Question

My husband and I had been married nearly twenty-two years when I acquired Stevens-Johnson syndrome,a disorder where my immune system responded to a virus by producing painful blisters（水疱）.Although my long-term evaluation was good,I,who had been so fiercely independent,rapidly became absolutely helpless.

My husband,Scott,stepped up to the plate,taking care of kids and cooking dinners.He also became my personal caretaker,applying the medicine to all of my blisters because my hands couldn't do the job.Needless to say,I had negative emotions,bouncing from embarrassment to shame caused by total reliance on someone other than myself.

At one point when I had mentally and physically hit bottoms I remember thinking that Scott must somehow love me more than I could ever love him.With my illness he had become the stronger one,and I the weaker one.And this disturbed me.

I recovered from my illness,but I couldn't seem to recover from the thought that I loved my husband less than he loved me.This seeming distinction in our love continued to annoy me for the year following my illness.

Then recently Scott and I went on a long bike ride.He's an experienced cyclist;I'm quite the green hand.At one point with a strong headwind and sharp pain building in my tired legs,I really thought I couldn't go any further. Seeing me struggle,Scott pulled in front of me and yelled over his shoulder,"Stay close behind me."As I fell into the draft of his six-foot-three-inch frame and followed his steps,I discovered that my legs quit burning and I was able to catch my breath.My husband was pulling me along again.At this very moment I woke up to what I now believe: during these and other tough times,love has the opportunity to become stronger when one partner learns to lean on the other.

I pray my husband will always be strong and healthy.But if he should ever become the struggling one,whether on a bike ride or with an illness,I trust I'll be ready to call out to him: Stay close behind me—my turn to pull you along.

1.What made the author feel helpless?

A. Her treatment failure.

B. Her husband caring for her too much.

C. Her losing the previous independence.

D. Her suffer ring from illness and mental disorder.

2.Which of the following can best describe the author's husband?

A. Family-centered.

B. Not good at taking action.

C. Career-centered.

D. Independent but tired of negative emotions.

3.What did the author's husband do when going on the long bike ride?

A. Followed her closely.    B. Gave in to her depression.

C. Backed her up all the way.    D. Stopped to take care of her.

4.Which of the following can replace the underlined phrase “stepped up to the plate” in paragraph 2?

A. Moved into batting position.    B. Began to take the responsibility.

C. Walked to the kitchen.    D. Began to wash the plates.

Answer

1.C

2.A

3.C

4.B

【解析】作者得病后，她的丈夫一直照顾她，鼓励和支持她，给她帮助和力量;作者最后也发出感慨，倘若有一天角色互换，她也会同样给她的丈夫支持和力量。

1.C

推理判断题。根据第一段Although my long-term evaluation was good, I, who had been so fiercely independent, rapidly became absolutely helpless. 和第二段I had negative emotions, bouncing from embarrassment to shame caused by total reliance on someone other than myself.

可知作者曾经非常独立，但得病后完全依赖丈夫而变得很无助，感到尴尬和羞愧。故选C.

2.A

推理判断题。根据第二段My husband, Scott, stepped up to the plate, taking care of kids and cooking dinners. He also became my personal caretaker, applying the medicine to all of my blisters because my hands couldn't do the job.和第五段Stay close behind me. "As I fell into the draft of his six-foot-three-inch frame and followed his steps, I discovered that my legs quit burning and I was able to catch my breath.可知丈夫在作者得病后照顾家庭，看护生病的作者。外出骑车时也想着照顾作者，由此判断他是个顾家的人，故选A.

3.C

细节推理题。根据第四段 Seeing me struggle, Scott pulled(拉) in front of me and yelled over his shoulder, Stay close behind me(紧紧跟着我). 和 My husband was pulling me along again. 可知作者进行长途的骑车运动时，她的丈夫一路上给她支持和鼓励，B选项 backed her up all the way 意为 一路上支持她 ，符合题干，故选C.

4.B

猜测词义题。 此处指我生病后丈夫开始行动，履行自己的责任。照顾家庭，看护生病的作者。stepped up to the plate指开始行动，接受挑战。故选B.