3 . One day when I was 12, my mother gave me an order: I was to walk to the public library, and borrow at least one book for the summer. This was one more weapon for her to defeat my strange problem — inability to read.
In the library, I found my way into the “Children’s Room.” I sat down on the floor and pulled a few books off the shelf at random. The cover of a book caught my eye. It presented a picture of a beagle. I had recently had a beagle, the first and only animal companion I ever had as a child. He was my secret sharer, but one morning, he was gone, given away to someone who had the space and the money to care for him. I never forgot my beagle.
There on the book’s cover was a beagle which looked identical to my dog. I ran my fingers over the picture of the dog on the cover. My eyes ran across the title, Amos, the Beagle with a Plan. Unknowingly, I had read the title. Without opening the book, I borrowed it from the library for the summer.
Under the shade of a bush, I started to read about Amos. I read very, very slowly with difficulty. Though pages were turned slowly, I got the main idea of the story about a dog who, like mine, had been separated from his family and who finally found his way back home. That dog was my dog, and I was the little boy in the book. At the end of the story, my mind continued the final scene of reunion, on and on, until my own lost dog and I were, in my mind, running together.
My mother’s call returned me to the real world. I suddenly realized something: I had read a book, and I had loved reading that book. Everyone knew I could not read. But I had read it. Books could be incredibly wonderful and I was going to read them.
I never told my mother about my “miraculous” (奇迹般地) experience that summer, but she saw a slow but remarkable improvement in my classroom performance during the next year. And years later, she was proud that her son had read thousands of books, was awarded a PhD in literature, and authored his own books, articles, poetry and fiction. The power of the words has held.
1. The author’s mother told him to borrow a book in order to_____.
| A．help cure him of his reading problem |
| B．let him spend a meaningful summer |
| C．encourage him to do more walking |
| D．make him learn more about weapons |
2. The book caught the author’s eye because_____.
| A．it contained pretty pictures of animals |
| B．he found its title easy to understand |
| C．it reminded him of his own dog |
| D．he liked children’s stories very much |
3. Why could the author manage to read the book through?
| A．He was forced by his mother to read it. |
| B．He identified with the story in the book. |
| C．The book told the story of his pet dog. |
| D．The happy ending of the story attracted him. |
4. What can be inferred from the last paragraph?
| A．The author has had happy summers ever since. |
| B．The author’s mother read the same book. |
| C．The author’s mother rewarded him with books. |
| D．The author has become a successful writer. |
