In the fall of 2009, as the theater reporter for The Times, I called Angela Lansbury to confirm a sensitive piece of information. I was writing a story revealing the kinds of special assistance that some actors used to remember their lines.
I had heard that Ms. Lansbury, who was then 84, had used an earpiece earlier that year while playing on Broadway. I remember being nervous as I dialed her number. Nervous about whether I could persuade her to open up to me. Most nervous about interviewing a star who meant something to me and my father. However, Angela Lansbury, filling me with great admiration, was game to talk, quick with a laugh, frank and honest. I’d assumed that aging and memory were vulnerabilities (弱点); she saw them as facts and addressed them confidently.
Of using an earpiece on Broadway, she told me: “If we’re going to play important roles at our age, we’re going to ask for some support if we need it.”
Ms. Lansbury brought a combination of dignity and frankness to her life and work. She may have lacked the classic good looks and voice of her era, as she openly acknowledged, but being who she was, she found stardom and a large number of fans through raw talent and risk-taking.
By the time I interviewed Ms. Lansbury, my father was in his 70s and showing signs of dementia (痴呆). I was overly sensitive to the facts of aging and tended to see it as a vulnerability better kept private, as my father did. After interviewing her, I mentioned her earpiece story to my father as I persuaded him to wear the hearing aids that he had refused several times. When it came to persuading him to accept a caregiver — a measure of special assistance, no doubt— star-powered inspiration did also help me win the argument, which gave me an even deeper appreciation for Ms. Lansbury.
1. Why did the author call Ms. Lansbury?| A．To interview her for an article. |
| B．To invite her to perform on Broadway. |
| C．To learn from her how to remember lines. |
| D．To inform her of new kinds of special assistance. |
| A．She was rather nervous. |
| B．She talked freely and openly. |
| C．She took her vulnerabilities seriously. |
| D．She had a good memory despite her age. |
| A．Her unique voice. |
| B．Her classic good looks. |
| C．Her attractive personality. |
| D．Her abilities to balance life and work. |
| A．To prove Ms. Lansbury’s opinion on aging. |
| B．To show Ms. Lansbury’s impact on him and his father. |
| C．To explain the relationship between him and his father. |
| D．To call on more people to show respect for Ms. Lansbury. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Author Walter Dean Myers died at the age of 76 after a brief illness. Walter Dean Myers was the author of more than 100 books for children and young adults and received many top awards.
The prolific author was loved for his vivid description of the lives of African American children, and for writing books for young people that covered different subjects. “Myers has written about all those subjects with deep understanding and a hard-won, qualified sense of hope” said Leonard S. Marcus in 2008.
He was born in 1937 and was adopted by Florence Dean and Herbert after his mother died while giving birth to his younger sister. They loved him very much and his mother read to him from a very young age. Reading pushed him to discover worlds beyond his landscape.
He began writing at an early age. He wrote well in high school and an English teacher recognized this and advised him to keep on writing no matter what happened to him. “It’s what you do,” she said.
He dropped out of high school at 17 and joined the army. After finishing his service, he entered a dark period in his life. Myers began writing at night to pull himself through that miserable time.
In an essay published in The New York Times earlier this year, Myers described how a short story by James Arthur Baldwin helped change the course of his life. “I didn’t love the story, but I was lifted by it,” he wrote, “for it took place in Harlem, and it was a story concerned with black people like those I knew. By humanizing the people who were like me, Baldwin’s story also humanized me. The story gave me a permission that I didn’t know I needed, the permission to write about my own landscape, my own map.”
“I write books or the troubled boy I once was,” he wrote, “and for the boy who lives within me still.”
1. What does the second paragraph mainly talk about?| A．How popular Myers was. |
| B．How Myers became successful. |
| C．What makes Myers’ works popular. |
| D．What people think of Myers’ works. |
| A．James Arthur Baldwin. | B．His mother. |
| C．Leonard S. Marcus. | D．One of his teachers. |
| A．Productive. | B．Unfortunate. | C．Enthusiastic. | D．Humorous. |
| A．It helped him survive the dark period. |
| B．It inspired him to pursue his writing career. |
| C．He learned many writing techniques from it. |
| D．The author of the story permitted him to write. |
【推荐2】Trevor Noah’s unlikely path from apartheid South Africa to the desk of The Daily Show began with a criminal act: his birth. Trevor was born to a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother at a time when such a union was punishable by five years in prison. Trevor was kept mostly indoors for his earliest years, bound by the extreme measures his mother took to hide him from a government that could, at any moment, steal him away. Finally liberated by the end of South Africa’s cruel white rule, Trevor and his mother set forth on a grand adventure, living openly and freely and embracing the opportunities won by a centuries-long struggle.
Born a Crime is the story of a naughty young boy who grows into a restless young man as he struggles to find himself in a world where he was never supposed to exist. It is also the story of that young man’s relationship with his fearless, rebellious, and extremely religious mother, a woman determined to save her son from the cycle of poverty and abuse.
The stories here are by turns funny, dramatic, and deeply affecting. Whether living on caterpillars for dinner during hard times or being thrown from a moving car during an attempted kidnapping, Trevor describes his world with a keen wit and incredible honesty. His stories form a moving and funny portrait of a boy making his way through a damaged world in a dangerous time, armed only with a keen sense of humor and a mother’s unconventional, unconditional love.
Throughout the book, Noah reveals many examples of his mother’s stubborn determination to prevent apartheid from suffocating her free spirit. Humor became a survival mechanism for both her and her son. In an interview, Noah said, “Laughter is an escape. I feel like laughter reminds you of your best self, your freest self.”
1. What can we infer about “apartheid” in paragraph one?| A．It’s a traditional custom in South Africa. |
| B．It’s a religious belief in South Africa. |
| C．It’s a criminal act performed by Trevor Noah’s parents. |
| D．It’s a policy of separating people on grounds of race. |
| A．Trevor Noah is a criminal in South Africa. |
| B．Trevor Noah is the host of a famous TV show. |
| C．Trevor Noah was in prison for five years after birth. |
| D．Young Trevor Noah was kept indoors because he was naughty. |
| A．Fearless and humorous. | B．Rebellious and guilty. |
| C．Funny and generous. | D．Honest and curious. |
| A．To introduce an autobiography of a famous person. |
| B．To appeal to readers to fight with racial discrimination. |
| C．To praise a mother’s love for her child. |
| D．To stress the importance of being humorous. |
【推荐3】Mark Twain, the famous American writer and a great master of humor, liked to play jokes on others. But once a joke was played on him. One day Mark Twain was invited to give a talk in a small town. At lunch he met a young man,one of his friends.
The young man said that he had an uncle with him. He told Mark Twain that his uncle never laughed or smiled, and that nobody and nothing was able to make his uncle smile or laugh.
“You bring your uncle to my talk this evening,” said Mark Twain. “I’m sure I can make him laugh.”
That evening the young man and his uncle sat in the front. Mark Twain began to speak. He told several funny stories and made everyone in the room laugh. But the man never even smiled. Mark Twain told more funny stories, but the old man still kept quiet. Mark Twain continued to tell his funny stories. Finally he stopped. He was tired and quite disappointed.
Some days later, Mark Twain told another friend what had happened. “Oh,” said his friend,“I know that man. He’s been deaf for years.”
1. The writer wrote the passage mainly to________.| A．tell readers Mark Twain liked playing jokes |
| B．tell readers a joke played on Mark Twain |
| C．tell readers Mark Twain was a great writer |
| D．tell readers how to tell a funny story |
| A．a friend | B．his brother |
| C．his teacher | D．a young girl |
| A．disappointed | B．sorry |
| C．ill | D．sleepy |
| A．his jokes were not funny |
| B．the old man wasn’t interested in the jokes |
| C．the old man could tell more funny jokes |
| D．the old man was deaf |
【推荐1】An old woman diverted (转移) attention from the book when I was sitting in my car. She walked slowly towards my parked car with a large shoulder bag. She stopped and put a hand out to rest against the car. She gently closed her eyes, took a deep breath and wiped the sweat off her forehead. Was there a way I could do anything to help her? But I wondered if the lady noticed me sitting inside the car, she would feel embarrassed and walk away.
I stilled my body while my mind searched for answers. I turned my head towards my driver, wanting him to ask the lady if we could give her a ride. Because of my head movement, she noticed me and moved her hand away from the car. Her calm expression changed to a cautious one. I grabbed the water bottle next to me, smile, gently opened the door and offered the bottle to her. She looked at me hesitatingly, shook her head with downcast (低垂的) eyes and walked away.
I was so annoyed with myself. I should have been more careful not to move. However, she was back I opened the door and patted the seat next to me. She sat down, opened her bag and offered me a banana. I took it and offered her the water bottle again. She took it. I ate, she drank and we smiled. She rested for a couple of minutes.
Those minutes brought such tranquility (宁静) to me. She took my head in both her hands and kissed my forehead, and then she left. I was trying to help someone in distress(不幸，苦恼). In turn, I became distressed and she took away my distress and replace it with tranquility.
1. What did the author want to do when the old woman rested against her car?| A．She wanted to communicate with the old woman |
| B．She wanted to let driver warn the old woman off. |
| C．She wanted to make the old woman notice her existence. |
| D．She wanted to help the old woman without bothering her. |
| A．Because she was too tired to walk further. |
| B．Because it was a comfortable place to stay. |
| C．Because she thought there was nobody in the car. |
| D．Because she could put her large shoulder bag on the car. |
| A．The old woman refused her water. |
| B．The old woman left without saying a word. |
| C．The old woman suspected the author’s kindness. |
| D．She interrupted the old woman’s quiet moment of rest. |
| A．drink some drink |
| B．accept and thank the author’s kindness |
| C．rest for another few minutes |
| D．offer a banana to the author |
After my very first visit to Cantata, my life changed forever. That may sound a bit dramatic, but volunteering with the elderly has changed my views on life.
Our visits last about an hour, and we bring 25-30 students every time. We play board games and cards with the residents while we’re there.
You can watch all the movies and TV shows you want about “life back then”, but nothing compares to talking to the people who were actually there. Just hearing their stories has touched me in a way I never thought possible.
Whether it was talking to 98-year-old “Hurricane Hilda” about her glory days as a roller skater or chatting with Lou about the times she danced with a famous actor, I was completely attracted by every single memory the residents wanted to share with me.
Even the residents who don’t have amazing memories make the experience satisfying . I remember visiting Mrs Robinson. She couldn’t recall much about her past, but she told me she’d never forget how kind I was just to listen to her “rambling (漫谈)”. It made me realize that it’s the little things that make life worth living. That’s something I won’t forget anytime soon.
If there’s one thing I’ve realized in my three years of visiting Cantata, it’s that presence – just being there – means more than anything to many of the residents. And despite how busy our lives are, there’s always time to make someone’s day.
For me, it feels great to be a source of happiness, a smile on a bad day or a listening ear for old memories. And at the end of the day, that’s all that matters.
It’s easy to feel like you don’t have anything in common with the elderly – especially when you’re a teenager. But that’s not true at all.
I hate to be overly clichéd (陈词滥调的) here, but age really is just a number. As young adults, it’s important for us to realize this sooner rather than later. We can learn a lot from the elderly, and they can often benefit from teenagers too.
1. What do the volunteers do according to the passage?
| A．They share everything with the residents. |
| B．They play board games and cards with the residents. |
| C．They watch the residents play games. |
| D．They buy gifts for the residents. |
| A．Playing with them. | B．Benefiting from them. |
| C．Helping them. | D．Being there with them. |
| A．Young adults and the elderly can benefit from each other. |
| B．Age is just a number. |
| C．It is important to help the elderly. |
| D．We don’t have anything in common with the elderly. |
【推荐3】A few months ago I took a trip to Osaka. Unfortunately, I didn’t go there on holiday. I went there on a business trip. By the time I got to the station, I was very tired and hungry. At the station there was a shop selling lunch boxes. They had cheap lunch boxes and expensive lunch boxes. I bought a cheap lunch box. After that, I made my way to my platform and found my train.
I got on the train and found my seat. Now I was feeling really hungry and tired. I wondered whether I should eat my lunch box or take a nap. I decided I would enjoy my lunch box more after a nap. I put the lunch box in the hat rack above my head.
As I was sitting down, a young businessman approached me. Like me, he looked tired, and he also had a lunch box. He asked if the seat next to me was free and I said it was. In a few minutes, I was fast asleep. When I awoke, the businessman was no longer there. I looked at the seat next to me and I saw a lunch box. I was so hungry that I opened it up and started to eat. I was very surprised to see how nice it tasted. After a minute or two of eating, the businessman returned. He had an astonished look on his face. He asked me why I was eating his lunch box. Then it hit me that I had put my lunch box above my head.
This really wasn’t my lunch box. I apologized many times and offered him my lunch box. Also, I bought him a drink to say sorry. We then spent the next few hours chatting away and we got along really well. We even exchanged numbers and now we occasionally meet up for drinks. We have become quite good friends.
1. What can be inferred about the writer from the first paragraph?| A．He is not fond of Osaka at all. |
| B．He is fond of going on a business trip. |
| C．In fact, he is a very wealthy person. |
| D．He is probably a person who saves money for his life. |
| A．Eating is more important than sleep. |
| B．Eating a meal should be enjoyed. |
| C．Eating should be placed second to sleep. |
| D．Sleep is more important than eating. |
| A．Because he was too hungry. |
| B．Because he wanted to gain advantages. |
| C．Because he mistook it for his own lunch box. |
| D．Because it tasted better than his own lunch box. |
| A．Fun and worthwhile. | B．Ridiculous and regretful. |
| C．Funny and guilty. | D．Interesting and costly. |
