Question

Last week I did something that scared me. I stood in front of nearly 200 financial planners and I talked to them about why financial blogs are a good thing.

I’m a confident writer. I’ve been doing this long enough that I know my strength and my limitations. I’m less confident as a speaker. I don’t have time to pause to collect my thoughts. I’m not able to edit. I’m afraid of being trapped in a corner without being able to talk my way out. Basically, I’m scared to speak.

It would be easy to simply refuse the chances that come my way. When somebody asks me to speak in front of a group, I could say “no”. When radio and television stations call for an interview, I could say “no”. But for the past two years, I’ve been following my own policy to say “yes” to new chances.

To say “yes” is to live in fear. My goal is to continually improve myself to become better than I am today. One way to do that is to do the things that scare me, to take them on as challenges, and to learn from them ― even if I fail.

In mid-November, a local station asked me to appear on live television. “I realize it’s short notice,” the producer wrote, “but we’d love to have you on the show if you’re available tonight.” I was frightened. I thought about recent taped television interviews that I had hated. I was afraid of what might happen.

But I also thought about the things that had gone right. I thought of how my speaking skills had improved over the past year. And then I thought of the book I was reading, a book that I had bought for $1.29 at the local store. The Magic of Thinking Big was a huge bestseller during the 1960s. Written by Dr. David Schwartz, a professor at Georgia State University, the book contains dozens of practical tips on how to take risks to achieve big goals. Schwartz argues that nobody will believe in you until you believe in yourself.

So when the television producer asked if I wanted to appear on his show, I thought big. “Sure,” I said. “I’ll do it.” I acted confidently, but on the inside I was frightened. What I needed was techniques to build up my confidence and to overcome my fear.

1.Why is the author afraid of speaking in public?

A. He is aware of his potential.

B. He has few chances to talk.

C. He is not able to edit what he says.

D. He likes writing better.

2.The underlined words “my own policy” in Paragraph 3 probably mean ________.

A. self-improving through challenges

B. hesitating before chances

C. turning down the invitations

D. saying yes to fear

3.The author mentioned the book The Magic of Thinking Big mainly because ______.

A. it was inspiring

B. it was a bestseller

C. its author was famous

D. its price was attractive

4.What is the author’s purpose to write the passage?

A. To analyze his strength and weaknesses.

B. To give practical tips on speaking in public.

C. To persuade people to follow his example.

D. To share his experiences of overcoming fear.

 

Answer 1

1.C

2.A

3.A

4.D

【解析】

試題分析: 本文是一篇記敘文。本篇文章中作者告訴我們他是一個(gè)自信的作家，但是他害怕在公眾面前講話。作者試圖改變這一現(xiàn)狀，敢于向挑戰(zhàn)說“是”。在電視臺(tái)邀請(qǐng)他做電視采訪時(shí)，他起初害怕，后又鼓勵(lì)自己克服恐懼心理做了電視采訪而且很成功。

1.I don’t have time to pause to collect my thoughts. I’m not able to edit. I’m afraid of being trapped in a corner without being able to talk my way out.描述可知作者害怕當(dāng)眾講話其中一個(gè)原因就是選項(xiàng)C說的他不能編輯他說的話。選項(xiàng)A、B、D都與本句描述不符。故選C。

2.詞義猜測(cè)題。聯(lián)系后半句to say “yes” to new chances.描述向新的挑戰(zhàn)說“是”，可以猜測(cè)my own policy意思是通過挑戰(zhàn)自我提升。故選A。

3.A細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)第五段And then I thought of the book I was reading, ---the book contains dozens of practical tips on how to take risks to achieve big goals. Schwartz argues that nobody will believe in you until you believe in yourself.描述可知作者起先害怕電視采訪，但后又想到了The Magic of Thinking Big這本書以及這本書給他的敢于冒險(xiǎn)實(shí)現(xiàn)目標(biāo)的勇氣，最終他接受了電視采訪。由此可知作者提到The Magic of Thinking Big這本書主要是因?yàn)樗�是鼓舞人心的。故選A。

描述可知作者突然想到不能在寒冷孤獨(dú)中死去，所以她活下去的強(qiáng)烈欲望使她充滿了力量。故選B。

4.主旨大意題。作者告訴我們他是一個(gè)自信的作家，但是他害怕在公眾面前講話。作者試圖改變這一現(xiàn)狀，敢于向挑戰(zhàn)說“是”。在電視臺(tái)邀請(qǐng)他做電視采訪時(shí)，他起初害怕，后又鼓勵(lì)自己克服恐懼心理做了電視采訪而且很成功。由此可知作者寫這篇文章是想與我們分享他克服恐懼的體驗(yàn)。故選D。

考點(diǎn)：考查日常生活類短文閱讀