Question

Quietly sitting there reading, I found myself suddenly listening to the train guard’s announcements. Train travelers will surely agree that when the guard makes an announcement, whether it’s the recorded message or the guard’s message, few people listen to it, because it’s often quite dull or hard to understand. This one was different. I noticed that other passengers appeared to be listening, too. Not only that, everyone was smiling!

Why was so much attention being paid to this message? As best I can recall, the guard said something along these lines, “Good Morning Ladies, Gentlemen and Children, this is the 7:35 a.m. from Penrith to Central and you’ll be pleased to know that we are right on time. And what a lovely morning it is in Sydney today. The sun is shining, birds are singing, and all’s right with the world. I trust you have a great day wherever you’re going. Thanks for catching my train this morning and I hope to see you again soon.”

Quite a few people (obviously previous strangers) started talking to one another about the guard’s excellent message and how good it had made everyone feel. I started thinking about this, and then I found the young guard and said “Were you the guard on the 7:35 a.m. from Penrith?” The guard seemed a bit stunned at first, replying, “Yes, yyyyes.” “Well, I really appreciate your announcement. Thank you for your extremely good message, which gave me and the other passengers such a good start to the day. Please keep doing it.” I said.

There are two messages for me in what happened that day. Firstly, when people are happy in their work it shows in what they do and say. Secondly, the story attaches much importance to the benefits that accumulate from thanking people for something they’ve done, particularly when it’s not expected. Can you imagine the conversation that guard would have when he got home?

1.Why do few train travelers listen to the announcements?

A. The messages are unattractive.

B. The guard’s voice is not clear.

C. They usually feel sleepy.

D. They are absorbed in books.

2.What does the underlined word “stunned” in Paragraph 3 mean?

A. Patient.    B. Cautious.

C. Surprised.    D. Excited.

3.What might the guard talk about with his family when he got home?

A. The beautiful weather.

B. The recorded message.

C. The train from Penrith.

D. The unexpected appreciation.

4.Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A. An Intelligent Guard.    B. A Boring Train Story.

C. A Different Train Announcement.    D. A Lovely Morning in Sydney.

Answer

1.A

2.C

3.D

4.C

【解析】作者讲述了一次坐火车的经历，列车员快乐阳光的广播给乘客们带来了好心情。作者对列车员表示了感谢。

1.A

细节理解题。根据第一段中few peoples listen to it, because it’s often quite dull or hard to understand.可知，火车公告的消息是不吸引人的。故选A。

2.C

词义猜测题。根据第三段中The guard seemed a bit stunned at first, replying, “Yes, yyyyes.”通过年轻守卫的回答“Yes, yyyyes.”可知他起初有点惊讶，因为人们一般对火车的公告消息不关注。故选C。

3.D

推理判断题。根据第三段中The guard seemed a bit stunned at first, replying, “Yes, yyyyes.”“Well, I really appreciate your announcement. Thank you for your extremely good message, which gave meand the other passengers such a good start to the day. Please keep doing it.”I said.可知，这个守卫回到家里的时候会对家人谈论这未料到的感谢。故选D。

4.C

主旨大意题。根据第一段Quietly siting there reading, I found myself suddenly listening to the train guard’s announcement.可知本文说的是一次不同的火车通告。故选C。