Question

【题目】 When my husband and I moved back to the United States years ago, we had been living an adventurous life on a boat overseas. We moved to Maine and fell in love with a piece of land. It came with a huge farmhouse much larger than we needed. We went rapidly from living in an extremely small space on the water with only two bags to a life on land as a family of four in a big house jammed with stuff.

How did we end up with so much stuff? We just didn't see things piling up so quickly. It's an embarrassment of riches. It's an overabundance. And it's burying us.

A couple of weeks ago, going through a pile of books I’d organized, I found my late mother's now-twenty-year-old copy of “Simplify Your Life" by Elaine St. James. I’d read it a number of times, adding my own penciled notes and folding down more pages.

Wondering if St. James wrote other books on the topic, I began an Internet search that led me deeper and deeper into simplicity, and a concept that was new to me, zero waste. I sensed that what was missing from our life, from our home, was emptiness. My house can't breathe, it's no wonder I feel like I can't either.

Now, my husband and I have undertaken an experiment that we hope will lead to a major lifestyle shift for our whole family. I first started to declutter and downsize by cleaning my kitchen. I emptied out my cupboards and drawers. I put everything needed on our dining-room table. Everything else went into a huge bin for sale. My drawers are beautiful now and I’m content to take this step.

Like any new beginning, there are hesitations. But in a few months, we will move into a new house less than half the size of the one we have. Can my two kids adjust to the idea of reducing their two separate rooms to one small shared bedroom with just a few toys? I can see I'm still thinking about what I will lose. But what I hope becomes clearer is what we will gain by letting go.

【1】How did the author feel about the life back to the United States?

A.She enjoyed the new spacious house.

B.She loved the abundance of materials.

C.She complained about owning too much.

D.She desired a much richer life.

【2】Why did the author mention Elaine St. James and her book?

A.To show what a great influence James had on her.

B.To advise more people to read James's book.

C.To indicate how her late mother liked reading.

D.To explain why a simple life counts to everyone.

【3】What does the underlined word “declutter" mean in Para 5?

A.recoverB.remove

C.prepareD.escape

【4】What is the author doing according to the last paragraph?

A.Persuading her kids to live simply.

B.Reflecting her hesitations about letting go.

C.Questioning her sudden change on life.

D.Missing her life on the boat.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】C

【2】A

【3】B

【4】B

【解析】

本文是记叙文。作者生活空间塞满东西后感到过于丰富，受Elaine St. James简单思想的影响，作者开始改变自己，改变自家环境。

【1】推理判断题。第一段We went rapidly from living in an extremely small space on the water with only two bags to a life on land as a family of four in a big house jammed with stuff.描写了作者家的变化，原来的狭小生活空间变成了塞满东西的大房子。第二段It's an embarrassment of riches. It's an overabundance. And it's burying us. 作者认为这是一种财富的尴尬，是过于丰富。它在埋葬我们。第四段I sensed that what was missing from our life, from our home, was emptiness. My house can't breathe, it's no wonder I feel like I can't either. 作者感到家里的房子不能呼吸，自己也不能呼吸。综上判断出，作者是抱怨自己家拥有的太多，故选C。

【2】推理判断题。第三段“Simplify Your Life" by Elaine St. James. I’d read it a number of times, adding my own penciled notes and folding down more pages.作者提到了Elaine St. James的书“Simplify Your Life"，自己已经看过很多遍，还添加了许多读书笔记。根据第四段Wondering if St. James wrote other books on the topic, I began an Internet search that led me deeper and deeper into simplicity, and a concept that was new to me, zero waste.可知作者还从网上查找Elaine St. James其他作品，为了更深地理解simplicity。结合下文作者simplicity的实际行动可判断出，作者提到Elaine St. James和她的书是为了说明Elaine St. James对自己的影响很大，故选A。

【3】猜测词义题。上文提到作者深受Elaine St. James和她的书的影响，更深地理解了simplicity。上句提到my husband and I have undertaken an experiment作者和丈夫开始试验simplicity，画线词语declutter和and后的 downsize并列，根据by cleaning my kitchen可推测此处指清理整理厨房，比较四个选项可知和remove(除去，移动)意思一致，故选B。

【4】细节理解题。最后一段Like any new beginning, there are hesitations.和I can see I'm still thinking about what I will lose. But what I hope becomes clearer is what we will gain by letting go. 可知像任何新的开始一样，作者也有犹豫。作者知道自己还在想会失去什么。但希望通过放手能得到什么。这些内容反映了作者对于放手的犹豫，故选B。

词义猜测题是高考阅读理解中常考题型之一，可以大致分为

① 定义猜词，可以根据定义信息和举例猜测词义。如文中常用refer to，be called或that’s to say，such as等。

② 逻辑猜词可以根据同义词、反义词、因果关系词等猜测词义，例如，similarly, the same as, but, however, while, on the other hand, since ,because等，所猜词与这些提示词前/后面部分的含义一样、相反或是前因后果。

③ 语法猜词，可以根据构词法，再结合上下文进行猜词。

④ 语境猜词，猜测词义离不开上下文的语境，通过上下文提供的情景和线索进行合理的分析，同时还要关注其所在的整段及整篇文章。

⑤ 指代猜词即找出人称代词、指示代词、关系代词或关系副词等所指代的内容，做题时要注意指代词的位置，以便于判断，然后用所找的指代内容替换划线代词，核实其逻辑、意义、位置等是否一致，最后比较所找部分与选项，确定意思最接近的选项。

小题3中要求猜测declutter的词意，需要结合上下文语境。上文提到作者深受Elaine St. James和她的书的影响，更深地理解了simplicity。上句提到my husband and I have undertaken an experiment作者和丈夫开始试验simplicity，画线词语declutter和and后的 downsize并列，根据by cleaning my kitchen可推测此处指清理整理厨房，比较四个选项可知和remove(除去，移动)意思一致。