Question

Nothing could stop Dad. After he was put on disability for a bad back, he bought a small farm in the country, just enough to grow food for the family. He planted vegetables, fruit trees and even kept bees for honey.

And every week he cleaned Old Man McColgin’s chicken house in exchange for manure(肥料). The smell really burned the inside of your nose. When we complained about the terrible smell, Dad said the stronger the manure, the healthier the crops, and he was right. For example, just one of his cantaloupes filled the entire house with its sweet smell, and the taste was even sweeter.

As the vegetables started coming in, Dad threw himself into cooking. One day, armed with a basket of vegetables, he announced he was going to make stew(炖菜). Dad pulled out a pressure cooker and filled it up with cabbages, eggplants, potatoes, corns, onions and carrots. For about half an hour, the pressure built and the vegetables cooked. Finally, Dad turned off the stove, the pot began to cool and the pressure relief valve(阀门) sprayed out a cloud of steam. If we thought Dad’s pile of chicken manure was bad, this was 10 times worse. When Dad took off the lid, the smell nearly knocked us out.

Dad carried the pot out and we opened doors and windows to air out the house. Just how bad was it? The neighbors came out of their houses to see if we had a gas leak!

Determined, Dad filled our plates with steaming stew and passed them around. It didn’t look that bad, and after the first wave had shut down my ability to smell, it didn’t offend the nose so much, either. I took a taste. It would never win a prize in a cooking competition, but it was surprisingly edible, and we drank up every last drop of soup!

1.Why did Dad clean Old Man McColgin’s chicken house regularly?

A. To set a good example to us.    B. To collect manure for his crops.

C. To get rid of the terrible smell.    D. To earn some money for the family.

2.What can we infer about Dad’s stew?

A. It tastes quite good.    B. It looks very wonderful.

C. It is popular among the neighbors.    D. It contains honey and vegetables.

3.What does the underlined word “offend” in the last paragraph mean?

A. To attract.    B. To upset.    C. To air.    D. To shut.

4.What can we learn about Dad from the text?

A. He has a positive attitude to life.    B. He is an experienced cook.

C. He is a troublesome father.    D. He suffers a lot from his disability.

Answer

1. B

2. A

3. B

4. A

【解析】

这是一篇记叙文。本文主要讲述了作者的父亲因为后背疾病，退休在家。后来买了一个小农场，在里面种满了各种蔬菜、果树甚至还养了蜜蜂。但作者的父亲收获的时候，他炖了一锅蔬菜，刚闻到味道时，大家都觉得难闻，打开门窗通风，就连邻居也出来看看是不是煤气漏气，但是最后大家都把菜吃光了。

1.细节理解题。根据第二段“he cleaned Old Man McColgin's chicken house in exchange for manure(肥料). ”可知，清理鸡舍为的是得到肥料。in exchange for以……交换。故此题应选B。

2.推理判断题。根据最后一段内容，尤其是“It would never win a prize in a cooking competition, but it was surprisingly edible, and we drank up every last drop of soup.”可知，炖菜的味道不错，最后一口汤都被喝光了。故此题应选A。

3.词义猜测题。根据最后一段“It didn’t look that bad, and after the first wave had shut down my ability to smell, it didn’t offend the nose so much, either. I took a taste. It would never win a prize in a cooking competition, but it was surprisingly edible, and we drank up every last drop of soup.”（看起来也没有那么坏，虽然第一波气味我的嗅觉被击倒，不过也没有____我的鼻子，我尝了尝。它永远不会在烹饪比赛中赢，但它令人惊讶地可食用，我们喝光了最后一滴汤。），故猜测划线词是“使……不适，不舒服”的意思。故此题应选B。

4.推理判断题。根据本文内容可知，父亲背部有残疾，但还买了农场，精心耕种。收获后，自己做炖菜。由此可以看出父亲有着积极的生活态度。故此题应选A。