四、阅读理解
Be the Best of Whatever You Are
If you can't be a pine on the top of the hill,
Be a scrub (矮树) in the valley—but be
The best little scrub by the side of the river;
Be a bush if you can't be a tree.
If you can't be a bush, be a bit of the grass,
And make some highway happier;
If you can't be a whale then just be a small fish—
But the liveliest fish in the lake!
We can't all be scientists, we've got to be good workers,
There's something for all of us here,
There's big work to do, and there's lesser to do,
And the task you must do is the near.
If you can't be a highway then just be a trail,
If you can't be the sun, be a star;
It isn't by size that you win or you fail—
Be the best of whatever you are!
（）1. In the poem, we can know that a scrub is a pine.
A. the same size as B. less important than
C. bigger than D. smaller than
（）2. What does the underlined word "lesser" in paragraph 2 probably mean?
A. Great tasks. B. Hard jobs. C. Small duties. D. Funny things.
（）3. What does the writer want to tell us by using "pine, scrub, grass, whale and fish"?
A. Nature is beautiful and full of life.
B. Different people can have their own value.
C. We should love and protect the natural world.
D. Small things are more important than big ones.
（）4. What's the topic of the poem?
A. Never lose heart when in trouble.
B. Try to be as good as you can.
C. Failure is the mother of success.
D. Thinking in a good way is important.

1.D
2.C
3.B
4.B

【分析】
1题：根据诗歌第一段"If you can't be a pine on the top of the hill, Be a scrub in the valley"，松树在山顶，矮树在山谷，可知矮树比松树小，对应选项D。
2题：第二段提到"There's big work to do, and lesser to do"，big（大的）与lesser对应，推测lesser意为"小的、次要的"，即小任务，选C。
3题：作者通过列举松树、矮树等不同事物，最后点明主旨"It isn't by size that you win or you fail—Be the best of whatever you are!"，意在说明不同的人都有自身价值，选B。
4题：诗歌最后一句"Be the best of whatever you are!"是核心主题，对应选项B。
【解析】
1. 细节理解题：由第一段"If you can't be a pine on the top of the hill, Be a scrub in the valley"可知，pine（松树）在山顶，scrub（矮树）在山谷，说明矮树比松树小，故选D。
2. 词义猜测题：第二段中"big work to do, and lesser to do"，big与lesser形成对应关系，lesser表示"较小的、次要的"，即小任务，故选C。
3. 主旨大意题：作者用不同大小的自然事物作比，最后点明"不以大小论成败，要做最好的自己"，核心是说明不同的人都有自身价值，故选B。
4. 主旨大意题：诗歌最后一句"Be the best of whatever you are!"是全文核心主题，即尽力做到最好，故选B。
【答案】
1.D 2.C 3.B 4.B
【知识点】
英语阅读理解、细节理解、主旨大意
【点评】
本题为英语诗歌类阅读理解，考查细节理解、词义猜测和主旨大意，需结合诗歌内容分析，整体难度适中，适合初中阶段学生练习。
【难度系数】
0.6