A
Sharon Okpoe has lived her entire 17 years in Makoko, known as the world's largest “floating slum (贫民窟)”, built on a lake in Lagos, Nigeria.Okpoe's father is a fisherman, and her mother sells smoked fish.
As many as twothirds of the city's 21 million residents live in slums.“Most girls are trapped in a terrible cycle of poverty.Many of them are not thinking of education, a plan for the future,” Abisoye AjayiAkinfolarin, a computer programmer in Lagos, recalls.But several times a week, girls like Okpoe get a glimpse of another world when they attend GirlsCoding, a free program run by the Pearls Africa Foundation that seeks to educate and excite girls about computer programming.Since 2012, the group has helped more than 400 disadvantaged girls gain the technical skills and confidence they need to transform their lives.
It's the vision of AjayiAkinfolarin, who left a successful career to devote herself to this work.She'd noticed how few women worked in this growing field—a 2013 government survey found that less than 8% of Nigerian women were employed in technology jobs.She wanted to fix the gender gap.“Technology is a space that's dominated by men.Why should we leave that to guys?” she said.“I believe girls need opportunities.”
Now, dozens of girls aged 10 to 17 get trained in computer programming technology.“I believe you can still find diamonds in these places,” AjayiAkinfolarin said.“They need to be shown another life.” One way her program does this is by taking the students to visit tech companies—not only showing them what technology can do, but also helping them visualize themselves joining the industry.
Okpoe, for one, has taken this to heart.She helped create an app called Makoko Fresh that went live this summer, enabling fishermen like her father to sell seafood directly to customers.She even wants to become a software engineer and hopes to study computer science at Harvard.“One thing I want my girls to hold onto is, regardless of where they are coming from, that they can make it,” Ajayi said.“They are coders.They are thinkers.Their future is bright.”
[语篇解读] 本文是一篇记叙文。文章讲述了AjayiAkinfolarin在贫民窟中教女孩们计算机编程技术,向她们展示另一种生活。
1.What can we learn about GirlsCoding?
A.It encourages girls to land a job in education.
B.It offers Nigerian girls in need parttime jobs.
C.It helps girls working in Lagos to fight poverty.
D.It teaches girls in Makoko computer programming.
解析:细节理解题。根据第二段中的“But several times a week, girls like Okpoe get a glimpse of another world when they attend GirlsCoding, a free program run by the Pearls Africa Foundation that seeks to educate and excite girls about computer programming.(但是每周都有好几次,像Okpoe这样的女孩参加GirlsCoding,这是一个由珍珠非洲基金会运营的免费项目,旨在教育和激发女孩们对计算机编程的兴趣)”可知,GirlsCoding在Makoko教女孩计算机编程。故选D项。
答案:D
2.What did AjayiAkinfolarin say about the growing field in Paragraph 3?
A.Men could do far better in technology jobs.
B.Girls should get equal work opportunities.
C.Men normally got paid more than women.
D.Girls tended to devote themselves to work.
解析:细节理解题。根据第三段,AjayiAkinfolarin注意到在这个不断发展的领域工作的女性很少,她想要弥补性别差异,尤其是“I believe girls need opportunities.(我认为女孩需要机会)”,说明了在男性主导的这个不断发展的领域中,女孩应该得到平等的工作机会。故选B项。
答案:B
3.What does the underlined word this in Paragraph 4 mean?
A.Rebuilding the girls' confidence.
B.Training the girls to find diamonds.
C.Presenting a different life to the girls.
D.Taking the girls to technology companies.
解析:词义猜测题。根据第四段中画线词所在句“One way her program does this is by taking the students to visit tech companies—not only showing them what technology can do, but also helping them visualize themselves joining the industry.(她做这个的计划的一种方法是通过带领学生访问科技公司——不仅教他们技术能做什么,还帮助他们想象自己加入这个行业)”可知,指示代词this指代上文的内容,上一句AjayiAkinfolarin所说的话中“They need to be shown another life.(需要向她们展示另一种生活)”可推断出,this指的是给女孩们带来不同的生活。故选C项。
答案:C
4.What can we infer about Okpoe from the last paragraph?
A.She got fishermen to benefit from her app.
B.She was admitted to Harvard University.
C.She took her father's suggestion to heart.
D.She made some changes to computer science.
解析:推理判断题。根据最后一段的“She helped create an app called Makoko Fresh that went live this summer, enabling fishermen like her father to sell seafood directly to customers.(她帮助开发了一款名为Makoko Fresh的应用,该应用于今年夏天上线,让像她父亲这样的渔民可以直接向客户销售海鲜)”可知,她让渔民们受益于她的应用程序。故选A项。
答案:A