A
I have lived in America's countryside for nine years, first in Michigan, where I was getting my university degree; then in central Illinois; and now in Indiana, where I am a university teacher. There were a few things I enjoyed complaining (抱怨) about in my living area. I'm a vegetarian (素食者), so there's nowhere to go out for a nice dinner without taking a 50mile drive. I'm black, so there's nowhere to get my hair done without another 50mile drive.
I repeated these complaints to my parents and my friends. Sometimes it seemed like complaints were the common language in my circle. We all were dissatisfied with something. Back in Illinois, my friends complained about the train to Chicago and how it's never on time; my friends in bigger cities complained about the expensive rent and strange smells on the subway.
Complaining allows us to accept the imperfect without having to take action. We all have great ideas about what life would be like if only we had this, or did that, or lived there. Perhaps complaining helps bridge the large space between these perfect selves and reality.
There's also this: I really didn't want to change most of the things I complained about. Complaining was helpful on those days when happiness required too much energy. But it also made me lose sight of something. I was born and grew up in Nebraska and have lived most of my life in one of the plains states. When I went to the coasts, I was surprised by how unattractive bigcity living can be.
Complaining may offer relief, but so does acceptance. There is no perfect place. There is no perfect life. There will always be something to complain about. By focusing on (关注) my complaints, I risked missing out on important moments of happiness. Now, I look up into the night sky and see all the stars. And I know that I have nothing to complain about.
语篇解读：本文是议论文。作者曾是一个爱抱怨的人，然而她最终意识到抱怨不会带来任何改变还会使她错过许多美好的时刻。
21.What do we know about the author?
A．She likes driving in the countryside.
B．She is very picky about her hair.
C．She is a welleducated woman.
D．She often goes out for dinner.
解析：选C 细节理解题。根据第一段中的“I was getting my university degree”和“I am a university teacher”可知，作者是一个受过良好教育的人。
22．After complaining, the author probably ________.
A．had a deeper understanding of reality
B．tried to make herself more perfect
C．got sadder about her situation
D．remained unchanged
解析：选D 推理判断题。根据第三段中的“Complaining allows us to accept the imperfect without having to take action.”和第四段中的“I really didn't want to change most of the things I complained about”可推测，作者抱怨过后基本不作出任何改变。
23．What does the underlined word “something” in Paragraph 4 refer to?
A．The fact that the author liked the countryside.
B．The difference between small and big cities.
C．The difficulty in finding happiness.
D．The purpose of the author's life.
解析：选A 代词指代题。画线词something指的是后面的两句“I was born and ... living can be”。由此可知，作者想表达她所忽略的事情是：她生养于有着大片平原的内布拉斯加，并且一点儿都不羡慕大城市的生活，即：她曾经非常喜爱乡村生活的事实。
24．The author writes the text mainly to ________.
A．make her complaints
B．tell us to stop complaining
C．compare different lifestyles
D．tell us life is the same anywhere
解析：选B 写作意图题。根据最后一段特别是最后一句“I know that I have nothing to complain about”可知，作者写作此文旨在告诉我们应该停止抱怨生活，并且希望我们可以更多地关注生活中的美好。
