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 (遞送) it after school，and as Matthew was carrying it up the school steps，he tripped (絆倒)，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

【語篇解讀】　在“我”教學工作受挫的時候，馬修的出現改變了我的想法……

56．D　句意理解題。根據第一段第二句中but可知，some wonderful，serious students who would do well wherever they were in life與后面的others worked hard to push themselves to the limit是相對的，由此可知其他的一些學生需要很努力才能做好，不像前面提到的那些好學生，故選D項。

57．A　細節理解題。根據馬修的回答“Because at home no one listens to me”和該回答后面一句可知，馬修家里人太多，沒有人和他交流，故選A項。

58．C　細節理解題。根據倒數第二段中馬修媽媽的話中的“You taught him to believe in himself”可知，作者使馬修變得自信了。

59．C　推理判斷題。文章的第一段中的What gave me the idea I wanted to teach？表明作者對自己教學選擇的懷疑，再根據倒數第三段中的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，當時作者正對自己的教學感到沮喪，馬修的出現以及后來他的天真行為，改變了作者對教學的看法，使得她繼續堅持在教學崗位上，故選C項。