20.When Breath Becomes Air gives an autobiography about Paul Kalanithi's experiences as a doctor and as a terminally ill patient.The book discusses Kalanithi's longtime fascination with questions of human biology,mortality (生命的有限),and meaning.It then examines how these questions are heightened by the author's own confrontation (沖突) with lung cancer,sickness,and death.
Kalanithi's father was a doctor from New York City.The family moved to Kingman,Arizona,so that his father could pursue his medical career when Paul was young.His father worked long hours and was rarely home,which convinced young Paul that the last thing he wanted to do was to become a doctor himself.Paul's mother was concerned about the weak school system in Kingman,and so e a long list of literary classics which she made Paul and his brothers read.As a result,Paul became fascinated by literature.He attended Stanford University,from which he graduated in 2000 with a B.A.a(chǎn)nd M.A.in English Literature and a B.A.in Human Biology.He earned an M.Phil in History Philosophy of Science and Medicine from the University of Cambridge.In 2007,Paul graduated from the Yale School of Medicine with the highest honors.He returned to Stanford for residency training (住院醫(yī)生實(shí)習(xí)) in Neurological Surgery.As he neared the end of his 7-year residency he was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer.The hopes and dreams he and Lucy,his wife,have held to are dramatically changed.
When Breath Becomes Air gives an account of Kalanithi's transformation from an innocent medical student troubled by the question of"what,given that all organisms die,makes a virtuous and meaningful life"into a young neurosurgeon (神經(jīng)外科醫(yī)生) at Stanford,guiding patients toward a deeper understanding of death and illness,and finally into a patient and a new father to a baby girl,confronting his own mortality.What makes life worth living in the face of death?What do you do when the future,no longer a ladder toward your goals in life,flattens out into a continuous present?What does it mean to have a child,to care for a new life as another fades away?These are some of the questions Kalanithi wrestles with in this deeply moving,delicately observed autobiography.
Paul Kalanithi died in March 2015,while working on this book,yet his words live on as a guide and a gift to us all."I began to realize that coming face to face with my own mortality,in a sense,had changed nothing and everything,"he wrote."Seven words from Samuel Beckett began to repeat in my head:'I can't go on.I'll go on.'"When Breath Becomes Air is an unforgettable,life-confirming reflection on the challenge of facing mortality and on the relationship between doctor and patient,from a gifted writer who became both.
58.What can we learn from Paragraph 2?D
A.What led to the diagnosis of Kalanithi's lung cancer.
B.Why Kalanithi changed his mind to become a doctor.
C.When Kalanithi decided to follow in his father's footsteps.
D.How Kalanithi developed his interest in English literature.
59.Which of the following words can be used to describe the book?B
A.Discouraging.
B.Reflective.
C.Delightful.
D.Controversial.
60.Kalanithi began to seek the meaning of lifeA.
A.when he was a medical student
B.when he became a neurosurgeon
C.when he studied English literature
D.when he was diagnosed with cancer.
分析 本文講述了Kalanithi在其母親的影響下對(duì)文學(xué)產(chǎn)生興趣,并且在做醫(yī)學(xué)學(xué)生的時(shí)候開始對(duì)生命產(chǎn)生思考,最后寫出了具有很大影響的自傳.
解答 58-60 DBA
58.D 細(xì)節(jié)理解題.根據(jù)第二段第四句至第五句 Paul's mother was concerned about the weak school system in Kingman,and so made a long list literary classics which she made Paul and his brothers read.As a result,Paul became fascinated by literature.可知 Kalanithi 的母親讓他讀文學(xué)經(jīng)典著作,他最終對(duì)文學(xué)產(chǎn)生了興趣,D 正確;選項(xiàng) AB 的內(nèi)容在第二段中未提到,而文中第二段第三句 His father worked long hours…which convinced young Paul that the last thing he wanted to do was to become a doctor himself.中說的是 the last thing"最不想要的事"是成為醫(yī)生,與選項(xiàng) C 說他想步自己父親的后塵成為醫(yī)生不符,不能選 C,故選 D.
59、B 推理判斷題.根據(jù)最后一段最后一句 When Breath Becomes Air is an unforgettable,life-confirming reflection on the challenge of facing mortality and on the relationship between doctor and patient,from a gifted writer who became both.可知這本書是 Kalanithi 對(duì)其一生面對(duì)死亡的挑戰(zhàn)和同時(shí)作為醫(yī)生和病人探討兩者關(guān)系的反映(reflection),所以選 B.
60、A 細(xì)節(jié)理解題.根據(jù)第三段第一句 When Breath Becomes Air gives an account of Kalanithi's transformation from an innocent medical student troubled by the question of"what,given that all organism die,makes a virtuous and meaningful life"into a young neurosurgeon at Stanford,guiding patients toward a deeper understanding of death and illness…可知 Kalanithi 開始尋找人生的意義是在他還是一個(gè)醫(yī)學(xué)學(xué)生的時(shí)候,故 A 對(duì).
點(diǎn)評(píng) 本篇難度中等偏低,題量較少.主要考察在文中定位關(guān)鍵句之后,對(duì)長難句和句中關(guān)鍵詞的理解,需要考生把握好關(guān)鍵詞的意思并結(jié)合上下句來分析得出答案.