Question

“Get yourself up and make something of yourself，buddy！”Though my mother has passed away，her words are as clear in my head today as when I was a boy．

    “Christ！”I said，“I have made something of myself. I want to sleep late as I like．”

    “If there’s one thing I can’t stand，it’s a quitter．”Her voice in my head is more powerful than my will to refuse，so I pull myself from bed．

      Before I was out of primary school，mother could see I lacked the gifts for either making millions or winning the love of crowds．So she began pushing me toward working with words．Words ran in her family．There seemed to be a word gene that passed down from her mother’s grandfather·

The greatest proof was my mother’s first cousin Edwin．He was the managing editor of the New York Times and had gained a name in his career．

    In 1947 1 graduated from Johns Hopkins and applied for a job with the Baltimore Sun as a police reporter．It paid＄30 a week ．When I complained the wage was shameful for a learned man，mother refused to sympathize．“If you work hard at this job，”she said，“maybe you can make something of it．”

    After a while，I was asked to cover diplomats（外交官）at various African embassies. Then，

seven years later I was arranged by the Sun to cover the White House，a task that was as close to heaven as a journalist could get．However，whatever achievement of mine only seemed insignificant in her eyes．Uncle Edwin’s success was really annoying during my early years as a reporter．What a thrill，I thought．

    Then，out of my wildest childhood fantasy，the Times came knocking．It was sad that Uncle Edwin had passed away by this time．In 1979 I won the Pulitzer Prize．Unfortunately，my mother’s brain and health broke down the year before，leaving her in a nursing home，out of touch with life forevermore ．She never knew of my Pulitzer．

      I can probably guess how she’d have responded．“ That’s nice，buddy．It shows if you work hand，you’11 be able to make something of yourself one day，”

1.The first three paragraphs are intended to＿＿＿＿＿＿

A．draw readers’attention to the author’s success

B．remind readers that the road to success is rough

C．serve as an introduction to the author’s mother

D．explain why the author’s mother kept blaming him

2.The underlined sentence in Paragraph 4 probably means that tier families＿＿＿＿

A. were gifted at language  B．never broke their promise

C. were fond of reading   D. stuck to their family belief

3.What can we learn about the author

A．He got a good salary working as a police reporter．

B．He lived a rich life with his mother in his childhood．

C．It was proud of her mother to see his winning the Pulitzer Prize．

D．It was beyond his wildest dream that he could work for the Times．

4.The author regards Uncle Edwin’s success as a thrill because＿＿＿＿＿＿．

A．he himself was less smart than Uncle Edwin

B．his mother’s family thought Uncle Edwin to be a good reporter

C．few reporters can become the managing editor of the New York Times

D．Uncle Edwin spared no effort to get the Pulitzer Prize at the cost of his life

Answer

1.C

2.A

3.D

4.C

【解析】

试题分析: 在本文中作者讲述了母亲对自己事业成功的影响力。母亲从小就一直告诫作者要有出息，在任何情况下都不要放弃。在她的影响下作者长大后从事了记者的职业，采访外交官，甚至白宫，一直到后来作者获得了普利策奖，这些都离不开母亲对他的鞭策和激励。

1.C推理判断题。文章前三段都是作者回忆小时候母亲一贯对他说的话，然后在下文讲述母亲在他生活中的影响，由此可知前面三段只是为了引出主题，为下文做铺垫，所以答案选C。

2.A推理判断题。在第四段There seemed to be a word gene that passed down from her mother’s grandfather·The greatest proof was my mother’s first cousin Edwin．…. and had gained a name in his career．中作者提到做纽约时报主编的Edwin是最好的能证明母亲家有word 基因遗传下来的例子，由此判断划线句子意思是他们家有语言文字方面的天赋，答案选A。

3.D细节理解题。根据文章倒数第二段out of my wildest childhood fantasy，the Times came knocking可以判断作者做梦都没想到自己会被纽约时报选中，所以答案选D。

4.C推理判断题。纽约时报是世界著名报纸，从情理可知能够做纽约时报的执行编辑是让人可望而不可及的事情，所以判断C选项正确。

考点：考查人物类短文阅读。