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THIRTY-TWO HOURS AFTER Hattie and her mother and sisters creptthrough the Georgia woods to thetrain station, thirty-two hours on hard seatsin the commotion of the Negro car, Hattie wasstartled from a light sleep by thetrain conductor’s bellow, “Broad StreetStation,Philadelphia!” Hattie clambered from the train,her skirt still hemmed with Georgia mud, thedream of Philadelphia round as amarble in her mouth and the fear of it a needle in her chest.Hattie and Mama,Pearl and Marion climbed the steps from the train platform up into the mainhallof the station. It was dim despite the midday sun. The domed roof arched.Pigeons cooed inthe rafters. Hattie was only fourteen then, slim as a finger.She stood with her mother andsisters at the crowd’sedge, the four of them waiting for a break in the flow of people sothey toomight move toward the double doors at the far end of the station. Hattiestepped intothe multitude. Mama called, “Come back! You’ll be lost in all those people. You’ll belost!” Hattie looked back in panic; she thought her mother was rightbehind her. The crowd wastoo thick for her to turn back, and she was bornealong on the current of people. She gainedthe double doors and was pushed outonto a long sidewalk that ran the length of the station.
The main thoroughfare was congested with more people than Hattiehad ever seen in one place.The sun was high. Automobile exhaust hung in the airalongside the tar smell of asphaltsoftening in the heat and the sickening odorof garbage rotting. Wheels rumbled on the pavingstones, engines revved,paperboys called the headlines. Across the street a man in dirtyclothes stoodon the corner wailing a song, his hands at his sides, palms upturned.Hattieresisted the urge to cover her ears to block the rushing city sounds. Shesmelled the absenceof trees before she saw it. Things were bigger inPhiladelphia—that was true—and therewasmore of everything, too much of everything. But Hattie did not see apromised land in thistumult. It was, she thought, only Atlanta on a largerscale. She could manage it. But even asshe declared herself adequate to thecity, her knees knocked under her skirt and sweat rolleddown her back. Ahundred people had passed her in the few moments she’dbeen standing outside,but none of them were her mother and sisters. Hattie’s eyes hurt with the effort of scanningthe faces of the passersby.
A cart at the end of the sidewalk caught her eye. Hattie had neverseen a flower vendor’scart. A white man sat on a stool with hisshirtsleeves rolled and his hat tipped forwardagainst the sun. Hattie set hersatchel on the sidewalk and wiped her sweaty palms on herskirt. A Negro womanapproached the cart. She indicated a bunch of flowers. The white manstood—he did not hesitate, his body didn’t contortinto a posture of menace—and took theflowers from abucket. Before wrapping them in paper, he shook the water gently from thestems.The Negro woman handed him the money. Had their hands brushed?
As the woman with the flowers took her change and moved to put itin her purse, she upset threeof the flower arrangements. Vases and blossomstumbled from the cart and crashed on to thepavement. Hattie stiffened, waitingfor the inevitable explosion. She waited for the otherNegroes to step back andaway from the object of the violence that was surely coming. Shewaited for themoment in which she would have to shield her eyes from the woman andwhateverhorror would ensue. The vendor stooped to pick up the mess. The Negrowoman gestured
apologetically and reached into her purse again, presumably to payfor what she’d damaged. Ina couple of minutes it was allsettled, and the woman walked on down the street with her nosein the paper coneof flowers, as if nothing had happened.
Hattie looked more closely at the crowd on the sidewalk. TheNegroes did not step into thegutters to let the whites pass and they did notstare doggedly at their own feet. Four Negrogirls walked by, teenagers likeHattie, chatting to one another. Just girls in conversation,giggling and easy,the way only white girls walked and talked in the city streets ofGeorgia.Hattie leaned forward to watch them progress down the block. At last,her mother and sistersexited the station and came to stand next to her. “Mama,”Hattie said. “I’llnever go back.Never.”
一、SAT阅读文章概述
作者Ayana Mathis，原文出自于The Twelve Tribes of Hattie. This passage is set in 1923。
主人公是一个叫Hattie的孩子和母亲及姐姐坐火车到达费城，第一次来到费城这座大城市，主人公Hattie对种族和这座城市的看法有了改观。
文中第一段重点描写了Hattie和母亲走散，独自一人面对一个崭新的大城市，描述了她内心的兴奋和不安。
文中第二段写到了主人公Hattie在火车站外看到的费城的街道景象。她感到费城和亚特兰大并没有什么不同，只是大了一些。但是之后的事情，让她对这座城市的印象发生改变。
第三段和第四段中，Hattie看到一个黑人妇女向一个白人花商买花，但是一不小心打碎了花瓶。主人公Hattie本以为这名黑人妇女会受到责备，卷入到一场冲突之中。但是没想到黑人妇女表现正常，该买花买花，冷静地赔了钱。
最后一段中主人公Hattie看到街上的人们的举动，发现黑人女孩们的交谈行为和白人女孩并没有什么不同，当她妈妈找到她后，她决心留在这座城市。
二、SAT阅读题目
1、主旨题Which choicecan best summarize the passage?
2、目的题，考查文章第一段词组“roundas a marble in her mouth”和”a needle in her chest”的效果和目的;
3、细节题，Hattie在车站和Mother及Sisters分开，对她造成了什么影响;
4、词汇题，原文词汇是gained，选项词汇有reached和increased;
5、Hattie第一次来到费城，她对费城的生活的态度是什么样的;
6、上一题询证;
7、黑人妇女和白人花商之间的冲突在即，Hattie认为many black people对此会是什么反应;
8、上一题询证;
9、目的题，文章最后一段话第一句Hattielooks more closely at the crowds on the street的作用;
10、文章最后一段，文章将费城街上的四个谈笑的black girls和佐治亚街上的white girls做了怎样的对比。
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