Passage
A reading passageLine NumberText
It was eleven o'clock that night
when Mr. Pontellier returned from
his night out. He was in an excellent
humor, in high spirits, and very
Line 5talkative. His entrance awoke his
wife, who was in bed and fast asleep
when he came in. He talked to her
while he undressed, telling her
anecdotes and bits of news and
Line 10gossip that he had gathered during
the day. She was overcome with
sleep, and answered him with little
half utterances.
He thought it very discouraging
Line 15that his wife, who was the sole
object of his existence, evinced so
little interest in things which
concerned him and valued so little
his conversation.
Line 20 Mr. Pontellier had forgotten the
bonbons and peanuts that he had
promised the boys. Notwithstanding,
he loved them very much and went
into the adjoining room where they
Line 25slept to take a look at them and
make sure that they were resting
comfortably. The result of his
investigation was far from
satisfactory. He turned and shifted
Line 30the youngsters about in bed. One of
them began to kick and talk about a
basket full of crabs.
Mr. Pontellier returned to his
wife with the information that Raoul
Line 35had a high fever and needed looking
after. Then he lit his cigar and went
and sat near the open door to smoke
it.
Mrs. Pontellier was quite sure
Line 40Raoul had no fever. He had gone to
bed perfectly well, she said, and
nothing had ailed him all day. Mr.
Pontellier was too well acquainted
with fever symptoms to be mistaken.
Line 45 He assured her the child was burning
with fever at that moment in the
next room.
He reproached his wife with her
inattention, her habitual neglect of
Line 50the children. If it was not a mother's
place to look after children, whose
on earth was it? He himself had his
hands full with his brokerage
business. He could not be in two
Line 55places at once; making a living for
his family on the street, and staying
home to see that no harm befell
them. He talked in a monotonous,
insistent way.
Line 60 Mrs. Pontellier sprang out of bed
and went into the next room. She
soon came back and sat on the edge
of the bed, leaning her head down on
the pillow. She said nothing, and
Line 65refused to answer her husband when
he questioned her. When his cigar
was smoked out he went to bed, and
in half a minute was fast asleep.
Mrs. Pontellier was by that time
Line 70thoroughly awake. She began to cry
a little, and wiped her eyes on the
sleeve of her nightgown. She went
out on the porch, where she sat
down in the wicker chair and began
Line 75to rock gently to and fro.
It was then past midnight. The
cottages were all dark. There was
no sound abroad except the hooting
of an old owl and the everlasting
Line 80voice of the sea, that broke like a
mournful lullaby upon the night.
The tears came so fast to Mrs.
Pontellier's eyes that the damp
sleeve of her nightgown no longer
Line 85served to dry them. She went on
crying there, not caring any longer
to dry her face, her eyes, her arms.
She could not have told why she was
crying. Such experiences as the
Line 90foregoing were not uncommon in her
married life. They seemed never
before to have weighed much
against the abundance of her
husband's kindness and a uniform
Line 95devotion which had come to be tacit
and self-understood.
An indescribable oppression,
which seemed to generate in some
unfamiliar part of her consciousness,#p#分页标题#e#
Line 100filled her whole being with a vague
anguish. It was like a shadow, like a
mist passing across her soul's
summer day. It was strange and
unfamiliar; it was a mood. She did
Line 105not sit there inwardly upbraiding her
husband, lamenting at Fate, which
had directed her footsteps to the path
which they had taken. She was just
having a good cry all to herself. The
Line 110mosquitoes succeeded in dispelling a
mood which might have held her
there in the darkness half a night
longer.
The following morning Mr.
Line 115Pontellier was up in good time to
take the carriage which was to
convey him to the steamer at the
wharf. He was returning to the city
to his business, and they would not
Line 120see him again at the Island till the
coming Saturday. He had regained
his composure, which seemed to
have been somewhat impaired the
night before. He was eager to be
Line 125gone, as he looked forward to
a lively week in the financial center.
1.The narrator would most likely describe Mr. Pontellier's conduct during the evening as
* (A) typically generous
* (B) justifiably impatient
* (C) passionate and irrational
* (D) patronizing and self-centered
* (E) concerned and gentle
2.Some questions ask you to focus on a specific piece of information presented in the passage.
In context, the description in lines 58-59 of Mr. Pontellier's way of speaking suggests the narrator's belief that his complaints are
* (A) stumbling and confused
* (B) familiar and not as urgent as he claims
* (C) angry and sarcastic
* (D) too complex to make sense to anyone but himself
* (E) both rational and thought-provoking
3.Some questions require you to make an inference or draw a conclusion about what you have read.
In lines 69-113, Mrs. Pontellier's reactions to her husband's behavior on returning home suggest that
* (A) she accepts unquestioningly her role of caring for the children
* (B) this is one of the first times she has acknowledged her unhappiness
* (C) her marriage is not what is making her so depressed
* (D) she is angry about something that happened before her husband went out
* (E) she is not as worldly as her husband is
4.You may be asked to consider the overall description of a character, event, or phenomenon across an entire passage.
The passage shows Mr. Pontellier as happiest when he
* (A) is attending to his children
* (B) sits outside and smokes a cigar
* (C) makes up with his wife after an argument
* (D) has been away from home or is about to leave home
* (E) has showered his children with gifts of candy
参考答案与解析
1.D
Explanation
This question asks you to consider a large portion of the passage and to make an inference about the narrator's view of "Mr. Pontellier's conduct during the evening." To answer such a question, you should look carefully at the particular words used and details mentioned in the passage. In the first paragraph, Mr. Pontellier awakens his wife after his "night out"; he seems not to notice or care that she had been sound asleep. In lines 48-59, the narrator describes Mr. Pontellier speaking to his wife in a superior and condescending manner about "a mother's place" in caring for children and about how hard he works at "his brokerage business."
* (A) and (E) are not correct because the narrator does not depict Mr. Pontellier's words and actions during the evening as "generous" or "gentle."
* (B) is not correct because the narrator does not suggest that Mr. Pontellier's conduct with his wife is justifiable.
* (C) is not correct; although Mr. Pontellier's behavior is selfish and inconsiderate, it is not "passionate" — in fact, the narrator states that Mr. Pontellier "talked in a monotonous, insistent way."
* (D) is correct because it accurately describes the narrator's impression of Mr. Pontellier's behavior during the evening, "patronizing and self-centered." Someone who is "patronizing" has an attitude of superiority and thus treats others as if they were less important.#p#分页标题#e#
2.B
Explanation
In lines 58-59, the narrator describes Mr. Pontellier's "way of speaking" as "monotonous, insistent." Previously, Mr. Pontellier had told his wife that one of their sons "had a high fever and needed looking after," and he had criticized Mrs. Pontellier for her "habitual neglect of the children." These are seemingly serious matters, and yet Mr. Pontellier is described as not at all excited in the way that he communicates his opinions to his wife.
* (A) is wrong because Mr. Pontellier speaks assertively to his wife throughout the passage, not in a "stumbling" or uncertain manner.
* (C) is wrong because statements that are "monotonous" and "insistent" are not "angry and sarcastic."
* (D) and (E) are wrong because the narrator does not indicate that Mr. Pontellier's statements to his wife are "too complex to make sense" or "rational and thought-provoking." In fact, the terms "monotonous" and "insistent" suggest that the statements are rather dull and simpleminded.
* The correct answer is (B) because concerns that are voiced "in a monotonous, insistent way" are likely to be ones that are oft-repeated and "familiar," and probably "not as urgent" as Mr. Pontellier claims. The statement in lines 66-68 also supports this answer: "When his cigar was smoked out he went to bed, and in half a minute was fast asleep."
3.B
Explanation
In these lines, Mrs. Pontellier cries for a long time while sitting alone on the porch. Her husband's treatment of her has upset her greatly. The narrator indicates that such behavior by Mr. Pontellier was "not uncommon" but that Mrs. Pontellier had not previously been too bothered by such incidents: "They seemed never before to have weighed much against the abundance of her husband's kindness... "
* (A) is not correct because the issue of "caring for the children" is not the focus of this part of the passage; Mrs. Pontellier's feelings of sadness and "oppression" are not related to her acceptance of "her role" as a mother.
* (C) is not correct because it is precisely her relationship with her husband that has made her "so depressed."
* (D) is not correct because there is no indication in the passage that "something that happened before her husband went out" has made Mrs. Pontellier "angry." In fact, it is his behavior after his return that has upset her.
* (E) is not correct because whether Mrs. Pontellier is "as worldly as her husband" is irrelevant to her reaction to his treatment of her; the passage suggests not that she lacks sophistication but that he lacks consideration.
* (B) is correct because Mrs. Pontellier's "strange and unfamiliar" mood of "oppression" and "anguish" marks a new realization on her part of her "unhappiness" with her husband.
4.D
Explanation
The passage begins with Mr. Pontellier "in an excellent humor," having just returned after a night away from home. He becomes less happy, however, when his wife is too sleepy to talk with him, and when he discovers that his son Raoul "had a high fever and needed looking after." Subsequently, he lectures his wife about their family roles and responsibilities, finishes his cigar, and goes to bed. The next morning, Mr. Pontellier has "regained his composure" and is "eager to be gone, as he looked forward to a lively week" away from his family at work.
* (A) and (E) are not correct because Mr. Pontellier gets upset the one time that he is "attending to" his sons, and he has forgotten to send them the treats that he had promised.
* (B) is not correct because Mr. Pontellier is described as neither happy nor unhappy while he smokes; there are other occasions in the passage when he is happier.
* (C) is not correct because the passage never shows Mr. Pontellier making up with his wife after their argument.
* (D) is the correct answer based on the description of a happy Mr. Pontellier at the beginning and the end of the passage, when "he has been away from home or is about to leave home."
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