Question

Once upon a time, a daughter complained to her father that her life was unhappy and that she was tired of struggling all the time.

Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Once the three pots began to boil, he placed potatoes, eggs and coffee beans in them. After 20 minutes, he took them out, putting the potatoes and eggs in a bowl and the coffee in a cup. Turning to his daughter, he said, “Look closer, and touch the potatoes.” She did and noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to taste the coffee. Its good smell brought a smile to her face.

“Father, what does this mean？”she asked. He then explained that the potatoes, the eggs and the coffee beans were in the same adversity(逆境)—the boiling water. However, each one reacted differently.

The strong and hard potato became soft and weak in boiling water. The egg was fragile, with the thin outer shell protecting its liquid until it was put in the boiling water. Then the inside of the egg became hard. However, the coffee beans were unique. After they were exposed to the boiling water, they changed the water and created something new. “Which one do you want to be like,” he asked. “When adversity knocks on your door, how will you respond？”

In life, challenges happen to us all, but the only thing that truly matters is what happens within us.

1.Why did the girl complain to her father？

A. Because of her father's busy work.    B. Because of her tiring job.

C. Because of her hard life.    D. Because of the food her father cooked.

2.What can we infer from this story？

A. Different people have different reactions towards adversity.

B. The father was good at cooking.

C. The girl didn’t like the potatoes and eggs.

D. The girl liked the coffee best.

3.What does the underlined word “fragile” mean in the 4th paragraph?

A. thick    B. hard    C. easily﹣broken    D. strong

4.What would be the best title for the passage？

A. Father and daughter.    B. A chef and coffee beans.

C. Adversities and a chef.    D. Challenges and responses.

Answer

1. C

2. A

3. C

4. D

【解析】

这是一篇夹叙夹议文。文章讲述一个女孩告诉爸爸，她厌倦于生活中的努力，奋斗，想放弃。于是，爸爸将她带到厨房，用土豆，鸡蛋和咖啡分别在热水里煮，让她看这种三种东西的反应，从而启发孩子在逆境的时候应该怎么做。

1.推理判断题。根据第一段a daughter complained to her father that her life was unhappy and that she was tired of struggling all the time.可知，这个女孩是因为生活不快乐，厌倦了一直挣扎，而向父亲抱怨，由此可知，女孩是因为生活中的困难向父亲抱怨，C项符合题意。

2.推理判断题。根据第三段He then explained that the potatoes, the eggs and the coffee beans were in the same adversity(逆境)—the boiling water. However, each one reacted differently.(他解释说：土豆、鸡蛋和咖啡豆处于同一逆境——沸水。但是它们的反应都不一样。)，然后第四段中描述了三种物品在沸水中的反应，从而引出“When adversity knocks on your door, how will you respond？”（当不幸降临时你会如何应对？），所以本文讲的是：不同的人面对逆境时会有不同的反应。选A。

3.词义猜测题。根据第四段中The egg was fragile, with the thin outer shell protecting its liquid until it was put in the boiling water. Then the inside of the egg became hard.(鸡蛋__________，有薄的外壳保护着里面的液体，直到它被放进沸水里，然后鸡蛋的内部变得坚硬。)，根据常识以及薄的外壳可知，鸡蛋是易碎的，故推断出fragile是“易碎的”的意思，故选C。

4.主旨大意题。文章讲述一个女孩告诉爸爸，她厌倦于生活中的努力，奋斗，想放弃。于是，爸爸将她带到厨房，用土豆，鸡蛋和咖啡分别在热水里煮，让她看这种三种东西的反应，从而启发孩子在逆境的时候应该怎么做。所以这篇文章最好的题目是“挑战与反应”，故选D。