That summer an army of crickets(蟋蟀) started a war with my father. Dad didn’t care for insects much more than Mamma, but he could tolerate a few living in the basement. Mamma was a city girl and she said a cricket was just too noisy. Then to support her point she wouldn’t go to bed. She drank coffee and smoked my father’s cigarettes and paced between the sofa and the TV. Next morning she threatened to pack up and leave, so Dad drove to the store and hurried back. He sprayed poison from a jug. When he was finished he told us that was the end of it.
For a couple of weeks we went back to find dead crickets in the laundry. He suggested that we’d all be better off to hide as many as we could from Mamma. I fed a few dozen to the cat who I didn’t like because he scratched for no reason.
However, soon live crickets started showing up in the kitchen and bathroom. Mamma was upset because she thought they were the dead crickets coming back, but Dad said these were certainly new ones. He fetched his jug of poison and sprayed all over until the whole house smelled of poison, and then he sprayed the basement again.
A couple of weeks later, when both live and dead crickets kept turning up, Dad emptied the basement of junk. Then he burned a lot of old newspapers and magazines which he said the crickets had turned into nests.
While we ate supper that evening, the wind lifted some flames onto the wood pile. The only gasoline was in the lawn mower’s(割草機) fuel tank but that was enough to create an explosion big enough to reach the house. Once the roof caught, there wasn’t much anyone could do.
After the fire trucks left, Mamma took the others to Aunt Gail’s. I helped Dad and Uncle Burt carry things out of the house and pile them by the road. We worked into the night and we didn’t talk much, while all around the noise of crickets broke our silence.
【小題1】What do we know about the author’s mother?

A.She didn’t like insects at all.
B.She liked insects more than his father.
C.She cared for insects very much.
D.She could only tolerate a few insects.
【小題2】The author’s father drove to the store to buy _______.
A.cigarettes for himself B.some poison
C.more coffee for his wife D.some gasoline
【小題3】The author’s father burned the old newspapers and magazines because he thought ______.
A.they were no longer useful
B.the crickets were afraid of fires
C.they became the home of crickets
D.the dead crickets came back to life
【小題4】We learn from the last paragraph that ________.
A.the author’s family lost their battle against the crickets
B.the author’s parents learned to put up with insects
C.the author’s family didn’t suffer much in the fire
D.the author’s parents got divorced


【小題1】A
【小題2】B
【小題3】C
【小題4】A

解析試題分析:本文講述了作者媽媽不能忍受蟋蟀的叫聲,父親用毒藥毒死蟋蟀后再焚燒它們的身體時不小心引著了木堆,割草機油箱中的汽油發(fā)生爆炸并波及到房屋,作者的媽媽帶著其他人去了Gail嬸嬸家,作者和爸爸還有Burt叔叔把房屋中的東西搬出去后堆放在路邊,并一直忙到晚上,此時打破他們之間沉默的還是蟋蟀的叫聲這一故事。
【小題1】推理題,第一段中提到作者的爸爸能夠容忍在地下室中有幾只昆蟲,而作者的媽媽在城市中長大,說蟋蟀太吵了,為了證明這一點,她不肯睡覺,喝咖啡,吸煙,甚至要威脅離開,由此可知她根本不喜歡昆蟲。故選A。
【小題2】細節(jié)題,根據(jù)第一段中“Next morning she threatened to pack up and leave, so Dad drove to the store and hurried back. He sprayed poison from a jug.”內(nèi)容可知,在作者的媽媽的一番折騰后,作者的爸爸開車去商店買回了一些毒藥。故選B。
【小題3】細節(jié)題。根據(jù)第四段最后一句“Then he burned a lot of old newspapers and magazines which he said the crickets had turned into nests. ”爸爸焚燒了大量舊報紙和舊雜志,說蟋蟀已經(jīng)把報紙和雜志變成了窩。故選C。
【小題4】推理題,作者的爸爸用毒藥殺死一些蟋蟀,之后木堆起火,割草機油箱中的汽油發(fā)生爆炸并波及到房屋,作者的媽媽帶著其他人去了Gail嬸嬸家,作者和爸爸還有Burt叔叔把房屋中的東西搬出去后堆放在路邊,并一直忙到晚上,此時打破他們之間沉默的還是蟋蟀的叫聲,由此可推斷在與蟋蟀的戰(zhàn)爭中,作者一家失敗了。故選A。
考點:考查故事類短文

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Dear XXX, 
As we drove off from Columbia, I wanted to write a letter to you to tell you all that is on my mind.

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B.To make new friends.
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D.Not to make herself under much pressure in grades.
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Have you ever made contact with the creative spirit, that certain something hard to describe, but full of good—and sometimes great—ideas? It is more than an occasional great thought. When we feel the moving of the creative spirit, it brings to life a style of being: a lifetime filled with the desire to invent, to explore new ways of doing things, and to turn dreams into reality.
That flash of inspiration is the final moment of a process marked by unique stages—the basic steps in creative problem-solving. The first stage is preparation, when you look for any information that might be important. It's when you let your imagination run free.
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Once you have thought about all the relevant(相關的) pieces and pushed your mind to the limits, you can let the problem remain and take in all you have gathered. It's a stage when much of what goes on occurs outside your focused awareness. As the saying goes, "You sleep on it."
We are more open to creative thoughts from the unknowing mind when we are not really thinking of anything. That is why daydreams are so useful in the search for creativity. Anytime you can just daydream and relax is useful in the creative process: a shower, long drives, a quiet walk, etc.
With luck, daydreaming will lead to a light turning on above your head, when all of a sudden the answer will come to you as if from nowhere. This is the popular stage—the one that usually gets all the glory and attention, the moment that people sweat and long for, the feeling "This is it!" But the thought alone is still not a creative act. The final stage is translation, when you take your creative thought and transform it into action; it becomes useful to you and others.
【小題1】In Paragraph 1, “the moving of the creative spirit” probably means ________.

A.preparation B.exploration C.problem-solving D.inspiration
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A.Having less information to form a good idea.
B.Relying on others during the creative process.
C.Caring about other people’s opinions about us.
D.Thinking about too many ideas at the same time.
【小題3】What can we learn from the fifth paragraph?
A.The unknowing mind is very difficult for us to understand.
B.Creativity arrives when we aren’t focused on any one thing.
C.Daydreaming is useless and has nothing to do with creativity.
D.Showers, long drives and quiet walk are good for our bodies.
【小題4】When does creativity become useful to us and others?
A.When thought is turned into action.
B.When people understand our ideas.
C.When the popular stage is reached.
D.When we think “This is it!”.
【小題5】Which of the following would the author probably support?
A.The creative spirit means an occasional great thought.
B.Others’ voice of judgment allows us to ignore barriers.
C.Creative problem-solving calls for barrier-free imagination.
D.Daydreaming is sure to bring a sudden answer to a problem.

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A young executive was traveling down a neighborhood street.He was watching for kids rushing out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something.As his car passed,no children appeared.Instead,a brick smashed into his door! He slammed on the brakes(make his car stop).The angry driver then jumped out of the car, caught the nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked car,shouting,“What was that all about and who are you?”
The young boy was apologetic.“Please,Mister...Please,I’m sorry…I didn’t know what else to do.I threw the brick because no one else would stop…”
With tears dripping down his face,the youth pointed to a spot just around a parked car.“It’s my brother,”he said.“He fell out of his wheelchair and I can’t lift him up.”
Now sobbing(crying silently),the boy asked the executive,“Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He’s hurt and he’s too heavy for me.’’
Moved beyond words,the driver tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat.He hurriedly lifted the boy back into the wheelchair,then took out his fancy handkerchief and dabbed(a light touch) at the fresh scrapes and cuts.A quick look told him everything was going to be okay.“Thank you and may God bless you.”the grateful child told the stranger.Shaken up for words,the man simply watched the little boy push his wheelchair—bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home.
God whispers in our souls and speaks to our hearts.Sometimes when we don’t have time to listen,he has to throw a brick at us.Don’t go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention!
【小題1】The executive slowed down because______.        .

A.he saw a boy throw a brick to his car
B.he saw a boy rush out from between cars
C.he was afraid some boys suddenly rushed out
D.a(chǎn) brick smashed into his door
【小題2】The boy threw the brick to the car in order to_________.
A.disturb the driver on purpose
B.destroy the car of the stranger
C.a(chǎn)sk someone to drive him home
D.stop someone to help him
【小題3】Knowing the reason why the boy threw the brick at his car the executive must feel       .
A.sympathized and excited
B.regretful and sympathized
C.a(chǎn)shamed and regretful
D.a(chǎn)ngry and regretful
【小題4】After the boy’s brother fell off his wheelchair,        .
A.the boy threw bricks at several cars
B.the boy tried to stop several cars
C.the boy’s brother was hurt seriously
D.the boy’s brother wanted to stop a car
【小題5】From the last paragraph we can learn that        .
A.you shouldn’t drive so fast that someone throws at you
B.it is common to throw a brick at a car running too fast
C.you can’t go through your life without a brick throwing at you
D.you should pay more attention to others and help them

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