficulties on the way |
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小题1:C
小题2:A
小题3:B
小题4:D
小题5:B |
试题分析：当今社会，帮助陌生人的人会被当成傻瓜，在这样的导向下，人们是否还会向陌生人伸出援手？作者为了得到答案，亲历了一次“身无分文”的旅行。
小题1:细节理解题。根据文章第一段最后两句可知，如今人们不想因为帮助陌生人而陷入麻烦，作者正是害怕被欺骗，而没有停车。答案是C。
小题2:细节理解题。根据文章第二段中的“What bothered me was how easily I had reached the decision.”可知，使作者感到不安的是自己怎么会那么轻易就作出了不伸出援手的决定。答案是A。
小题3:文章结构题：文章第一段和第二段讲述了作者的一次经历，第三段和第四段介绍作者的一个计划，后面三段介绍这个想法实施的过程和结果，选B。
小题4:细节理解题。根据文章第三段最后三句的内容以及第四段“The idea intrigued me”可知，作者决定进行这次“身无分文”的旅行是想看看是否会有陌生人帮助他，因此选择D。
小题5:篇章结构题。根据最后一段的描述可知，作者无论到哪儿都会得到帮助，甚至一些人宁愿违背自己的利益，也会去帮助他，因此下文作者会具体说明人们是如何尽力帮助他的。答案选B。 |
核心考点
试题【One summer I was driving from my hometown of Tahoe City, California, to New Orle】；主要考察你对
题材分类等知识点的理解。
[详细]举一反三
When I was two years old, something happened which I have never forgotten. It was early spring, and there was a light mist over the trees and fields. The other young fellows and I were feeding at the lower end of the field when we heard the distant cry of dogs.
The oldest among us lifted his head to listen. “There are the hounds(猎犬)”, he said, and immediately raced off. The rest of us followed him to the top of the field where we could see several fields beyond.
Soon the dogs were all racing down the field next to ours, making a loud “yoyoyoyo” sound. After then came men on horses, some in green coats. Suddenly, the dogs became silent and ran around with their noses to the ground.
“They’ve lost the smell of the hare.” said the old horse. “Perhaps it will escape.” But the dogs began their “yoyoyoyo” again and came at full speed towards our field. Just then a hare, wild with fear, ran towards the trees. The dogs jumped over the stream and ran across the field, followed by the huntsmen. Six or eight jumped their horses over the stream, close behind the dogs. Before the hare could get away, the dogs were upon her with wild cries. We heard a terrible scream, and that was the end of the hare. One of the men picked her up and held her by the leg. She was covered in blood, but all the huntsmen seemed pleased.
I was so greatly surprised that at first I did not see what was happening by the stream but when I did look, I saw a sad sight. Two fine horses were down, one in the stream struggling to stand up and the other on the grass with one of his legs broken. One rider, who seemed unhurt, was climbing out of the water, but the other lay quite still. “His neck is broken,” said my mother. “I can’t understand why men are so fond of this sport. They often hurt themselves and ruin good horses, all for one hare that they could get more easily in other ways. But we are only horses, and don’t know why men do these things.”
They carried the dead rider to our master’s house, and then came back to the black horse on the grass. The animal was in great pain and one of his legs was broken. Someone ran to our master’s house and came back to the horse with a gun. Soon after there was a loud bang and a terrible cry, and the black horse did not move any more.
小题1:What does “I” in the passage refer to?| A．A scared hare. | B．Ayounghorse. | | C．Afierce dog. | D．A bravehunter. |
小题2:Which word can be used to describe my true feeling at the scene of the hunting?| A．Sad. | B．Pleased. | C．Angry. | D．Delighted. |
小题3:The men hunted the hare at the cost of the lives of____________.| A．oneriderandonehorse | | B．tworidersandtwohorses | | C．sixoreighthuntsmenandadog | | D．theoldesthorseandahuntsman |
小题4:The best title for the passage would be____________.| A．WhataPoorHare | | B．MyTerrible ChildhoodMemory | | C．A Black Horse | | D．SceneryintheField |
小题5:The writer probably holds the view that ____________.| A．hunting is a nice outdoor activity | | B．it is dangerous to hunt wild animals | | C．hunting dogs are good helpers to huntsmen | | D．human beings should treat animals well |
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When Frida Kahlo’s paintings were on show in London, a poet described her paintings as “ a ribbon （丝带）around a bomb”. Such comments seem to suggest Kahlo had a big influence on the art world of her time. Sadly, she is actually a much bigger name today than she was during her time.
Born in 1907 in a village near Mexico City , Kahlo suffered from polio（小儿麻痹症）at the age of seven. Her spine（脊柱）become bent as she grew older. Then, in 1925, her back was broken in several places in a school-bus accident. Throughout the rest of her life, the artist had many operations, but noting was able to cure the terrible pain in her back. However, the accident had an unexpected side effect. While lying in her bed recovering, Kahlo taught herself to paint.
In 1929, she got married to Diego Rivera, another famous Mexican artist. Rivera’s strong influences on Kahlo’s style can be seen in her early works, but her later works from the 1940s, known today as her best works, show less influence from her husband.
Unfortunately, her works did not attract much attention in the 1930s and1940s, even in her home country. Her first one-woman show in Mexico was not held until 1953.For more than a decade after her death in 1954, Kahlo’s works remained largely unnoticed by the world, but in the 1970s her works began to gain international fame at last.
小题1:What does the phrase “a much bigger name” in paragraph 1 most nearly mean?| A．a far better artist | | B．a for more gifted artist | | C．a much stronger person | | D．a much more famous person |
小题2:The terrible pain Kahlo suffered was caused by .| A．polio | B．her bent spine | | C．back injuries | D．the operations she had |
小题3:Kahlo’s style had become increasingly independent since the .| A．1930s | B．1940s | C．1950s | D．1970s |
小题4:What is author’s attitude toward Kahlo?| A．Devotion | B．Sympathy | C．Worry | D．Encouragement |
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Phil White has just returned from an 18,000-mile, around-the-world bicycle trip. White had two reasons for making this epic journey. First of all, he wanted to use the trip to raise money for charity, which he did. He raised £70,000 for the British charity, Oxfam. White"s second reason for making the trip was to break the world record and become the fastest person to cycle around the world. He is still waiting to find out if he has broken the record or not.
White set off from Trafalgar Square, in London, on 19th June 2004 and was back 299 days later. He spent more than l,300 hours in the saddle（车座）and destroyed four sets of tyres and three bike chains. He had the adventure of his life crossing Europe, the Middle East, India, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and the Americas. Amazingly, he did all of this with absolutely no support team. No jeep carrying food, water and medicine. No doctor. Nothing! Just a bike and a very, very long road.
The journey was lonely and desperate at times. He also had to fight his way across deserts, through jungles and over mountains. He cycled through heavy rains and temperatures of up to 45 degrees, all to help people in need. There were other dangers along the road. In Iran, he was chased by armed robbers and was lucky to escape with his life and the little money he had. The worst thing that happened to him was having to cycle into a headwind on a road that crosses the south of Australia. For 1,000 kilometres he battled against the wind that was constantly pushing him. This part of the trip was slow, hard work and depressing, but he made it in the end. Now Mr. White is back and intends to write a book about his adventures.
小题1:When Phil White returned from his trip, he________.| A．broke the world record | B．collected money for Oxfam | | C．destroyed several bikes | D．travelled about 1,300 hours |
小题2:What does the word "epic" in Paragraph l most probably mean _____.| A．Very slow but exciting. | B．Very long and difficult. | | C．Very smooth but tiring. | D．Very lonely and depressing. |
小题3:During his journey around the world, Phil White _______.| A．fought heroically against robbers in Iran | | B．experienced the extremes of heat and cold | | C．managed to ride against the wind in Australia | | D．had a team of people who travelled with him |
小题4:Which of the following words can best describe Phil White?| A．Imaginative. | B．Patriotic. | C．Modest. | D．Determined. |
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Have you ever gone hungry? I did after a day of hard work. When I woke next morning, I was dying of ___. I seemed to have a hole instead of a ___. I dressed quickly and hurried down to the dinning-room. It was a big room with six tall windows and the ugliest wallpaper I had ever seen! __, I had been told the hotel was not beautiful but that you were better ____ there than in any other hotel; and that was ___ I wanted just then.
The waiter came hurrying up. Before I came downstairs I had prepared carefully for what I must . I had looked three times in my dictionary to make sure ____the English for “breakfast”. I had tried to get the right and I had stood in the front of a mirror and twisted my mouth until it ached.
The waiter asked me I could not understand, but I spoke only my one prepared word “breakfast”. He looked at me in a way. So I repeated it. Still he did not understand. It was that English people didn’t understand their language. The waiter his head and went away, but he came back in a minute and brought a tray with tea, bread and butter--- enough to feed a small army--- and went away. But I was hungry, and I left . When the waiter came back I thought his face showed a little , but you can never what a waiter’s face really shows. In another minute he brought___ tray with some bacon and some eggs. He__ have misunderstood me, but I thought it was no use explaining to people who don’t understand their own language , so I just set to work on the bacon and eggs, wondering whether I could possibly clear that plate.
Well, I finished the bacon and eggs. I got up and made my way back slowly - at least five pounds . I never believed until then that any meal could me, but on that day I met my Waterloo(滑铁卢).
| 小题1: | | A．hunger | B．cold | C．anger | D．illness |
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| 小题2: | | A．stone | B．head | C．breast | D．stomach |
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| 小题3: | | A．Therefore | B．Otherwise | C．So | D．However |
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| 小题4: | | A．received | B．fed | C．cared | D．eating |
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| 小题6: | | A．English | B．meal | C．questions | D．myself |
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| 小题7: | | A．say | B．answer | C．speak | D．explain |
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| 小题9: | | A．pronunciation | B．meaning | C．form | D．spelling |
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| 小题10: | | A．something | B．whether | C．when | D．what |
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| 小题11: | | A．surprised | B．friendly | C．puzzled | D．touched |
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| 小题12: | | A．unbelievable | B．true | C．thought | D．a pity |
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| 小题13: | | A．waved | B．shook | C．bowed | D．patted |
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| 小题14: | | A．much | B．a little | C．nothing | D．empty |
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| 小题15: | | A．pleasure | B．surprise | C．pride | D．satisfaction |
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| 小题17: | | A．other | B．another | C．more | D．me |
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| 小题18: | | A．should | B．might | C．would | D．must |
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| 小题19: | | A．lighter | B．heavier | C．weightier | D．more |
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| 小题20: | | A．hurt | B．fat | C．defeat | D．please |
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When I arrived in Hamburg Germany, my colleague who worked there arranged a welcome party for me in a . We noticed a few customers including several old ladies, were having their meal. When a dish was , the waiter would distribute the food for them, and they would every bit of the food on their plates.
As I was hungry, my local colleague much food for me. Since there were other things to do, we did not much time dining. When we planned to leave, there was still about one third of unconsumed(没吃光的) food left. When we were the restaurant, we someone calling us. When the old ladies spoke to us in English, we understood that they were about us wasting so much food.
“We for our food; it is none of your how much food we left behind”, my colleague told the old ladies. They got angry and one of them made a call to someone. After a while, an officer in arrived. Upon knowing what had happened, he issued us a 50-euro . The officer told us in a stern(严厉的) voice, “Order you can consume. Money is yours, the resources belong to the society. You have no wasting them.” Our faces turned red. We all agreed with him in our colleague took out a 50-euro note and repeatedly to the officer.
My colleague copied the fine ticket and gave a copy to each of us as a souvenir. We all it to remind us that we should never be .
| 小题1: | | A．restaurant | B．company | C．family | D．bank |
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| 小题2: | | A．cooked | B．served | C．gathered | D．missed |
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| 小题3: | | A．desert | B．refuse | C．oppose | D．finish |
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| 小题4: | | A．kept | B．sold | C．ordered | D．made |
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| 小题5: | | A．save | B．spend | C．divide | D．find |
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| 小题6: | | A．reaching | B．passing | C．leaving | D．seeing |
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| 小题7: | | A．appointed | B．knew | C．realized | D．heard |
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| 小题8: | | A．curious | B．unhappy | C．nervous | D．optimistic |
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| 小题9: | | A．paid | B．asked | C．applied | D．accounted |
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| 小题10: | | A．business | B．matter | C．mind | D．question |
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| 小题11: | | A．excitedly | B．immediately | C．passively | D．regularly |
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| 小题12: | | A．rags | B．fashion | C．uniform | D．dream |
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| 小题13: | | A．award | B．fine | C．food | D．souvenir |
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| 小题16: | | A．ability | B．problem | C．power | D．reason |
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| 小题17: | | A．words | B．faces | C．hearts | D．ears |
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| 小题18: | | A．accused | B．apologized | C．admitted | D．approved |
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| 小题19: | | A．stuck | B．threw | C．broke | D．kept |
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| 小题20: | | A．hopeful | B．grateful | C．wasteful | D．merciful |
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