My mother grew up in a small coal mining town in southwest Iowa.My grandfather once told me that she knew no stranger and considered everyone in that community her friend.That attitude continued wherever she lived for the rest of her life.
As a young girl, I felt embarrassed and cringed(畏缩) every time my mother addressed strangers in the grocery store or on the city bus.She talked to everyone and offered a smile.
What really sold me on Mom’s approach to life was her experience on the senior bus, a story I’ve repeated to others many times.The weeks I could not be there, she used this lowcost transportation to the grocery store.After her first trip, I asked her how it went.
“Ha！”she said, “I got on that bus and what did I see？Thirteen little old ladies and one old man, and not one word was spoken.”
I wondered how long it would be until the somberness(忧郁的氛围) on that bus would change.On my next visit, Mom mentioned the ladies on the bus and something one of them had told her.
“Oh, are you talking with them now？” I asked.
“Of course, ”she said.“One day I climbed up the steps of the bus and before I looked for a seat, I gave them a big smile and I said, ‘Isn’t it a wonderful day？’ I noticed a few shy smiles.”
Mom didn’t give up.She greeted them all each time she got on the bus and before long, the whole group was laughing and talking to one another.The bus became more than just transportation.
She’s been gone for ten years but I’ve carried on her recipe for life.I smile at people as I walk by and often begin a conversation in the checkout line.Silent, solemn(严肃的) people respond with smiles of their own and a bit of chatter.All it takes is for one person to initiate(发起) the smile or greeting.It was I who had done the smiling first and all those people had responded.My mother didn’t lecture but taught me by example.She’d given me a recipe for life.
【解题导语】 本文主要讲述了作者的母亲积极乐观的人生态度对作者的影响。
1．How did the writer’s mother break the silence on that senior bus?
A．By telling the passengers some jokes.
B．By giving each one of the passengers a gift.
C．By greeting and smiling at all the passengers.
D．By asking the passengers some difficult questions.
C 解析：细节理解题。根据第七段中的“I gave them a big smile”可知，母亲在老年巴士上是通过对车上所有的乘客微笑来打破沉默的，故选C。
2．What does the underlined phrase “sold me on” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?
A．Helped me find.
B．Persuaded me to accept.
C．Forced me to be against.
D．Encouraged me to give up.
B 解析：词义猜测题。根据文中第二段可知，作者刚开始是感到尴尬和畏缩的，根据最后一段的前两句可推知，作者接受了母亲的人生态度并开始向他人展示这种人生态度，故此处sold me on是指作者“被劝服并接受”。
3．What can we infer from the passage?
A．The writer’s mother liked going shopping.
B．The writer’s mother used to be a good teacher.
C．The writer didn’t like her mother when she was young.
D．The writer once doubted her mother’s approach to life.
D 解析：推理判断题。根据第二段中作者和母亲态度的对比以及第五段的第一句可推知，作者之前对母亲的生活态度是有所质疑的，故选D项。
4．The writer wrote this passage in order to ．
A．change the behavior and the thinking of its readers towards making friends
B．analyze why people don’t like communicating with each other in public places
C．convince people that it is important to know how to communicate with strangers
D．encourage people to break the barrier to communication and start conversations bravely
D 解析：写作意图题。根据文章的整体内容可知，母亲通过经常对他人微笑从而实现与他人的沟通，创造了一种和谐的交流氛围，作者由此受益。由此可推知，本文的目的在于呼吁人们打破沟通的障碍，像作者的母亲一样勇敢地和他人交流，故选D。
