The day was warm and the sun shone down like a new beginning on my life. I was waving goodbye to my son, the last one of my fledglings （剛會飛的鳥）to leave home and go to new woods, "University actually" . I felt so lighthearted after spending many years looking after my four children-cooking, washing, ironing, teaching them how to look after themselves and manage their finances-that I actually thought “At long last, freedom".

But, as I watched my last one leave, although it was a joyous occasion, I realized I had not really prepared for this day, I was too tied up with bringing up these adults of the future to realize that they would all leave the nest and lives independently.

At first I didn't know what "I" wanted to do. I tried a part time job, which ended in me running out in tears. I started a business making soft furnishings, but that didn't work either.  I grew my own veggies and fruit, which lasted 3 years, until I was advised by my doctor that my feet couldn't take any more "tools” driven through them. 

I began wondering if I had a future of my own. I cried for the life I was used to, and hadn't known or wanted anything different.

Then one day I saw an ad. For foster parents, I discussed it with my husband who was always behind everything I tried and with great disturbance, I rang up the number.

I now laugh and sing with my 14-year-old foster daughter, even when my cooker is a mess and my bathroom is a disaster area. I now know, 8 years later, what “I” was meant to be doing with all the spare hours, days, and weeks I had on my hands when my last fledgling flew the nest. The sun shines once again in my home.

1.How did the mother first feel when her last child went off to university?

A．Lonely.

B．Anxious.

C．Relieved.

D．Annoyed.

2.The underlined phrase “was tied up with” in the second paragraph means “        ”.

A．was occupied in

B．was associated with

C．was tired of

D．was addicted to

3.In the third paragraph, the poor mother did all the things just to         .

A．live a greener and healthier life

B．earn more money for her kids’ education

C．shift her attention and ease her anxiety

D．start her own decorating business

4.What did the empty-nested mother think of her husband?

A．Skilled

B．Supportive

C．Stubborn

D．Open-minded

5.Thanks to the foster daughter, the author         .

A．got rid of her busy work

B．forgot her other children

C．found a suitable job

D．knew what she really wanted

 

【答案】

1.C

2.A

3.C

4.B

5.D

【解析】

試題分析：

1.C 推理題。根據(jù)第一段后3行I felt so lighthearted after spending many years looking after my four children-cooking, washing, ironing, teaching them how to look after themselves and manage their finances-that I actually thought “At long last, freedom"說明我很放松，再這么多年的辛苦以后，終于可以放松了。故C正確。

2.A 猜測詞義題。根據(jù)本句I was too tied up with bringing up these adults of the future to realize that they would all leave the nest and lives independently.是， 這些年來我一直忙于撫養(yǎng)教育我的孩子們，故A正確。Be occupied in 忙于…

3.C 推理題。根據(jù)第三段I tried a part time job和I started a business making soft furnishings 以及I grew my own veggies and fruit說明我做了很多事情來把自己的注意力轉(zhuǎn)移并減輕自己的焦慮。故C正確。

4.B 推理題。根據(jù)倒數(shù)第二段I discussed it with my husband who was always behind everything說明我的丈夫總是在背后支持我。故B正確。

5.D 推理題。根據(jù)文章最后一段可知我收養(yǎng)了一個孩子，這個孩子讓我知道了自己真正想要的是什么。故D正確。

考點：考查社會現(xiàn)象類短文閱讀

點評：文章介紹了現(xiàn)在很正常的空巢現(xiàn)象，文章以我為例說明這些空巢母親所遇見的困境。考查推理題為主，解此類題需要結(jié)合上下文提供的語境和信息進(jìn)行簡單的概括和判斷。?

 

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A

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