四、阅读理解
It was a grey, windy day, and I walked alone in the nearby woods, my heart as heavy as the sky—I just needed space to sort out my messy thoughts.
I ran into an old man sitting on a stone, who noticed I was down and asked softly, “Son, you look like you’ve got the weight of the world on your shoulders. What’s eating you?”
I let out a low breath and sat beside him, too tired to hold back my true feelings. “I’m done with school,” I said in a low voice. “I just can’t keep up any more.”
“Done with school?” He raised an eyebrow. “There’s no use running from your problems—slow and steady wins the race, kid.”
I shrugged (耸肩). “I’m not running,” I said. “I’m no good at exams. Every test is full of red crosses. I’ve tried, but nothing works. I guess I’m not smart enough, so what’s the point anyway?”
The old man nodded and pointed to the ferns (蕨草). “I planted these a few years back with bamboo seeds. I watered them daily, and the ferns shot up fast, covering the ground in a month.”
“What about the bamboo?” I asked, looking over the dirt next to the ferns.
“Nothing at first,” he smiled. “My friends told me to give up, but I kept at it—time will tell everything, right?” “You never felt like giving up?” I asked, surprised.
“Sure I did sometimes,” he said, “but I didn’t throw in the towel. The next year, ferns got thicker, but bamboo still didn’t sprout (发芽)—I kept caring.”
“When did it grow?” I asked, drawing close, my sadness dying away.
“In the fifth year,” he said, eyes lighting up. “A tiny sprout poked out, so small that everyone laughed. But six months later, it became a 100-foot-tall bamboo, taller than the trees.”
I stared in wonder. “Why so fast after waiting so long?”
“Those five years weren’t wasted,” he explained, gently touching my arm. “It grew deep, strong roots (根) to get water and nutrients (营养素)—without them, it would’ve never stood tall.”
I sat quietly, letting his words sink in. Maybe I was like the bamboo seed, needing time to “grow my roots” before getting better. When I left, the grey sky didn’t feel so heavy any more.
() 1. What can we infer from the first five paragraphs?
A. The writer hated windy weather very much.
B. The writer felt lost and thought studying was meaningless.
C. The writer went to the woods to enjoy beautiful natural sights.
D. The writer was unwilling to share his true inner feelings with others.
() 2. The underlined phrase “throw in the towel” probably means “”.
A. continue to try one’s best B. keep on doing something difficult
C. give up doing something D. throw a towel to someone in need
() 3. Why did the old man talk about ferns and bamboo?
A. To show his rich planting experience. B. To encourage the boy to grow plants.
C. To introduce different kinds of plants. D. To advise the boy not to lose heart easily.
() 4. What may the writer do next after hearing the old man’s words?
A. He will learn to plant bamboo with the old man.
B. He will return to school and study hard.
C. He will stick to his decision and leave school forever.
D. He will take a long break before making a final choice.

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

【分析】
这是一篇英语阅读理解题，共4道小题，涵盖推理判断、词义猜测、作者意图推断、人物后续行为推断。解题时需先通读全文把握主旨（老人用竹子扎根生长的例子鼓励失意的学生），再逐题定位原文对应内容：第1题锁定前5段作者的情绪与想法；第2题结合语境猜测短语含义；第3题分析老人举例的目的；第4题根据最后一段作者的感悟推断后续行动。
【解析】
1. 第1题：定位前5段，第一段作者“heart as heavy as the sky”说明心情沉重，第三段说“I’m done with school”，第五段提到“so what’s the point anyway”（学习无意义），对应选项B。A项未体现讨厌风，C项作者去树林是整理思绪而非看风景，D项作者向老人倾诉了真实感受，均排除，故选B。
2. 第2题：结合上下文，老人坚持种竹子未放弃，“throw in the towel”所在句“but I didn’t throw in the towel”与“didn’t give up”对应，意为“放弃”，故选C。A、B、D均不符合语境，排除。
3. 第3题：老人用竹子“五年扎根、第六年快速生长”的例子，是为鼓励作者不因暂时困难放弃，对应选项D。A、B、C均不是举例目的，排除。
4. 第4题：最后一段作者感悟到“自己像竹子需时间扎根变好”，心情从沉重变轻松，推断他会回学校努力学习，故选B。A文中未提，C与文意相反，D不符合感悟后的行动，排除。
【答案】
1.B 2.C 3.D 4.B
【知识点】
英语阅读理解推理判断、词义猜测、意图推断
【点评】
本文是富有哲理的英语记叙文，通过竹子生长的故事开导失意学生，考查学生对文章细节、词义、作者意图及人物行为的推断能力，贴近学生生活，传递积极理念，难度适中。
【难度系数】
0.6