Question

Bringing a giraffe into the world is a tall order. A baby giraffe is born 10 feet high and usually lands on its back. Within seconds it rolls over its legs under its body. Then the mother giraffe rudely introduces its children to the reality(現實) of life.

In his book, A View from the Zoo, Gary Richmond describes how a new-born giraffe learns its first lesson.

The mother giraffe lowers her head long enough to take a quick look. Then she puts herself directly over her child. She waits for about a minute, and then she does the most unreasonable(不合情理的) thing. She throws her long leg and kicks her baby, so that it’s sent sprawling(四腳朝天).

When it doesn’t get up, the process is repeated again and again. The struggle to rise is important. As the baby giraffe grows tired, the mother kicks it again. Finally, it stands for the first time on its shaky(搖晃的) legs. Then the mother giraffe kicks it off its feet again. Why? She wants it to remember how it got up. In the wild, a baby giraffe must be able to get up as quickly as possible to stay with its group, where there’s safety.

Another writer named Irving Stone understood this. He spent a lifetime studying greatness, writing stories about such men as Michelangelo, Vincent van Gogh, Sigmund Freud, and Charles Darwin.

Stone was once asked if he had found something that runs through the lives of all these great people. He said, “I write about people who sometime in their life have a dream of something. They’re beaten over the head, knocked down and for years they get nowhere. But every time they stand up again. And at the end of their lives they’ve realized some small parts of what they set out(著手) to do .”

1.What does the underlined part “a tall order” in Paragraph 1 mean?

A．A happy thing.                          B．A difficult task.

C．A big dream.                           D．A beautiful scene.

2.What does the book A View from the Zoo talk about?

A．A new-born giraffe’s first lesson.

B．A mother giraffe’s story.

C．The lives of some great people.

D．The way for a giraffe to stand up.

3.Why were some great people mentioned in the passage?

A．Because they all worked hard.

B．Because they all liked to read some special stories.

C．Because they were born with some illnesses.

D．Because they were similar to giraffes in some ways.

4.Which of the following statements is True according to the passage?

A．This passage is a description of giraffes’ living habits.

B．Baby giraffes can’t stand up until three months old.

C．Irving Stone spent a lifetime studying and writing stories about great people.

D．The great people can’t stand up after they’re knocked down for years.

5.What would be the best title for the passage?

A．How to Raise a Baby Giraffe.

B．Learning to Get Back Up.

C．Stories about the great people.

D．A Mother Giraffe and Its Baby Giraffe.

 

Answer 1

【答案】

1.B

2.A

3.D

4.C

5.B

【解析】

試題分析：本文講述了Gary Richmond通過一本書講述了長頸鹿媽媽給剛出生對的小長頸鹿上的第一課，并聯系一些名人的故事進行了論述。

1.根據下文中長頸鹿媽媽對待剛出生的子女的態度可知，長頸鹿的成長是一個艱難的過程，而訓練自己的子女，讓其快速適應生存環境，是一個困難的任務。故本處 a tall order的意思就是一項困難的任務的意思。所以本題選B。

2.根據In his book, A View from the Zoo, Gary Richmond describes how a new-born giraffe learns its first lesson.可知，本書就是關于新出生的長頸鹿的第一課。所以本題選A。

3.通過閱讀全文，我們發現文中提到的名人與長頸鹿在某些方面非常相似。所以本題選D。

4.根據Stone was once asked if he had found something that runs through the lives of all these great people.可知，本題應該選C。

5.通過閱讀全文可知，本文主要講述了長頸鹿出生后上的第一課，學會如何站起來，并聯系名人的事跡進行論述。選項中只有B比較符合題意，其他選項比較片面。所以本題選B。

考點：本題考查人生百味類。

點評：閱讀本文時應注意長頸鹿媽媽不斷將小長頸鹿踢到的原因，進而理解一些名人的人生經歷，真正體會作者寫文章的意圖。本文的內容有一定的難度，需要反復閱讀，并結合后面的事例加以理解。總之，本題中的幾個小題均有一定的難度，需要反復加以考量。