A
Two of the saddest words in the English language are “if only”. I live my life with the goal of never having to say those words, because they convey regret, lost opportunities, mistakes, and disappointment.
My father is famous in our family for saying, “Take the extra minute to do it right.” I always try to live by the “extra minute” rule. When my children were young and likely to cause accidents, I always thought about what I could do to avoid an “if only” moment, whether it was something minor like moving a cup full of hot coffee away from the edge of a counter, or something that required a little more work such as taping padding (衬垫) onto the sharp corners of a glass coffee table.
I don’t only avoid those “if only” moments when it comes to safety. It’s equally important to avoid “if only” in our personal relationships. We all know people who lost a loved one and regretted that they had foregone an opportunity to say “I love you” or “I forgive you.” When my father announced he was going to the eye doctor across from my office on Good Friday, I told him that it was a holiday for my company and I wouldn’t be here. But then I thought about the fact that he’s 84 years old and I realized that I shouldn’t give up an opportunity to see him. I called him and told him I had decided to go to work on my day off after all.
I know there will still be occasions when I have to say “if only” about something, but my life is definitely better because of my policy of doing everything possible to avoid that eventuality. And even though it takes an extra minute to do something right, or it occasionally takes an hour or two in my busy schedule to make a personal connection, I know that I’m doing the right thing. I’m buying myself peace of mind and that’s the best kind of insurance for my emotional well-being.
1. Which of the following is an example of the “extra minute” rule?
A. Start the car the moment everyone is seated.
B. Leave the room for a minute with the iron working.
C. Move an object out of the way before it trips someone.
D. Wait for an extra minute so that the steak tastes better.
2. The author decided to go to her office on Good Friday to ______.
A. meet her father who was already an old man
B. keep her appointment with the eye doctor
C. join in the holiday celebration of the company
D. finish her work before the deadline approached
3. The underlined word “foregone” in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to ______.
A. wasted B. lacked
C. avoided D. abandoned
4. What is the best title for the passage?
A. The Two Saddest Words. B. The Emotional Well-being.
C. The Most Useful Rule. D. The Peace of Mind.
【答案】1. C 2. A 3. D 4. A
【解析】
这是一篇记叙文。英语中最悲哀的两个词是“if only”。它们传达的是遗憾、失去的机会、错误和失望。作者在日常生活中，通过“extra rule”来避免以后说“if only”的情况。
【1题详解】
推理判断题。根据第二段中的“My father is famous in our family for saying, “Take the extra minute to do it right.” I always try to live by the “extra minute” rule. When my children were young and likely to cause accidents, I always thought about what I could do to avoid an “if only” moment,”可知，“extra minute” rule指的是多花一分钟，把事情做好，做对，从而避免以后可能出现的遗憾、失望或者后悔。比如在作者孩子小的时候总是考虑如何做来避免可能的意外事故，以避免以后的后悔或遗憾。由此结合选项可知，C选项提到的“在绊倒别人之前把障碍物挪走”的做法就可以避免不好后果的产生，从而可以避免后悔或遗憾。故C选项正确。
【2题详解】
细节理解题。根据第三段中的“When my father announced he was going to the eye doctor across from my office on Good Friday, I told him that it was a holiday for my company and I wouldn’t be here. But then I thought about the fact that he’s 84 years old and I realized that I shouldn’t give up an opportunity to see him. I called him and told him I had decided to go to work on my day off after all”可知，作者的父亲说周五那天去看眼科医生的时候会经过作者的办公室，作者告诉父亲自己那天公司放假，不在那儿。但是当作者想到父亲84了，自己不应该放弃每一次见父亲的机会，于是作者改口说那天上班。由此可知，作者周五上班的原因是见已经84岁的父亲。故A选项正确。
【3题详解】
词义猜测题。第三段中的“It’s equally important to avoid “if only” in our personal relationships. We all know people who lost a loved one and regretted that they had foregone an opportunity to say “I love you” or “I forgive you.””提到：我们在个人关系中应该避免“if only”的情况（if only意为“要是……就好了”，往往表示一种遗憾、后悔等情绪）。下面提到的“lost a loved one and regretted that they had foregone an opportunity to say “I love you” or “I forgive you”就是一个例子。由此可以推知，很多人失去了所爱的人之后才后悔他们没有在对方活着的时候说“I love you”或“I forgive you”。即：这些人放弃了对对方说这些话的机会。故画线单词意为“放弃”。故D选项正确。
【4题详解】
标题归纳题。作者在第一段提到：英语中最悲哀的两个词就是“if only”。在下文中，作者以自己的生活经历为例，叙述了自己通过“extra minute”来避免以后说“if only”的情况。在整篇文章中，if only贯穿整篇文章。故整篇文章都是以“if only”展开的。故它适合做文章标题。故A选项正确。
