Question

The opening scene of The King’s Speech was, in a word, terrifying. The moment King George VI—wonderfully played by Colin Firth—stepped up to the microphone at Wembley Stadium, a rush of nervousness came over me. It took me back to my school days, standing at my desk, having to read aloud to the class. I whispered to my wife, Jill, “A stutterer(口吃者) wrote this screenplay(劇本).

   I grew up with a stutter, really afraid of trying to get through simple sentences—knowing that I would then, or later, be laughed at. I still remember the reading when I was in 7^th grade at St. Helena’s: “Sir Walter Raleigh was a gentlemen…” I remember reciting, “Sir Walter Raleigh was a gentlemen.” The school teacher said, “Master B-B-B-Biden! What’s that word?” She wanted me to say gentlemen. But by then, I had learned to put my sentences into bite-size pieces and I was reading it: “gentle”｜breath｜“man”.

   Ninety-nine percent of the time, the teachers were great. I never had professional treatment but a couple of teachers taught me to put a regular rise and fall in my tone of speaking, and that’s why I spent so much time reading poetry. But even in my small, boys’ prep school, I got nailed in my class with the nickname Joe Stutterer. You get so desperate, you’re so embarrassed. I actually went and stood by the side of my house once, with a small round stone in my mouth, and tried to talk. Jill always thought I was kidding until she saw the movie and saw King George did the same thing.

   King George relied on the support his wife and the help of Lionel Longue, who, in describing working with other stutterers, said, “My job was to give them confidence in their voices and let them know that a friend was listening.” I was lucky enough to have more than a couple of Lionels in my life. Nobody in my family ever—ever—made fun of me or tried to finish my sentences. My mother would say, “Joey, you cannot let stuttering define you.” And because of her and others, I made sure it didn’t.

   Through hard work and determination, I beat my stutter in high school. I even spoke briefly at my graduation ceremony in 1961—the most difficult speech of my life. My fight against shyness and embarrassment at my early age has developed my ability to understand others’ feelings as Vice President of the country in public life. I still mark up all of my speeches the say way Firth’s character does in the movie, pencil-marking every line to remind myself to stop, to breathe, to pause—to beat back my stuttering as best as I can. I don’t stutter anymore, and most people who know me only late in my life are shocked that I ever did.

   By capturing exactly how a stutter feels, The King’s Speech has shown millions of people how much courage it takes for a stutterer to stand up and speak. Equally important, it has shown millions who suffer from the pain that it can be overcome, we are not alone, and with the support of those around us, our deepest fears can be conquered.

1.The writer whispered to his wife, “A stutterer wrote this screenplay”, because __________.

A. he desired to release his secret to his wife

B. he was reminded how it was as a stutterer on such occasions

C. he thought Colin Firth had a wonderful performance in the film

D. he wanted to make his wife realize why the film was so popular

2.What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 4 imply?

A. The writer would have a good fortune to get help from many people.

B. The writer should realize he had to stand up from his pain and defeat it

C. The writer could get enough confidence under his mother’s help

D. The writer must be happy that everyone in his family did not laugh at him.

3.What message is conveyed in the passage?

A. Whatever pain and fear we have, we can defeat them if we try hard.

B. The similar stories of the writer and King George VI gains great admiration.

C. The suffer we had at our early age will have a heavy influence on our future life.

D. Stuttering is such a pain for children that we should give help and encourage them.

 

Answer 1

【答案】

 

1.B

2.B

3.D

【解析】

試題分析：文章講述了作者是如何克服口吃的毛病，做到流利地講話的。在上學的時候，作者因為口吃而被同學取笑，在家人和他人的幫助以及自己的努力下，作者克服了口吃。作者在文中表達了對家人和幫助過他的人心懷感激之情。

1.電影《國王的演講》的開始部分，讓作者想起了他上學的時候。作者以此引入發生在作者自己身上的故事。再根據倒數第二段“...pencil-marking every line to remind myself to stop, to breathe, to pause—to beat back my stuttering as best as I can”可知，這部電影簡直就是作者的自傳。故選B。

2.”Joey, you cannot let stuttering define you.” 喬，你不能被口吃來定義你。也就是說，你不能成為口吃的代名詞，不能讓口吃把你打敗。應該勇敢站起來，去努力克服它。故選B。

3.根據最后一段“how much courage it takes for a stutterer to stand up and speak, ...with the support of those around us, our deepest fears can be conquered”可知，對于口吃者來說，說話需要很大的勇氣，有了周圍人的幫助，他們內心深處的恐懼才能被戰勝。作者一方面向讀者傳達了口吃者的痛苦，另一方面，也呼吁人們多關心口吃的人，給他們戰勝困難的勇氣。故選D。

考點：記敘文類短文閱讀