One day when I was 12, my mother gave me an order: I was to walk to the public library, and borrow at least one book for the summer. This was one more weapon for her to defeat my strange problem - inability to read.
In the library, I found my way into the "Children's Room." I sat down on the floor and pulled a few books off the shelf at random. The cover of a book caught my eye. It presented a picture of a beagle. I had recently had a beagle, the first and only animal companion I ever had as a child. He was my secret sharer, but one morning, he was gone, given away to someone who had the space and the money to care for him. I never forgot my beagle.
There on the book's cover was a beagle which looked identical(相同的) to my dog. I ran my fingers over the picture of the dog on the cover. My eyes ran across the title, Amos, the Beagle with a Plan. Unknowingly, I had read the title. Without opening the book, I borrowed it from the library for the summer.
Under the shade of a bush, I started to read about Amos. I read very, very slowly with difficulty. Though pages were turned slowly, I got the main idea of the story about a dog who, like mine, had been separated from his family and who finally found his way back home. That dog was my dog, and I was the little boy in the book. At the end of the story, my mind continued the final scene of reunion, on and on, until my own lost dog and I were, in my mind, running together.
My mother's call returned me to the real world. I suddenly realized something: I had read a book, and I had loved reading that book. Everyone knew I could not read. But I had read it. Books could be incredibly wonderful and I was going to read them.
I never told my mother about my "miraculous" (奇迹般地) experience that summer, but she saw a slow but remarkable improvement in my classroom performance during the next year. And years later, she was proud that her son had read thousands of books, was awarded a PhD in literature, and authored his own books, articles, poetry and fiction. The power of the words has held.
| 1. |
The author's mother told him to borrow a book in order to.
| A. |
encourage him to do more walking
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| B. |
let him spend a meaningful summer
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| C. |
help cure him of his reading problem
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| D. |
make him learn more about weapons
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| 2. |
The book caught the author's eye because.
| A. |
it contained pretty pictures of animals
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| B. |
it reminded him of his own dog
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| C. |
he found its title easy to understand
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| D. |
he liked children's stories very much
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| 3. |
Why could the author manage to read the book through?
| A. |
He was forced by his mother to read it.
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| B. |
He identified with the story in the book.
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| C. |
The book told the story of his pet dog.
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| D. |
The happy ending of the story attracted him.
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| 4. |
What can be inferred from the last paragraph?
| A. |
The author has become a successful writer.
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| B. |
The author's mother read the same book.
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| C. |
The author's mother rewarded him with books.
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| D. |
The author has had happy summers ever since.
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| 5. |
Which one could be the best title of the passage?
| A. |
The Charm of a Book
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| B. |
Mum's Strict Order
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| C. |
Reunion with My Beagle
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| D. |
My Passion for Reading
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