文章大意:这是一篇记叙文。主人公我通过对妈妈热心地给陌生老人打电话这件事情的看法的描述,从不理解到最后理解,意识到了妈妈的这一行为给无数居家老人的孤独生活带来了慰藉。
In my childhood, my mother spent her evening hours doing something for someone else. Sometimes she knitted(编织)hats for babies, and at other times, she cooked chicken soup for sick neighbors. Therefore, I wasn’t surprised when one evening my mother announced she had undertaken a new project.
“I am going to telephone seniors,” said my mother. “Every night? But you don’t even know these people.” “It doesn’t matter,” she said, “What’s important is that I listen.”
I was sixteen years old and couldn’t understand why my mother was willing to spend her evenings talking to strangers. She had friends and my two older sisters to call if she felt lonely. “They will talk your ear off. Some people didn’t even stop to catch breath.” I said.
My attitude didn’t stop my mother’s enthusiasm for the project. That evening, she settled on the sofa and dialed. When she finished the call, I said, “Why do you care whether she had cookies or rice pudding for dessert? ” My mother grasped one of my hands and said in a proud tune, “I’m the only person she talked to today.”
It took me more than thirty years to fully understand the meaning of that statement. Now, as my mother is near eighty, I find myself thinking about those nightly calls she used to make. I am often the only person who telephones my mother, and sometimes I’m the only person she speaks to all day. I ask her what she cooked for dinner, but mostly I just listen as she describes a walk she took, or how her dog Lucky stole foods from the refrigerator. I realize that my mother’s calls were life lines that ensured housebound seniors remained connected to the world. Without her, their world would have been empty.
4. What is the mother’s purpose of calling the seniors?
A.To improve their living conditions. |
B.To inquire their eating habits. |
C.To ease their loneliness. |
D.To teach them surviving skills. |
5. What does the underlined part in paragraph 3 probably mean?
A.Speak all the time. | B.Blame others’ behaviours. |
C.Miss important information. | D.Hurt your hearing. |
6. What can be inferred from the last paragraph?
A.The author started to telephone seniors as her mother. |
B.The author realized the value of her mother’s efforts. |
C.The author’s mother preferred to live alone. |
D.The author’s mother remained connected to the world. |
7. What is the suitable title for the passage?
A.Seniors’comfort | B.Mother’s evenings | C.Aging:my concern | D.Nightly calls, lifeline calls |