Question

After my husband died, my world crashed around me. My six children were ten, nine, eight, six, three and 18 months, and I was overwhelmed(不知所措的) with the responsibilities of earning a living, caring for the children and simply keeping my head above water.

I was lucky to find a wonderful housekeeper to care for the children during the week, but from Friday nights to Monday mornings, the children and I were alone, and frankly(坦誠地) I was uneasy. Every unusual noise or any late-night phone call filled me with fear. I felt really alone.

One Friday evening I came home from work to find a big beautiful German shepherd(牧羊犬) on our doorstep. It was obvious he wanted to make the house his home. The children took an instant liking to “German” and asked me to let him in. I agreed to let him sleep in the basement(地下室) until the next day. That night I slept peacefully for the first time in many weeks.

The following morning we made phone calls and checked lost-and-found ads for German’s owner, but with no results. Saturday night he was still with us. 

On Sunday I had planned to take the children on a picnic. Since I thought it best to leave German behind in case(以免) his owner came by, we drove off without him. When we stopped to get gas at a local station, we were amazed to see German racing to the gas station after us. He stayed again Sunday night.  

Monday morning I let him out for a run while the children got ready for school. He didn’t come back. We thought we’d never see him again. On Friday evening, German was back again. We took him in, and again he stayed until Monday morning, when our housekeeper arrived. It went like this for almost 10 months. We looked forward to his coming. Each Monday morning he left home.

Each week, between German's visits, I grew a little braver, but every weekend I enjoyed being with him . Then one Monday morning we patted his head and let him out for what turned out to be the last time. He never came back. We never saw or heard from German again. I think of him often. He came when I needed him the most and stayed until I was strong enough to go on alone. I believe German was sent because he was needed, and because no matter how abandoned(被放棄的) and alone we feel, somehow, somewhere, someone knows and cares. We are never really alone.

1.What does the underlined part “keeping my head above water” in the first paragraph mean?

A．trying to keep calm in public

B．trying to get attention from other men

C．showing her high spirit in the face of trouble

D．trying to continue to live

2.When the author’s husband died, ______.

A．she couldn’t raise the six children on her own

B．she couldn’t relax at weekends

C．The housekeeper only came at weekends

D．she was too busy to feel lonely

3. Which of the following is WRONG according to the article?

A．German was fond of living with the family.

B．The writer felt safe and protected with German around.

C．The dog stayed until the writer was strong enough to go on alone.

D．The writer was too busy that weekend to go to find the dog’s owner.

4.Which is the best title for the passage?

A．A homeless dog                        B．A friend’s strength

C．How to keep a dog                      D．Keep up when in trouble

 

Answer 1

【答案】

1.D

2.B

3.D

4.B

【解析】

試題分析：這篇短文記述了一位帶著六個孩子艱難度日的母親，從一條流浪狗的身上獲得了生活的勇氣。勇敢面對艱難生活的故事。

1.聯系本段描述，可知此處指的是努力生存下去的意思，故選D。

2.根據第二段but from Friday nights to Monday mornings, the children and I were alone, 描述，可知這位母親在周末也不能休息，故選B。

3.根據The following morning we made phone calls and checked lost-and-found ads for German’s owner, 描述，可知這位母親雖然忙，但是還是盡力去找這條狗的主人，故選項D描述錯誤。

4.這篇短文中的母親正在因為生活的艱難而情緒低落時，是一條流浪狗帶給了她生活的勇氣，讓她明白了自己并不孤獨。故選B，朋友的力量。

考點：生活類記述文閱讀

點評：本文中長句較多，一時很難讀懂句子含義，注意多讀幾遍，不要強求非得理解一詞一句的含義，能把握文章大意就行。然后帶著問題閱讀短文，一般就能順利找出答題依據。對于不能直接找到根據的問題注意聯系上下文，根據短文中心總結出正確答案。