Question

One year, a college in the United States announced that it would offer a lot of money for the pure white marigold(金盏花). The high reward attracted so many people, but in the nature, besides golden, the marigold is brown, and it is not easy to get the white one. So after they were excited for a time, many people had forgotten the announcement.

One day after 20 years, the college received a letter and 100 seeds(种子) of pure white marigold. It turned out to be an old woman of over 70 years old. Some scientists in the college doubted it, but it was surprising that those seeds finally took root(根) in the earth. The miracle（奇迹）appeared after one year, the field was covered by pure white marigold.

So the old woman who was always unknown to the public became a new focus.

The old woman was a flower-lover. When she read the announcement 20 years ago, she got very excited like others. But her eight children were against her decision. After all, a woman who never knew the seed genetics(遗传学) couldn’t complete the job that scientists could never do, so her thought was only a daydream.

Still, the old woman didn’t change her mind and went on working. She planted some of the most common seeds and took good care of them. A year later, when the marigold came out, she chose the faintest (最暗淡的) one from those golden and brown flowers and got the best seed. The next year, she again grew them and chose…. Day after day, year after year, through many seasons, the old woman’s husband died, her children flew far, a lot of things happened in her life, but only the wish to grow the pure white marigold took root in her heart.

Finally, after 20 years on the day we all know, in the garden she saw a marigold, which was not nearly white, but as white as silver or snow.

A problem even scientists couldn’t deal with was solved by an old woman who didn’t understand genetics. Was it magic?

To take root in the heart, even the most common seed, can grow into a miracle!

1. According to the passage,         marigold is unusual.

A. white             B. purple          C. brown             D. golden

2.The underlined word “focus” closest in meaning to is “center of         ” .

A. energy            B. activity

C. attention         D. invention

3. It can be learned from the passage that         .

A. the children didn’t agree on their mother’s decision

B. the woman needed the great reward for her big family

C. the scientists also succeeded in growing the white marigold

D. the woman took good care of the flowers instead of her family

4.The woman successfully grew the white marigold at last because she         .

A. was luckier than scientists

B. put her heart into flowers

C. got support from her family

D. studied the seed genetics well

5.The passage mainly talks about         .

A. the difficulties of getting the white marigold

B. the possibility of going beyond scientists

C. the unforgettable development of marigold

D. the importance of holding on to dreams

Answer

1.A

2.C

3.A

4.B

5.D

【解析】

试题分析：短文大意：有一年，美国的大学宣布将为纯白色的金盏花提供很多钱。高回报吸引了很多人，但在自然界中，除了黄金，金盏花是棕色的，它是不容易得到的白色。所以在他们兴奋了一段时间后，许多人都忘记了公告。20年后的一天，学校收到了一封信和100个纯白色的金盏花的种子。原来是一个70多岁的老妇人提供的。在大学的一些科学家怀疑，但奇怪的是，那些种子终于生根。一年后奇迹出现了，田野里长满了纯白色的金盏花。

1.A细节理解题。根据but in the nature, besides golden, the marigold is brown, and it is not easy to get the white one.可知但在自然界中，除了黄金，金盏花是棕色的，它是不容易得到的白色。所以选A。

2.C词义猜测题。根据Therefore, the old woman who was always unknown to the public became a new focus.可知这句话暗含了一个转折关系，focus是和unknown对应的，所以选C。

3.A细节理解题。根据. But her eight children were against her decision.可知她的八个孩子反对她的决定。所以选A。

4.B细节理解题。根据To take root in the heart, even the most common seed can grow into a miracle!可知扎根在心底，即使是最普通的种子，也能长成奇迹！所以选B。

5.主旨大意题。细读全文可知该文旨在说明坚持梦想的重要性，所以选D。

考点：故事类短文阅读。