A
When I was about 12, I had an enemy, a girl who liked to point out my shortcomings． Week by week her list grew: I was very thin, I wasn’t a good student, I talked too much, I was too proud, and so on． I tried to hear all this as long as I could． At last, I became very angry． I ran to my father with tears in my eyes．
He listened to me quietly, then he asked． “Are the things she says true or not? Janet, didn’t you ever wonder what you’re really like? Well, you now have that girl’s opinion． Go and make a list of everything she said and mark the points that are true． Pay no attention to the other things she said．”
I did as he told me． To my great surprise, I discovered that about half the things were true． Some of them I couldn’t change (like being very thin), but a good number I could—and suddenly I wanted to change． For the first time I went to a fairly clear picture of myself．
I brought the list back to Daddy． He refused to take it． “That’s just for you，” he said． “You know better than anyone else the truth about yourself． But you have to learn to listen, not just close your ears in anger and feeling hurt． When someone said about you is true, you’ll find it will be of help to you． Our world is full of people who think they know your flaws． Don’t shut your ears． Listen to them all, but hear the truth and do what you know is the right thing to do．”
Daddy’s advice has returned to me at many important moments． In my life, I’ve never had a better piece of advice．
【解题导语】 作者被一个女孩说自己的缺点，那一天她哭着去找爸爸，爸爸让她敢于面对自己的缺点。
1．What did the father do after he had heard his daughter’s complaint?
A．He told her not to pay any attention to what her “enemy” had said．
B．He criticized her and told her to overcome her shortcomings．
C．He told her to write down all that her “enemy” had said about her and pay attention only to the things that were true．
D．He refused to take the list and have a look at it．
C 解析：细节理解题。根据第二段的最后两句Go and make a list of everything she said and mark the points that are true．Pay no attention to the other things she said．可知，爸爸让女儿写下小女孩说的并且接受事实。故选C项。
2．What does “Week by week her list grew” mean?
A．Week by week she discovered more shortcomings of mine and pointed them out to me．
B．She had made a list of my shortcomings and she kept on adding new ones to it so that it was growing longer and longer．
C．I was having more and more shortcomings as time went on．
D．Week by week, my shortcomings grew more serious．
A 解析：句意理解题。由第一段的第二句中I was very thin, I wasn’t a good student, I talked too much, I was too proud, and so on．可知，随着时间的流逝，她发现作者的缺点越来越多，故选A项。
3．Why did her father listen to her quietly?
A．Because he believed that what her daughter’s “enemy” said was mostly true．
B．Because he had been so angry with his daughter’s shortcomings that he wanted to show this by keeping silent for a while．
C．Because he knew that his daughter would not listen to him at that moment．
D．Because he wasn’t quite sure which girl was telling the truth．
A 解析：推理判断题。根据第二段中He listened to me quietly, then he asked．．．you now have that girl’s opinion．可以知道爸爸认为这个女孩说的是真的，故选A项。
4．Which do you think would be the best title for this passage?
A．Not an Enemy, but the Best Friend
B．The Best Advice I’ve Ever Had
C．My Father
D．My Childhood
B 解析：标题归纳题。根据本文的主要意思：爸爸对自己的女儿说要敢于面对自己的缺点，这是作者一生中收到的最好的建议，故选B项。
