8.The notice was posted next to the guests'mailboxes in the apartment building I'd just moved into in Brooklyn,New York."A Mitzvah for Mrs.Green,"it read."Sign up to drive Mrs.G in 3B home from her chemotherapy treatments twice a month."
Since I wasn't a driver,I couldn't add my name,but the word mitzvah stayed in my thoughts after I went upstairs.It's a Hebrew word that means"to do a good deed".
And according to my grandmother,it also had another meaning.This was the one she was always pointing out to me because she'd noticed how shy I was about letting people do things for me.Linda,it's a blessing to do a mitzvah for someone else,but sometimes it's a blessing to let another person do something for you."
Grandma would be shaking her head at me right now.Several of my friends had offered to help me settle in after the moving men left,but I'd said I could manage.Letting them help would have interfered with my image of myself as a capable and independent woman of 21.
Snowflakes had been falling past my window for several hours when it came time to leave for class.I put on two sweaters,a coat,a wool hat and boots,making for the bus stop.In this December storm it was a hard journey.As I tied around my neck the blue scarf that Grandma had knitted for me,I could almost hear her voice:"Why don't you see if you can find a lift?"
A thousand reasons came into my mind:I don't know,my neighbors; I don't like to disturb others; I feel funny asking for favors.Pride would not let me knock on a door and say,"It's a 10-minute ride by car but a long wait for the bus,and it's a 30-minute bus ride,so could you possibly give me a lift to school?
I labored to the bus stop,reaching it just as a bus went by.
Three weeks later,on the night of my final exam,the snow was falling steadily.I made my way to the bus slop.For an hour,I stretched my neck,praying desperately that a bus would come.Then I gave up.The wind at my back pushed me toward home,and I prayed,"Dear God,how can I get to school?What should I do?
As I pulled Grandma's scarf more tightly around my neck,again I seemed to hear that whisper:Ask someone for a lift!It could be a mitzvah.
That idea had never really made sense to me.And even if I wanted to ask someone for a good deed,which I did not,there wasn't a soul on the street.
But as I pashed the door of my apartment building open,I found myself face to face with awoman at the mailbox.She was wearing a brown coal and had a set of keys in her hand.Obviously she had a car,and just as obviously,she was going out.In that split second,desperation overcame pride,I blurted,"Could you possibly give me alift?I hurriedly explained,"I never ask anybody for a lift,but…"
An odd look crossed the woman's face,and I added,"Oh!I live in 4R.I moved in recently."
"I know,she said."I've seen you through the window."Then,without hesitation,"Of course,I'll give you a lift.Let me get my car key."
"Your car key?"I repeated."Isn't that it in your hand?"
She looked down."No,no,I was just going to get my mail.I'll be right back."And she disappeared upstairs,ignoring my"Ma'am!Please!I don't mean to put you out!"I was terribly embarrassed.
But when she came back,she spoke so warmly that I stopped feeling uncomfortable."You know the way better than I,"she said."Why don't you drive?"
"I can't,"I said.Now I felt uneasy again.
She just laughed and patted me on the hand,saying,"It's not so important,"and then I laughed,too.
"You remind me of my grandmother,"I said.
At that,a slight smile crossed her lips."Just call me Grandma Alice.My grandchildren do."
When she dropped me off,I thanked her again and again and stood there waving as she drove away.My final exam was a piece of cake compared with the difficult experience I'd gone through to get to it,and asking Grandma Alice for help had relaxed me so that after class I was able to ask easily,"Is anyone going my way?"It turned out that while I'd been waiting for a bus every night,three fellow students passed my apartment house."Why didn't you say something before?"they chorused.
Back home as I walked up the stairs.I passed Grandma Alice leaving her neighbor's apartment."Good night,Mrs.Green.See you tomorrow,"the neighbor was saying.
Mrs.Green,the woman with cancer."Grandma Alice"was Mrs.Green.
I stood on the stairs,my hand covering my mouth:I had asked a person struggling with cancer to go out in a snowstorm to give me a lift to school."Oh,Mrs.Green,I stammered,"I didn't realize who you were.Please forgive me."
I forced my legs to move me up the stairs.In my apartment,I stood still,not taking my coat off.How could I have been so insensitive?In a few seconds,someone tapped on my door.Mrs.Green stood there.
"May I tell you something?"she asked.I nodded slowly,motioning her toward a chair,sinking down onto my couch."I used to be so strong."she said.She was crying."I used to be able to do things for other people.Now everybody keeps doing things for me,giving me things,cooking my meals and taking me to places where I want to go.It's not that I don't appreciate it,but I don't have chances.Tonight before I went out to get my mail,I prayed to God to let me feel like part of the human race again.Then you came along…"
65.What does the word'Mitzvah'mean in the first paragraph?C
A.Asking for help
B.Refusing help
C.Helping others
D.Thanks for others'help
66.The author didn't let her friends help her settle in becauseB.
A.her friends were very busy
B.it would have an effect on her image of being capable and independent
C.it would bring her friends much trouble
D.her grandmother didn't agree to it
67.What does the underlined sentence suggest?A
A.the author decided to ask for help without any ideas
B.the author would no longer have his own pride
C.the author would be desperate for ever
D.the author wouldn't be proud for a short time
68.After final exam,the author found thatD.
A.the exam was difficult
B.the exam wasn't easier than going through the difficult experience
C.her classmates were more friendly to her
D.it was easy for her to ask for help
69.Knowing Grandma Alice was Mrs.Green,the author feltC.
A.Proud
B.Encouraged
C.Embarrassed
D.Pleased
70.The main idea of this passage isD.
A.giving help not getting help
B.giving help is better than getting help
C.that a person who gets help is to blame
D.both giving help and getting help can reflect the warmth of the world.
分析 本文屬于說(shuō)明文閱讀,作者通過(guò)這篇文章主要向我們描述了我沒(méi)有幫助別人卻得到了別人的幫助,發(fā)現(xiàn)給予幫助和得到幫助可以反映世界的溫暖.
解答 65.C.詞義猜測(cè)題.根據(jù)第二段It's a Hebrew word that means"to do a good deed".可知這是希伯來(lái)語(yǔ),意思是"做一件好事",表示幫助別人;故選C.
66.B.細(xì)節(jié)理解題.根據(jù)文章Letting them help would have interfered with my image of myself as a capable and independent woman of 21可知作者并沒(méi)有讓她的朋友幫助她解決因?yàn)檫@會(huì)影響她給人的獨(dú)立的印象;故選B.
67.A.句意理解題.根據(jù)文章she was going out.In that split second,desperation overcame pride,I blurted,"Could you possibly give me alift?可知就在那一剎那,絕望戰(zhàn)勝了驕傲,我脫口而出,"你能讓我搭車(chē)嗎?可知作者決定不惜一切尋求幫助;故選A.
68.D.細(xì)節(jié)理解題.根據(jù)文章My final exam was a piece of cake compared with the difficult experience I'd gone through to get to it,and asking Grandma Alice for help had relaxed me so that after class I was able to ask easily,"Is anyone going my way?可知期末考試后,筆者發(fā)現(xiàn)向別人尋求幫助其實(shí)是一件很容易的事;故選D.
69.C.推理判斷題.根據(jù)文章I had asked a person struggling with cancer to go out in a snowstorm to give me a lift to school."Oh,Mrs.Green,I stammered,"I didn't realize who you were可知知道Grandma Alice是格林的夫人,作者感到十分尷尬;故選C.
70.D.推理判斷題.根據(jù)最后一段I prayed to God to let me feel like part of the human race again.Then you came along…可知本文的主旨是給予幫助和得到幫助可以反映世界的溫暖;故選D.
點(diǎn)評(píng) 考察學(xué)生的細(xì)節(jié)理解和推理判斷能力,做細(xì)節(jié)理解題時(shí)一定要找到文章中的原句,和題干進(jìn)行比較,再做出正確的選擇.在做推理判斷題不要以個(gè)人的主觀(guān)想象代替文章的事實(shí),要根據(jù)文章事實(shí)進(jìn)行合乎邏輯的推理判斷.