A
As long as I can remember, I've always loved to draw.But my interest in drawing wasn't encouraged very much.Growing up in the 1950s, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, boys were supposed to be athletic.Certain peer pressures encouraged little fingers to learn how to hold footballs rather than crayons.
My early love for drawing developed into a love for telling stories through pictures.Stories began as fragments (片段) of pictures in my mind.I created a story by posing questions to myself.I called it the “what if” and “what then” approach.For example, for my book The Polar Express, I started out by thinking “What if a boy gets on that train? Where does he go？”
From the time I come up with the idea, write and illustrate the book, and deliver it to the printer, it takes about seven months.Firstly, I begin thinking of the idea.Then I imagine the pictures and the story.A good picture book should have events that are visually arresting.I first consider scenes that are exciting to look at and then my challenge is to weave a story around those pictures.The next step is putting the illustrations and story down on paper.
When you first look at my illustrations, you see ordinary, everyday things.But if you look closer, things might not seem quite so simple.When I'm writing a book, I always try to create something strange or puzzling in each picture.By using artistic strategies, I can give the drawing a kind of mysterious quality.
All of my books are picture books, so they are generally thought of as books for children.But when I make them, I think of the books as being for everybody—for people of all ages.When I was a kid, I had no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up, but now I'm really glad I became an artist and a storyteller.
文章大意： 在作者小时候，当地的男孩子通常都擅长运动，可是作者却选择了自己喜爱的绘画，并最终成为著名的插画作家。
1．Why does the author mention The Polar Express？__D__
A．To tell us an interesting story.
B．To introduce his famous work.
C．To make up a sentence with “what if”．
D．To show us how he designed his book.
解析： 推理判断题。根据第二段最后两句可以推知，作者拿自己的作品The Polar Express举例是为了说明他在创作中是如何构思情节的。
2．The underlined word “arresting” in Paragraph 3 probably means “__B__”．
A．frightening B．interesting
C．satisfying D．worrying
解析：词义猜测题。根据画线词所在句中的“A good picture book...”可推知，一本好的插画书应该令人感觉很有趣，故该词的意思是“有趣的”。
3．What would be the best title for this passage？__A__
A．Telling stories by drawing
B．“What if” and “what then”
C．How to tell interesting stories
D．Working as a famous storyteller
解析：标题归纳题。本文作者以自传的方式介绍了自己作为一位插画作家的成长历程。作者通过绘画来讲述故事，让自己感到愉悦和自豪，故A项为最佳标题。
