A
(2019·重庆一中月考)As years went by, I realised that one of the biggest problems of these adults was worry. A large majority of my students were businessmen, executives, salesmen, engineers, accountants: a cross section of all the trades and professions—and most of them had problems！There were women in the classes—business women and housewives. They, too, had problems! Clearly, what I needed was a textbook on how to conquer worry—so again I tried to find one.
I went to New York’s great public library at Fifth Avenue and Fortysecond Street and discovered to my astonishment that this library had only twentytwo books listed under the title WORRY. I also noticed, to my amusement, that it had one hundred and eightynine books listed under WORMS. Almost nine times as many books about worms as about worry! Surprising, isn’t it? Since worry is one of the biggest problems facing mankind, you would think, wouldn’t you, that every high school and college in the land would give a course on “How to Stop Worrying”？
Yet, if there is even one course on that subject in any college in the land, I have never heard of it. No wonder David Seabury said in his book How to Worry Successfully：“We grow up with as little preparation for the pressures of experience as a bookworm asked to do a ballet(芭蕾舞)．”
The result? More than half of our hospital beds are occupied by people with nervous and emotional troubles.
I looked over those twentytwo books on worry, reposing(靠) on the shelves of the New York Public Library. In addition, I purchased all the books on worry I could find; yet I couldn’t discover even one that I could use as a text in my course for adults. So I decided to write one by myself.
语篇导读 本文讲述了作者去图书馆找有关焦虑的书，来帮助学生，但没找到合适的书，决定自己写书的故事。
1．What made the writer realise one of the adults’ biggest problems?
A．His wide reading. B．His practical survey.
C．His scientific research. D．His students’ real situation.
解析 D 细节理解题。根据第一段可知，作者学生的现实情况让作者了解到成年人普遍存在的焦虑问题非常严重，故选D项。
2．The writer went to New York’s great public library with the purpose of ________.
A．getting a book for his teaching
B．finding some material for his new book
C．obtaining some information for his research
D．borrowing some books on worms for his students
解析 A 细节理解题。根据第一段最后一句和最后一段第二句可知，作者去纽约影响力较大的公共图书馆的目的是找一本合适的教材，故选A项。
3．What do David Seabury’s words in Paragraph 3 show?
A．Worry is extremely common.
B．We lack knowledge of worry.
C．We show no interest in worry.
D．Worry can hardly be controlled.
解析 B 推理判断题。David Seabury的这句话所表达的意思是：我们对生活的压力毫无准备，(面对压力)就像一个书呆子去跳芭蕾舞一样无助。结合语境可知，它表明我们缺乏应对焦虑的相关知识，故选B项。
4．What’s the writer’s purpose of writing the passage?
A．To tell us how to conquer worry.
B．To warn us of the possible danger of worry.
C．To persuade us to get rid of worry.
D．To explain why he wanted to write a book on worry.
解析 D 写作意图题。根据最后一段可知，作者写这篇文章的目的是说明他为什么要写一本有关焦虑的书，故选D项。
