Question

When I was in fourth grade, I worked part-time as a paperboy. Mrs. Stanley was one of my customers. She’d watch me coming down her street, and by the time I’d biked up to her doorstep, there’d be a cold drink waiting. I’d sit and drink while she talked.

Mrs. Stanley talked mostly about her dead husband, “Mr. Stanley and I went shopping this morning.” she’d say. The first time she said that, soda(汽水) went up my nose.

I told my father how Mrs. Stanley talked as if Mr. Stanley were still alive. Dad said she was probably lonely, and that I ought to sit and listen and nod my head and smile, and maybe she’d work it out of her system. So that’s what I did, and it turned out Dad was right. After a while she seemed content to leave her husband over at the cemetery(墓地).

I finally quit delivering newspapers and didn’t see Mrs. Stanley for several years. Then we crossed paths at a church fund-raiser(募捐活动). She was spooning mashed potatoes and looking happy. Four years before, she’d had to offer her paperboy a drink to have someone to talk with. Now she had friends. Her husband was gone, but life went on.

I live in the city now, and my paperboy is a lady named Edna with three kids. She asks me how I’m doing. When I don’t say “find,” she sticks around to hear my problems. She’s lived in the city most of her life, but she knows about community. Community isn’t so much a place as it is a state of mind. You find it whenever people ask how you’re doing because they care, and not because they’re getting paid to do so. Sometimes it’s good to just smile, nod your head and listen.

1.Why did soda go up the author’s nose one time?

A. He was talking fast    B. He was shocked

C. He was in a hurry    D. He was absent-minded

2.Why did the author sit and listen to Mrs. Stanley according to paragraph 3?

A. He enjoyed the drink    B. He wanted to be helpful

C. He took the chance to rest    D. He tried to please his dad

3.Which of the following can replace the underlined phrase “work it out of her system”?

A. recover from her sadness    B. move out of the neighborhood

C. turn to her old friends    D. speak out about her past

4.What does the author think people in a community should do?

A. Open up to others    B. Depend on each other

C. Pay for others’ help    D. Care about one another

Answer

1.B

2.B

3.A

4.D

【解析】本文讲述的是作者曾经是一个报童，他非常关心一位丧偶的顾客Mrs. Stanley，每次去Mrs. Stanley家送报都会停留一会儿倾听她的故事。而作者多年后又被自家的报童关心着。由此作者感悟到社区邻里之间应多互相关心。

1. 推理判断题。根据第二段Mrs. Stanley talked mostly about her dead husband, “Mr. Stanley and I went shopping this morning,” she’d say.  The first time she said that, soda (汽水) went up my nose.可推测，作者第一次听到Mrs. Stanley一直谈死去的丈夫时，汽水喝呛了，可以推断出作者当时极为震惊的。故选B。

2.推理判断题。根据第三段Dad said she was probably lonely, and that I ought to sit and listen and nod my head and smile,可知，作者倾听Mrs. Stanley说话是为了帮助她。故选B。

3.词义猜测题。根据第三段最后一句After a while she seemed content to leave her husband over at the cemetery (墓地).可知， Mrs. Stanley看来已从失去丈夫的悲痛中走了出来，说明画线部分描述的是：她可能“消除自己的悲伤情绪，从悲伤中走出来了”。 故选A。

4.推理判断题。根据最后一段You find it whenever people ask how you’re doing because they care,以及本文所讲的故事：作者以前关心Mrs. Stanley，后来又被自家的送报员所关心，由此可推断作者想要表明的观点：社区邻里间应该互相关心。故选D。