当前位置:高中试题 > 英语试题 > 题材分类 > I try not to be biased(偏见)but I had my doubts about hiring Stevie. His social wo...
题目
题型:不详难度:来源:
I try not to be biased(偏见)but I had my doubts about hiring Stevie. His social worker assured me that he would be a good, reliable busboy. But I had never had a mentally handicapped employee. He was short, a little fat, with the smooth facial features and thick-togued speech of Down’s Syndrome(唐氏综合症). I thought most of my customers would be uncomfortable around Stevie, so I closely watched him for the first few weeks.
I shouldn’t have worried. After the first week, Stevie had my staff wrapped around his stubby little finger, and within a month my regular trucker customers had adopted him as their official truck stop mascot. After that, I really didn"t care what the rest of the customers thought of him. He was like a 21-year-old in blue jeans and Nikes, eager to laugh and eager to please, but fierce in his attention to his duties. Every salt and pepper shaker was exactly in its place, not a bread crumb or coffee spill was visible when Stevie got done with the table. Our only problem was persuading him to wait to clean a table until after the customers were finished.
Over time, we learned that he lived with his mother, a widow who was disabled. Money was tight, and what I paid him was probably the difference between them being able to live together and Stevie being sent to a group home.
That"s why the restaurant was a gloomy place that morning last August, the first morning in three years that Stevie missed work. He was at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester getting a heart surgery. His social worker said that people with Downs Syndrome often had heart problems at an early age and there was a good chance he would come through the surgery in good shape and be back at work in a few months.
A ripple of excitement ran through the staff later that morning when word came that he was out of surgery, in recovery, and doing fine. Frannie, my head waitress, did a little dance when she heard the good news. Belle Ringer, one of our regular trucker customers, stared at her and asked, “Okay, Frannie, what was that all about?”
"We just got word that Stevie is out of surgery and going to be okay."
"I was wondering where he was. I had a new joke to tell him. What was the surgery about?"
Frannie quickly told Belle Ringer and the other two drivers sitting at his booth about Stevie"s surgery, then sighed: "Yeah, I"m glad he is going to be OK," she said. "But I don"t know how he and his Mom are going to handle all the bills. From what I hear, they"re barely getting by as it is."
Belle Ringer nodded thoughtfully, and Frannie hurried off to wait on the rest of her tables.
After the morning rush, Frannie walked into my office. She had a couple of paper napkins in her hand.
"What"s up?" I asked.
“I cleared off that table where Belle Ringer and his friends were sitting after they left, and I found this. This was folded and tucked under a coffee cup."
She handed the napkin to me, and three $20 bills fell onto my desk when I opened it. On the outside, in big, bold letters, was printed "Something For Stevie".
That was three months ago. Today is New Year’s day , the first day Stevie is supposed to be back to work. His placement worker said he had been counting the days until the doctor said he could work, I arranged to have his mother bring him to work, met them in the parking lot and invited them both to celebrate his day back. I took him and his mother by their arms. “To celebrate you coming back, breakfast for you and your mother is on me.”
I led them toward a large corner booth. I could feel and hear truck customers and the rest of the staff following behind as we marched through the dining room. We stopped in front of the big table. Its surface was covered with coffee cups and dinner plates, all sitting slightly on dozens of folded paper napkins.
"First thing you have to do, Stevie, is clean up this mess," I said.
Stevie looked at me, and then pulled out one of the napkins. It had "Something for Stevie" printed on the outside. As he picked it up, two $10 bills fell onto the table. Stevie stared at the money, then at all the napkins peeking from beneath the tableware, each with his name printed on it.
I turned to his mother. “There"s more than $10,000 in cash and checks on that table, all from truckers and trucking companies that heard about your problems. Happy Thanksgiving!”
While everybody else was busy shaking hands and hugging each other, Stevie, with a big, big smile on his face, was busy clearing all the cups and dishes from the table.
小题1:Why did the author have doubts about hiring Stevie?
A.Stevie was not that reliable.B.Stevie was mentally disabled
C.Stevie was too short and fat.D.Stevie was bad-tempered
小题2:What made the author not fully satisfied with Stevie’s work?
A.That he made customers uncomfortable.B.That he couldn’t pay attention to his duties.
C.That he often spilled cups of coffee.D.That he usually cleaned the table too early.
小题3:By saying the underlined words in Paragaraph3, the author meant that the money she paid Stevie       .   
A.could help Stevie out of the troubleB.could send Stevie to a group home
C.couldn’t thoroughly solve Stevie’s problemD.could make a great difference to Stevie’s life
小题4:Why did the author ask Stevie to clean up the mess on the table?
A.Stevie could pick up the money that was given to him.
B.The table was so dirty that it needed cleaning.
C.It was Stevie’s duty to clean the table.
D.She wanted to congratulate Stevie on his coming back.
小题5:What made Stevie popular among the staff and customers in the restaurant?
A.His special appearance.B.His hard work and optimism.
C.His funny speeches and actions.D.His kind-hearted behaviour.

答案

小题1:B
小题1:D
小题1:C
小题1:A
小题1:B
解析

核心考点
试题【I try not to be biased(偏见)but I had my doubts about hiring Stevie. His social wo】;主要考察你对题材分类等知识点的理解。[详细]
举一反三
If you were to walk up to Arthur Bonnet and say, "Hey, Butterfly Man," his face would break into a smile. The title suits him. And he loves it.
Arthur Bonnet works with the Palos Verdes blue butterfly, once thought to have died out. Today the butterfly is coming back thanks to him. But years ago if you"d told him this was what he"d be doing someday, he would have laughed, "You"re crazy." As a boy, he used to be a little tough guy on the streets". At age thirteen, he was caught by police stealing. At eighteen, he landed in prison for shooting a man.
"I knew it had hurt my mom," Bonner said after he got out of prison. "So I told myself I would not put my mom through that pain again."
One day he met Professor Mattoni, who was working to rebuild the habitat for an endangered butterfly called E1 Segundo blue.
"I saw the sign "Butterfly Habitat" and asked, "How can you have a habitat when the butterflies can just fly away?"" Bonner recalls. "Dr. Mattoni laughed and handed me a magnifying glass (放大镜) , "Look at the leaves. " I could see all these caterpillars (蝴蝶的幼虫) on the plant. Dr Mattoni explained, "Without the plant, there are no butterflies. ""
Weeks later, Bonner received a call from Dr. Mattoni, who told him there was a butterfly that needed help. That was how he met the Palos Verdes blue. Since then he"s been working for four years to help bring the butterfly back. He grows astragals, the only plant the butterfly eats. He collects butterflies and brings them into a lab to lay eggs. Then he puts new butterflies into the habitat.
The butterfly"s population, once almost zero, is now up to 900. For their work, Bonner and Dr. Mattoni received lots of awards. But for Bonnet, he earned something more: he turned his life around.
For six years now Bonnet has kept his promise to stay out of prison. While he’s bringing back the Palos Verdes blue, the butterfly has helped bring him back, too.
小题1:When he was young, Arthur Bonner
A.broke the law and ended up in prison
B.was fond of shooting and hurt his morn
C.often offered necessary help to other people
D.often caught butterflies and took them home
小题2:Bonner came to know the Palos Verdes blue after he ______.
A.found the butterfly had died out
B.won many prizes from his professor
C.met Dr. Mattoni, a professor of biology
D.collected butterflies and put them into a lab
小题3: From the last sentence of the text, we learn that raising butterflies has ______
A.made Bonner famousB.changed Bonner"s life
C.brought Bonner wealthD.enriched Bonner"s knowledge
小题4: Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
A.A Promise to MornB.A Man Saved by Butterflies
C.A Story of ButterfliesD.A Job Offered by Dr. Mattoni

题型:不详难度:| 查看答案
Nothing was going right for Dr.Turner at the hospital. He made a mistake while operating on a patient. He felt sure he was no longer trusted and decided to change his job . One day he learned from the paper that a doctor was looking for a partner (合作者). The doc-tor, whose name was Johnson , lived in Thorby, a small town in the north of England.
A few days later Dr. Turner went to Thorby, and arrived at Dr.Johnson"s home early in the afternoon. Though old and a little deaf, Dr.Johnson still had a good brain. He kept talking to the visitor about the town and its people. When they turned to the question of partnership,it was already seven in the evening. Dr. Johnson invited Dr . Turner to have dinner with him in a restaurant before catching the train back to London. Dr . Turner noticed that Dr. Johnson was fond of good food and expensive wines . They had an excellent meal. When the bill was brought, Dr. Johnson felt in his pocket." Oh, dear," he said. "I"ve forgotten my money." "That"s all right,"Dr. Turner said."I"ll pay the bill."As he did so,he began to wonder whether Dr. Johnson was worthy of trust.
小题1: Dr. Turner decided to leave his present job because       .
A.he had never been trusted
B.it demanded too great skills
C.he believed it offered little hope for his future
D.he thought the hospital would like him to leave
小题2:The two doctors spent most of the afternoon talking about        .
A.things of no interest to Dr. Johnson
B.things of no importance to Dr. Turner
C.health matters
D.food and drink
小题3:The story suggests that               .
A.Dr. Johnson did notlike Dr. Turner
B.the two doctors would become friends
C.the two doctors would not work together
D.Dr. Turner decided to stay at his present job
小题4:The words did so  in the last sentence mean               .
A.caught the train back to LondonB.felt in his pocket
C.paid the billD.said those words

题型:不详难度:| 查看答案
Work is a part of living —my grandparents understood that. They lived and worked on a farm that has been in my family for 150 years. They raised chickens for eggs , pigs and cattle for meat . Cows were kept for milk and the cream, from which Grandma made butter and cheese. What little yard they had became a garden.
The Depression, therefore, didn’t make much change in their lives. But it did bring an unending flow of men out of work, drifting from job to job, to the farm. The first to show up at the door of the kitchen was a man in rags. He took off his hat and quietly explained that he hadn’t eaten for a while. Grandpa stood watching him a bit , then said , “There’s a stack of firewood against the fence behind the barn (谷仓). I’ve been needing to get it moved to the other side of the fence . You have just about enough time to finish the job before lunch .”
Grandma said a surprising thing happened. The man got a shine in his eyes and he hurried to the barn at once. She set another place at the table and made an apple pie. During lunch, the stranger didn’t say much, but when he left, his shoulders had straightened. “Nothing ruins a man like losing his self-respect,” Grandpa later told me.
Soon after, another man showed up asking for a meal. This one was dressed in a suit and carried a small old suitcase. Grandpa came out when he heard voices. He looked at the man and then offered a handshake.” There is a stack of firewood along the fence down behind the barn I’ve been meaning to get it moved. It’d sure be a help to me . And we’d be pleased to have you stay for lunch.” The fellow set his suitcase aside and neatly laid his coat on top. Then he set off to work.
Grandma says she doesn’t remember how many strangers they shared a meal with during those Depression days-or how many times that stack of wood got moved.
小题1:When he was asked to move a stack of firewood, the first man who asked for a meal got a shine in his eyes for he was glad that         .
A.he had found a good job
B.he would have something to eat
C.he would no longer suffer from the Depression
D.he would get what he wanted without losing his self-respect
小题2:The writer’s grandfather asked those jobless men to move the stack of firewood because     .
A.he didn’t want them to have a meal free of charge
B.he had been needing to get it moved
C.he wanted to help them in his own way
D.he wanted to show them his kindness and respect
小题3:The writer’s grandfather was all of the following but         .
A.kind B.thoughtful C.wealthy D.sympathetic
小题4:The best title for the story would be         .
A.The Depression                  B.The Pleasure of Helping Others
C.No Pains , No GainsD.Work-A Part of Living
题型:不详难度:| 查看答案
Edward Wilson is America’s, if not the world’s, leading naturalist. In The Future of Life, he takes us on a tour of the world’s natural resources. How are they used? What has been lost? What remains and is it able to continue with the present speed of use? Wilson also points out the need to understand fully the biodiversity(生物多样性)of our earth.
Wilson begins with an open letter to the pioneer in environment protection, Henry David Thoreau. He compares today’s Walden Pond with that of Thoreau’s day. Wilson will use such comparisons for the rest of the book. The problem is clear: man has done great damage to his home over the years. Can the earth, with human help, be made to return to biodiversity levels that will be able to support us in the future?
Biodiversity, Wilson argues, is the key to settling many problems the earth faces today. Even our agricultural crops can gain advantages from it. A mere hundred species are the basis of our food supply, of which but twenty carry the load. Wilson suggests changing this situation by looking into ten thousand species that could be made use of, which will be a way to reduce the clearing of the natural homes of plants and animals to enlarge farming areas.
At the end of the book, Wilson discusses the importance of human values in considering the environment. If you are to continue to live on the earth, you may well read and act on the ideas in this book.
小题1:We learn form the text that Wilson cares most about ______.
A.the environment for plantsB.the biodiversity of our earth
C.the wastes of natural resourcesD.the importance of human values
小题2:How many species are most important to our present food supply?
A.Twenty.B.Eighty. C.One hundred.D.Ten thousand.
小题3:Wilson suggests that one way to keep biodiversity is to _______.
A.learn how to farm scientifically B.build homes for some dying species
C.make it clear what to eatD.use more species for food
小题4:We can infer that the text is _______.
A.a description of natural resourcesB.a research report
C.a book review D.an introduction to a scientist

题型:不详难度:| 查看答案
The English are often considered as unfriendly people who don"t talk to strangers, but not London taxi drivers. I once asked a cabbie to describe his life to me and he didn"t stop talking until I arrived home half an hour later. He told me many interesting stories and this is one of them: “Some very strange things happen late at night. The other day I was taking a woman home from a party. She had a little dog with her. When we got to her house she found that she"d lost her key. So, I waited in the cab with the dog while she climbed up the window.”“ I waited … and waited … After half an hour of ringing the bell I decided to find out what was going on. I tied the dog to a tree and started to climb up the window. The next thing I knew was that the police came. They thought that I was trying to rob the house! Luckily, the woman came downstairs, she"d gone to sleep and forgotten about me and the dog. I was in such a hurry to get away that I forgot to ask her for the fare (车费).”
小题1:In the writer’s opinion, London taxi drivers are _____________.
A.unfriendlyB.talkative C.helpfulD.strange enough
小题2: From the passage we guess that the writer ______.
A.is the driver of the taxiB.often travels by taxi
C.is a foreigner visiting LondonD.lives in London
小题3:What does the underlined word “cabbie” mean in this passage?
A.Conductor B.Stranger C.Taxi driverD.author
小题4:The man was waiting outside the woman"s house because ______.
A.he began to like the woman and her dog at the first sight
B.the woman had not paid him
C.he wanted to know what would happen when the police came
D.he was trying to go on talking with her

题型:不详难度:| 查看答案
版权所有 CopyRight © 2012-2019 超级试练试题库 All Rights Reserved.