Question

The weather was terrible that night.The summer thunderstorm had knocked out the power.Luckily，there was enough candlelight flickering on the kitchen table.With the  candlelight，I could see the card I was writing to my husband’s cousins in Finland.

Dear Heli and Risto，

You are on my mind tonight because we are using the candles you gave us when you visited us two years ago.There was a horrible summer thunderstorm this evening and the power went out，and your candles were just what we needed.They have lit our dinnertime，the bedrooms and now I am sitting by one in the kitchen...

What I didn’t say to Heli and Risto is that we never burned the candles before because they，well，smell like a campfire.And so they stood in iron candlesticks until we needed them.

I’m so thankful that we had candles on hand that dark night.And I’m equally as thankful that I had a beautiful card on hand，too，or I would have let the opportunity to keep in touch with far­away family escape.It would have turned into another one of those moments when the thought of sending a card crossed my mind but never actually happened.

The candle burned slowly.After I finished my card to Finland，I enjoyed looking through the rest of my “Someone Cares” greeting cards.The air was fresh and cool，and I had cards and enough light to write.I found a birthday card for my nephew’s 10th birthday，a thinking­of­you card for my aunt，and a fun greeting card for an old friend and I began writing.Candles and cards—two things that make a thunderstorm into the perfect storm.

56．Why did the writer light the two candles that night?

A．Because she thought of her husband’s cousins.

B．Because she wanted to add some fun to her life.

C．Because she wanted to enjoy another kind of lifestyle.

D．Because there was no electricity due to the thunderstorm.

57．By saying “smell like a campfire”，the writer wants to show________.

A．she often went to a campfire alone

B．she liked the smell of a campfire very much

C．she didn’t like the smell of the burning candles

D．she didn’t need to burn the candles in the past

58．In the past，when the writer wanted to send a card，________.

A．she often didn’t put it into practice

B．she often immediately wrote one

C．she often didn’t know what to write

D．she usually hesitated for a long time

59．Lighting the candles in the stormy night made the writer________.

A．know who was the most important person to her

B．know how to make her boring life interesting

C．value her relatives and friends more

D．believe everyone could be happy

                                  

Answer 1

一个停电的暴风雨夜里，作者点燃了两根别人送的蜡烛，她写了几张“有人关心”的卡片，觉得这真是一场“完美的暴风雨”。

56．D　细节理解题。根据第一段的The summer thunderstorm had knocked out the power.可知作者那晚点燃了蜡烛，是因为那晚因暴风雨袭击停电了。

57．C　推理判断题。根据第三段的we never burned the candles before，可知作者从来没有用过那些蜡烛，是因为那些蜡烛闻起来像篝火，作者应该是不喜欢这个味道才不用那些蜡烛的。   

58．A　细节理解题。根据第四段的the thought of sending a card crossed my mind but never actually happened可知作者以前有送卡片的想法，但往往没有付诸实际行动。

59．C　推理判断题。作者以前只是想着要给别人寄送卡片但却没有寄，但是在这个因为暴风雨停电而需要点蜡烛的晚上，她想起了送她蜡烛的亲戚，因此写了好几张“有人关心”的卡片寄给她的亲戚朋友，她比以前更在意她的亲戚跟朋友了，故选C。