Question

My father was a foreman of a sugar-cane plantation in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. My first job was to drive the oxen that ploughed the cane fields. I would walk behind an ox, guiding him with a broomstick. For $1 a day, I worked eight hours straight, with no food breaks.

It was very tedious work, but it prepared me for life and taught me many lasting lessons. Because the plantation owners were always watching us, I had to be on time every day and work as hard as I could. I’ve never been late for any job since. I also learned about being respectful and faithful to the people you work for. More importantly, I earned my pay; it never entered my mind to say I was sick just because I didn’t want to work.

I was only six years old, but I was doing a man’s job. Our family needed every dollar we could make because my father never earned more than $18 a week. Our home was a three-roomed wood shack with a dirty floor and no toilet. Nothing made me prouder than bringing home money to help my mother, father, two brothers and three sisters. This gave me self-esteem(自尊心), one of the most important things a person can have.

When I was seven, I got work at a golf course near our house. My job was to stand down the fairway and spot the balls as they landed, so the golfers could find them. Losing a ball meant you were fired, so I never missed one. Some nights I would lie in bed and dreamt of making thousands of dollars by playing golf and being able to buy a bicycle.

The more I dreamt, the more I thought. Why not? I made my first golf club out of guava limb(番石榴树枝) and a piece of pipe. Then I hammered an empty tin can into the shape of a ball. And finally I dug two small holes in the ground and hit the ball back and forth. I practiced with the same devotion and intensity. I learned working in the field—except now I was driving golf balls with a club, not oxen with a broomstick.

1.The writer’s first job was _______.

A. to stand down the fairway at a golf course

B. to watch over the sugar-cane plantation

C. to drive the oxen that ploughed the cane fields

D. to spot the balls as they landed so the golfers could find them

2.The underlined word “tedious” in Paragraph 2 most probably means _______.

A. difficult    B. unusual    C. interesting    D. boring

3.The writer learned that_______ from his first job.

A. he should work for those who he liked most

B. he should be respectful and faithful to the people he worked for

C. he should never fail to say hello to his owner

D. he should work longer than what he was expected

4.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A. The writer wanted to be a successful golfer.

B. The writer wanted to run a golf course near his house.

C. The writer was satisfied with the job he got on a plantation.

D. The writer wanted to make money by guiding oxen with a broomstick.

Answer

1. C

2. D

3. B

4. A

【解析】

这是一篇记叙文。本文主要介绍作者的父亲是一名里约种植园的工头。作者的第一份工作是在甘蔗地里赶牛耕地。虽然工作乏味单调，但是他学会了坚持、尊重人、待人诚恳和有自尊心。作者因在七岁时去了高尔夫球场做球童，而萌发了当成功的高尔夫球手的梦想。作者通过不断的努力，最终成功了，所以他在握住的是高尔夫球杆而不是赶牛的扫帚柄。

1.细节理解题。由文中第一段的第二句My first job was to drive the oxen that ploughed the cane fields.可知，作者的第一份工作是在甘蔗地里赶牛耕地，故C选项正确。

2.词义猜测题。作者的工作是跟在耕牛后用扫把赶牛。所以应该不难，也是很普通的工作，但根据上一段最后一句可知，这份工作持续时间长而且中途不能休息即使吃饭也不可以。因此可知这份工作很枯燥。A. difficult 困难的； B. unusual不同寻常的； C. interesting 有趣的；D. boring枯燥的。故D选项正确。

3.细节理解题。由第二段中“I also learned about being respectful and faithful to the people you work for.”可知，作者从他的第一份工作学会了对他的雇主要恭敬和忠诚。B选项正确。

4.推理判断题。根据文中倒数第二段的Some nights I would lie in bed and dreamt of making thousands of dollars by playing golf and being able to buy a bicycle.可知，作者很想成为一名成功的高尔夫球者。故A选项正确。