高考英语“绝对巧合”

2006年的高考英语出现了一件的非常巧的事，那就是湖南卷的完形填空题与湖北卷的一篇阅读理解题（C篇）“撞车”了，两篇文章均选用了《纽约时报》（New York Times）2005年11月27日刊发的一篇文章——A lesson from bananas and nuts，只是两者对原材料的“改造”方式稍有不同。下面我们登出这两篇“撞车”的文章以及《纽约时报》的原文，供同学们欣赏。我们建议同学们在阅读本文时，除注意我们给出的解题分析外，最好能将这三篇文章作一比较，看看真正的高考题如何“改造”出来的。

2006年湖北卷阅读理解C篇

The young boy saw me, or rather, he saw the car and quickly ran up to me, eager to sell his bunches (串) of bananas and bags of peanuts. Though he appeared to be about twelve, he seemed to have already known the bitterness of life. “Banana 300 naira. Peanuts 200 naira.”

He said in a low voice. I bargained him down to 200 total for the fruit and nuts. When he agreed, I handed him a 500 naira bill He didn’t have change, so I told him not to worry.

He said thanks and smiled a row of perfect teeth.

When, two weeks later, I saw the boy again, I was more aware of my position in a society where it’s not that uncommon to see a little boy who should be in school standing on the comer selling fruit in the burning sun. My parents had raised me to be aware of the advantage we had been afforded and the responsibility it brought to us.

I pulled over and rolled down my window. He had a bunch of bananas and a bag of peanuts ready. I waved them away. “What’s up?” I asked him. “I...I don’t have money to buy books for school.” I reached into my pocket and handed him two fresh 500 naira bills.

“Will this help?” I asked. He looked around nervously before taking the money. One thousand naira was a lot of money to someone whose family probably made about 5,000 naira or less each year. “Thank you, sir,” he said, “Thank you very much.”

When driving home, I wondered if my little friend actually used the money for school-books. What if he’s a cheat (骗子)? And then I wondered why I did it Did I do it to make myself feel better? Was I using him? Later, I realized that I didn’t know his name or the least bit about him, nor did I think to ask.

Over the next six months, I was busy working in a news agency in northern Nigeria. Sometime after I returned, I went out for a drive. When I was about to pull over, the boy suddenly appeared by my window with a big smile ready on his face.

“Oh, gosh! Long time.”

“Are you in school now?” I asked.

He nodded.

“That’s good,” I said. A silence fell as we looked at each other, and then I realized what he wanted. “Here,” I held out a 500 naira bill. “Take this.” He shook his head and stepped back as if hurt. “What’s wrong?” I asked. “It’s a gift.”

He shook his head again and brought his hand from behind his back. His face shone with sweat (汗水). He dropped a bunch of bananas and a bag of peanuts in the front seat before he said, “I’ve been waiting to give these to you.”

64. What was the author’s first impression of the boy?

A. He seemed to be poor and greedy.                             B. He seemed to have suffered a lot

C. He seemed younger than his age.                               D. He seemed good at bargaining

65. The second time the author met the boy, the boy________.

A. told him his purpose of selling fruit and nuts

B. wanted to express his thanks

C. asked him for money for his schoolbooks

D. tried to take advantage of him

66. Why did the author give his money to the boy?

A. Because he had enough money to do that.

B. Because he had learnt to help others since childhood.

C. Because he held a higher position in the society.

D. Because he had been asked by the news agency to do so.

67. Which of the following best describes the boy?

A. Brave and polite.                                                     B. Kind and smart

C. Honest and thankful.                                             D. Shy and nervous.

【答案与解析】

64. 答案选 B。根据第1段的 Though he appeared to be about twelve, he seemed to have already known the bitterness of life 可知答案。

65. 答案选 A。第二次见到这个小男孩时，作者问他 what’s up(怎么了)，他回答说 I...I don’t have money to buy books for school，由此可知，他在这儿卖水果的目的是想挣点钱去读书。

66. 答案选 B。根据文章第4段中的 My parents had raised me to be aware of the advantage we had been afforded and the responsibility it brought to us（父母从小培养我让我明白我们所处的优越环境以及这种优越性给我们带来的社会责任感）可推知答案。

67. 答案选 C。说他 honest，是因为尽管他穷，但他还是没有接作者最后给他的钱；说他 thankful，是因为他会知恩图报——送给作者 a bunch of bananas and a bag of peanuts，并且说 I’ve been waiting to give these to you。

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