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(2020·北京模拟)
Preschool girl lifts old man’s spirits
When Tara Wood brought her daughter to a grocery store to buy the four-year-old some cupcakes, she had no idea that would be a life-changing experience.
As Tara pushed her daughter Norah around the store last month, she passed an old man who was by himself. The old man looked cold, until Norah shouted to him, “Hi! It’s my birthday today! ” The man stopped and his demeanor changed from distant and serious to warm and friendly. “How old are you today? ” the man asked. After some time talking together, Norah asked her mom to take a picture of her with her new friend “Mr Dan”, Dan Peterson, 82. They hugged and after ten minutes went their separate ways. That could have been the end of the story. But it is actually the beginning of a special relationship.
Tara posted the picture of her daughter and Mr Dan on Facebook and someone who recognized him reached out to her with his contact information. It turned out that Mr Dan’s wife died in March and he had been suffering from depression and anxiety ever since. The person on Facebook told Tara that it was the first time they had seen Mr Dan smile since the death of his wife. Knowing that, Tara contacted Mr Dan, and ever since Norah and the 82-year-old have developed a friendship unlike any other. “She has shown me a depth of love, a depth that I didn’t know existed, ” Mr Dan told the reporter.
Mr Dan told Tara that before meeting Norah, he hadn’t had one night of uninterrupted sleep. Anxiety kept him up at all hours and made him restless. After meeting Norah, he said he now sleeps soundly. For Mr Dan’s 82nd birthday on October 20, the mother and the daughter brought balloons and presents—and, of course, cupcakes. Mr Dan will also spend a day around Thanksgiving with Norah and her family. “If you don’t take the time to notice people, you will never know how you can positively impact a life, ” Tara Wood said.
【文章大意】本文主要讲述了一对母女给82岁的老人Dan Peterson 带来快乐的事情。
1. Mr Dan looked cold because .
A. he felt lonely
B. he disliked little kids
C. nobody had hugged him
D. he knew little about Norah
【解析】选A。推理判断题。根据第三段可知, Mr Dan因为孤独, 所以看起来冷漠。故选A。
2. The underlined word “demeanor” in Paragraph 2 probably means .
A. words B. body
C. thoughts D. attitude
【解析】选D。词义猜测题。根据本句中的distant (冷漠的), serious(严肃的), warm(温和的) , friendly(友好的)可知, 这些都是表达感情和态度的词, 所以此处指他的态度从冷漠严肃变得温和友好了。demeanor表示“行为, 态度”。故选D。
3. How did Tara know more about Mr Dan?
A. From a news reporter.
B. From a stranger.
C. From a shop assistant.
D. From his neighbor.
【解析】选B。推理判断题。由第三段可知, Tara 在Facebook上发了一张她的女儿和Mr Dan的照片后, Facebook上了解Mr Dan的一个人联系了Tara, 告诉了她Mr Dan的更多事情, 由此可知是一位陌生人让Tara对Mr Dan有了更多了解。故选B。
4. What can we learn from the story?
A. Giving makes a real difference.
B. It is important to respect each other.
C. We should not judge a person at first sight.
D. Good things will happen if one keeps trying.
【解析】选A。推理判断题。根据最后一段Tara 说的话If you don’t take the time to notice people, you will never know how you can positively impact a life可知, 给予他人帮助会给他人带来积极的影响, 这也是我们从这个故事中学到的。故选A。
【知识拓展】佳词积累
1. grocery store 杂货店
2. distant adj. 冷漠的; 远的
3. separate adj. 分开的, 各自的
4. turn out 结果
5. contact vt. 联系
