A
The Brown Bear
My wife Laura and I were on the beach, with three of our children, taking pictures of shore birds near our home in Alaska when we spotted a bear. The bear was thin and small, moving aimlessly.
Just a few minutes later, I heard my daughter shouting, “Dad! The bear is right behind us! ” An aggressive(好斗的)bear will usually rush forward to frighten away its enemy but would suddenly stop at the last minute. This one was silent and its ears pinned back—the sign of an animal that is going in for the kill. And it was a cold April day. The bear behaved abnormally, probably because of hunger.
I held my camera tripod (三脚架) in both hands to form a barrier as the bear rushed into me. Its huge head was level with my chest and shoulders, and the tripod stuck across its mouth. It bit down and I found myself supporting its weight. I knew I would not be able to hold it for long.
Even so, this was a fight I had to win: I was all that stood between the bear and my family, who would stand little chance of running faster than a brown bear.
The bear hit at the camera, cutting it off the tripod. I raised my left arm to protect my face; the beast held tightly on the tripod and pressed it into my side. My arm could not move, and I sensed that my bones were going to break.
Drawing back my free hand, I struck the bear as hard as I could for five to six times. The bear opened its mouth and I grasped its fur, trying to push it away. I was actually wrestling (扭打) with the bear at this point. Then, as suddenly as it had begun, the fight ended. The bear moved back toward the forest, before returning for another attack—the first time I felt panic.
Obviously satisfied that we caused no further threat, the bear moved off, destroying a fence as it went. My arm was injured, but the outcome for us could hardly have been better. I’m proud that my family remained clear-headed when panic could have led to a very different outcome.
【语篇概述】本篇是一篇记叙文。文章介绍的是我和全家人在海滩上拍照时突遇一头棕熊的遭遇。作者和棕熊进行了搏斗, 最后棕熊感觉他们没有威胁时, 返回了森林。
1. The brown bear approached the family in order to ________.
A. catch shore birds B. start an attack
C. protect the children D. set up a barrier for itself
【解析】选B。细节理解题。A项为无效信息, 因为文中没有提到棕熊捕杀鸟类的事情; B项是由“An aggressive bear will usually rush forward to frighten away its enemy”推测而来, 因此是正确答案; C项为错误答案, 棕熊袭击了他们, 而不是来保护作者的孩子们; D项是倒置了文中的内容, 文中提到作者提起照相机的三脚架作为保护自己和孩子的屏障, 而不是棕熊建立屏障。
2. The bear finally went away after it ________.
A. felt safe B. got injured
C. found some food D. took away the camera
【解析】选A。细节理解题。根据文章最后一段中“Obviously satisfied that we caused no further threat”可知, 棕熊是因为没了威胁才走的, 也就是感到了安全。B、C、D选项都是文中没有提到的信息, 为无效信息。
3. The writer and his family survived mainly due to their ________.
A. pride B. patience
C. calmness D. cautiousness
【解析】选C。细节推理题。根据文章最后一段内容“I’m proud that my family remained clear-headed when panic could have led to a very different outcome”可知, 他们全家保持了头脑清晰(clear-headed), 若不如此, 可能结果迥异了。所以, 他们全家无虞全仰仗他们的冷静(calmness)。cautiousness小心, 谨慎, 与文章内容无关。
