A
“What's your ‘Thing of the Day’?” I asked my fourteenyearold son as he got a piece of potato onto his plate.This is a question our four kids and whichever friends are staying for supper expect to be asked each evening at suppertime.Usually, it's like this, “Uhh ...Umm ...We had pizza for lunch.” And then I have to refuse the response and ask for something meaningful — either something he learned or something that happened with his friends.
But, this day, my son surprised me as he went into great detail about how he had been honestly wronged by a couple of classmates and laughed at in front of the class.I asked more questions and learned that the teachers were aware of the situation.The issue had been dealt with as much as the teachers and staff were able to.It was really just a matter of kids being mean and deciding to play a trick on someone.
I thought about the situation all night.I vacillated between meeting the teachers, meeting the parents of the classmates, and not doing anything since the story had been told to me in a matteroffact way — not overly excitedly.
I waited until the next day after school.On the car ride home, I questioned my son what about today after yesterday's situation.My son was surprised that I brought it up again.“What? No, it's over, Mom.They're my friends.They were just being stupid.They apologized.Forgive and forget, you know? We're all good.”
I was worried that perhaps he was trying to hide his concern or sadness about the thing.But as I watched him over the next days and weeks, everything seemed “normal”.Wouldn't it be great if everyone could live the “forgive and forget” way of life?
语篇解读:本文是一篇记叙文。作者的儿子告诉她自己被同学嘲笑,这让作者整夜失眠。第二天放学后,作者再次问起这件事,儿子却说已经解决了。作者也从这件事中学到了宽恕和遗忘是好事。
1.How are children's usual answers to the author's daily question?
A.Serious. B.Worrisome.
C.Meaningless. D.Detailed.
解析:选C 推理判断题。根据第一段中Usually, it's like this, “Uhh ...Umm ... We had pizza for lunch.”And then I have to refuse the response and ask for something meaningful — either something he learned or something that happened with his friends.可知,作者在听完孩子的回答后都会拒绝这个回答,要求一些有意义的事情——要么是他学到的东西,要么是他和朋友们发生的事情。由此可推知,孩子们对作者的日常问题的回答通常都是无意义的,故选C项。
2.Why was the author sleepless that night?
A.Her son was made fun of unkindly.
B.Her son invited his friends to dinner.
C.Her son was punished by his teacher.
D.Her son lied to her about his mistake.
解析:选A 细节理解题。根据第二段中But, this day, my son surprised me as he went into great detail about how he had been honestly wronged by a couple of classmates and laughed at in front of the class.及第三段中I thought about the situation all night.可知,作者那天晚上失眠了是因为她的儿子被同学不友善地取笑了,故选A项。
3.What does the underlined word “vacillated” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?
A.Give suggestions. B.Make sense.
C.Persuade oneself. D.Be undecided.
解析:选D 词义猜测题。根据画线单词后的between meeting the teachers, meeting the parents of the classmates, and not doing anything可知,作者在去见老师,去见同学的家长,还是什么也不做之间犹豫不决。由此可知,画线词词义为“犹豫不决”,故选D项。
4.What did the author learn from the whole story?
A.It is good to forgive and forget.
B.It is necessary to watch her son.
C.It is difficult to understand children.
D.It is surprising for her son to apologize.
解析:选A 推理判断题。根据最后一段最后一句可推知,作者从整个故事中学到了宽恕和遗忘是好事,故选A项。