Question

    There is a country-I read about it once-where the local custom is that if you go to a house and praise some small possession,the owners feel obliged to offer it to you as a gift.I don’t remember the name of the country;the only other place I know of with such a custom is my mother’s apartment.

Knowing Mama,I have always been careful with my compliments,but that doesn’t stop her. Mama senses admiration far more subtle(敏感的)than what’s spoken.If she catches me staring at anything small enough to put in a grocery sack,she hands it to me as I leave.It would do no good to protest.

Sometimes,while visiting Mama,I try not to say anything complimentary.

I have been worrying for weeks now about what to give my mother for Mother’s Day.For most people,this is a modest problem,solved by the purchase of a bathrobe or a box of candy. For me,however,Mother’s Day represents an annual challenge to do the impossible-find a gift that will make neither Mama nor me feel terrible.Expensive gifts-Mama defines as costing over$1.98-are out,because they make Mama feel terrible.There is always the danger that a gift given to Mama will bounce swiftly back to the giver.

Papa,a sensible man,long ago stopped trying to shop for Mama.Instead,on Mother’s Day, her birthday,and other appropriate occasions,he composes a short epic poem in which he tells of their meeting,courtship(求婚)，and subsequent(随后的)marriage.After nearly 30 years of poems,Papa sometimes worries that the edge of his poetic inspiration has dulled,but Mama doesn’t complain.She comes into the room while he is struggling over a gift poem and says,”It doesn’t have to rhyme as long as it’s from the heart.”

This year,finally,I think I,too,have found a painless gift for Mama.I am going to give her a magazine article,unrhymed but from the heart,in which I wish her”Happy Mother’s Day”and tell her there’s nothing Papa or I could ever buy,find,or make her that would be half good enough anyway.

1.The underlined word”compliments”in the second paragraph is closest in meaning to

A.behavior B.purchase C.words D.praise

2.Why has the writer been worrying about what to give his mother for Mother’s Day?

A.It’s difficult to choose a proper but cheap gift.

B.His Mama wishes him to follow his father’s way.

C.Gifts will make his mother feel terrible.

D.The writer has a very tight budget.

3.From the custom in the apartment of the writer’s mother, we can know that________.

A.the writer will be given whatever he wants

B.his mother will give him the things he praises

C.his father will have to compose rhymed poems

D.his mother will return anything to the giver

4.What can be a suitable title for the passage?

A.An Economical Mother

B.A Challenging Choice

C.A Gift for Mama

D.An Old Custom

Answer

1.D

2.A

3.B

4.C

【解析】

本文是记叙文。文章讲述了作者妈妈有一个习俗，如果有人赞美了某样东西，那么她就会把这个东西作为礼物送给他，而且妈妈对于礼物的要求是不能太过昂贵，因此作者感觉给妈妈买礼物很费力，最后作者决定和爸爸一样送给妈妈一篇文章。

1.

词句猜测题。第一段举例说：一个国家有一个风俗，如果你去一所房子，赞美了某些小东西，主人会感觉有义务把它作为礼物送给你。划线句下文If she catches me staring at anything small enough to put in a grocery sack,she hands it to me as I leave.阐述如果她看见我盯着放进购物车里的小东西，当我离开时她会把它递给我。可推断，妈妈会因为我足够关注某个东西而把东西送给我，因此推断划线句句意：了解妈妈，我总是小心我的赞美，但是那不能阻止她。妈妈感知赞美比我们讲出的话更敏感。故划线词指的是“赞美；表扬”。故选D。

2.

推理判断题。根据第四段的For me, however, Mother’s Day represents an annual challenge to do the impossible-find a gift that will make neither Mama nor me feel terrible. Expensive gifts-Mama defines as costing over$1.98-are out, because they make Mama feel terrible. There is always the danger that a gift given to Mama will bounce swiftly back to the giver.( 然而，对我来说，母亲节是一项年度挑战，要做不可能的事情——找到一份礼物，这将使妈妈和我都不会感到糟糕。昂贵的礼物——妈妈定义为成本超过1.98$——被淘汰，因为它们让妈妈感到不好。总是有一种危险，送给妈妈的礼物会被迅速反送回给赠送者)可推断，作者担心母亲节给妈妈送礼物是因为选择一件合适又便宜的礼物不好找。故选A。

3.

推理判断题。根据第一段内容There is a country-I read about it once-where the local custom is that if you go to a house and praise some small possession,the owners feel obliged to offer it to you as a gift.I don’t remember the name of the country;the only other place I know of with such a custom is my mother’s apartment.(有一个国家——我读过一次——当地的习俗是，如果你去一所房子，赞美一些小东西，主人就会觉得有义务把它作为礼物送给你。我不记得这个国家的名字；我唯一知道的其他地方有这样的习俗是我母亲的公寓)可知，从作者母亲公寓的习俗来看，他妈妈会给他他赞美过的东西。故选B。

4.

主旨大意题。通读全文可知，文章讲述了作者妈妈有一个习俗，如果有人赞美了某样东西，那么她就会把这个东西作为礼物送给他，而且妈妈对于礼物的要求是不能太过昂贵，因此作者感觉给妈妈买礼物很费力，最后作者决定和爸爸一样送给妈妈一篇文章。因此推断文章是围绕给妈妈送礼物展开的，故C项“给妈妈的礼物”为最佳标题。故选C。