Question

On my first day of teaching，I found that I spent 85 percent of my energy disciplining and 15 percent teaching knowledge.Of course I had some wonderful，serious students who would do well wherever they were in life，but others worked hard to push themselves to the limit (限度)．At night I went home exhausted，often near tears.What gave me the idea I wanted to teach?

And then there was Matthew.

After school Matthew would come into my classroom to dust erasers or empty the wastepaper basket.

“Why do you come in to visit me？” I asked him one night.

“Because at home no one listens to me，” was his reply.Later I found out that there were eleven children in his family，with Matthew near the middle.

One time when he came to see me，he said，“Miss Ausmus，the kids are saying that you and Mr D．like each other.”

“Matthew，Mr D．is a nice man and we both teach some of the same students.He is not my boyfriend，and it’s not something the children should be talking about anyway.”

Another time，he said，“Will you wait for me so I can marry you when I grow up？”

“Sorry，Matthew，but that won’t work，” I answered in a gentle way.

When my birthday arrived，his mother made me a cake.She delivered (递送) it after school，and as Matthew was carrying it up the school steps，he tripped (绊倒)，dropping the cake.I found him in tears.I told him that bringing me a cake was very，very special，whether I was able to eat it or not.

After my second year of teaching，I said “goodbye” to Matthew and his family.

Years passed and in 1992，I went back to the little town to visit.Matthew’s parents still lived in the same house.His mother greeted me warmly.“Janet，”she said，“Thanks for all the time you spent encouraging Matthew.You taught him to believe in himself.You are the reason he went to college.”

I had made a difference in the life of a young boy.But I wonder...did Matthew ever know the difference he made in mine?

56．By saying “others worked hard to push themselves to the limit”，the author meant other students________.

A．were forced to challenge themselves

B．made efforts to challenge their classmates

C．needed to be encouraged to learn

D．did everything they could to do well

57．Why did Matthew visit the author after school?

A．Because he had less communication at home.

B．Because he wondered if she liked Mr D.

C．Because he decided to marry her when he grew up.

D．Because he was going to celebrate her birthday.

58．Under the influence of the author，Matthew became________.

A．honest                                                B．sincere 

C．confident                                            D．hard­working

59．What difference did Matthew make to the author?

A．He encouraged her to win Mr D．’s love.

B．He made her become enthusiastic about disciplining.

C．He gave her the courage to continue teaching.

D．He got her to understand what was true love.

Answer 1

【语篇解读】　在“我”教学工作受挫的时候，马修的出现改变了我的想法……

56．D　句意理解题。根据第一段第二句中but可知，some wonderful，serious students who would do well wherever they were in life与后面的others worked hard to push themselves to the limit是相对的，由此可知其他的一些学生需要很努力才能做好，不像前面提到的那些好学生，故选D项。

57．A　细节理解题。根据马修的回答“Because at home no one listens to me”和该回答后面一句可知，马修家里人太多，没有人和他交流，故选A项。

58．C　细节理解题。根据倒数第二段中马修妈妈的话中的“You taught him to believe in himself”可知，作者使马修变得自信了。

59．C　推理判断题。文章的第一段中的What gave me the idea I wanted to teach？表明作者对自己教学选择的怀疑，再根据倒数第三段中的After my second year of teaching以及最后一段中的did Matthew ever know the difference he made in mine？可知，当时作者正对自己的教学感到沮丧，马修的出现以及后来他的天真行为，改变了作者对教学的看法，使得她继续坚持在教学岗位上，故选C项。