Poet Dean Young has dealt with impermanence (无常) a lot in his career, but it’s a particularly strong theme in Young’s latest collection, Fall Higher. The new collection was published in April, just days after the poet received a life-saving heart transplant (移植) after about a decade of living with a weakening heart condition.
Young, whose work is often frank and rich with twisted humor, tells NPR’s Renee Montagne that as he recovers from operation, he’s also slowly returning to his everyday writing habits.
“I’m getting back to it,” Young says, “not with the sort of concentration and sort of flame that I look forward to in the future, but I am blackening some pages.”
And on those blackened pages you’ll find poems like “How Grasp Green”, which carries themes of springtime and rebirth. It’s one of the first poems Young has written since his transplant.
It’s easy to spot clues (线索) to Young’s awful health situation in the lines of his poetry.
Fall Higher’s “Vintage” opens with “Because I will die soon, I fall asleep, during the lecture on the ongoing emergency.” And the poem “The Rhythms Pronounce Themselves Then Vanish”—published in The New Yorker in February—opens with the CT scan that revealed Young’s heart condition.
Hearts tend to come up a lot in poetry, and that’s especially true if Young’s work, which has clearly been influenced by the troubles of his own heart.
“A lot of times, it’s not just a metaphor (暗喻),” Young says. “For me, it’s an actual concern because I’ve been living with this disease for over 10 years. My father died of heart problems when he was 49, so it’s been a sort of shadowy concern for me my whole life.
But Young’s poems also deal with more abstract matters of the heart. He wrote Fall Higher’s, “Late Valentine” for his wife. “We’ve been married since late November and most of it has been spent in the hospital,” Young says of his marriage to poet Laurie Saurborn Young, who says “‘Late Valentine’ is very sweet.”
His work also touches on themes of randomness and fate—two factors that contributed to him getting a second chance in the form of transplanting a new heart from a 22-year-old student. “I just feel enormous gratitude,” he says of his donor (捐献者). “He gave me a heart so I’m still alive … I’m sure I’m going to think about this person for the rest of my life.”
【小题1】The poetry collection Fall Higher .
| A．was published in February |
| B．is Young’s latest collection of poetry |
| C．makes darkness as its main theme |
| D．was written after Young’s heart transplant |
| A．was born with heart disease |
| B．received a heart transplant in February |
| C．married a female poet after he wrote “late Valentine” |
| D．wrote a poem for his wife in his collection |
| A． The writer had less enthusiasm than before, but he still kept on writing. |
| B． The writer expected some bright future, but he was disappointed. |
| C． The writer devoted more time to poems, so he grasped a good chance. |
| D． The writer wrote poems with less enthusiasm, so he quitted fora while. |
| A． “How Grasp Green” is the first poem in FaU Higher |
| B． Young began all his poems with his illness. |
| C． Young’s fether died when Young was 49 years old. |
| D． Young’s health situation is mentioned in his poetry. |
| A．The meaning of Fdl Higher. |
| B．Dean Young and his heart problems. |
| C．Dean Young and his latest collection. |
| D．An analysis of Dean Young’s poems. |
| A．grateful | B． pessimistic | C． guilty | D．considerate |
【小题1】B
【小题2】D
【小题3】A
【小题4】D
【小题5】C
【小题6】A
解析试题分析：本文主要介绍了Dean Young和他最近的作品Fall Higher。
【小题1】细节题。根据第一段1,2行it's a particularly strong theme in Young's latest collection, Fall Higher．说明Fall Higher是Young最近的作品。故选B
【小题2】细节题。根据第十段He wrote Fall Higher's, "Late Valentine" for his wife．说明Young 在诗集中写了一首诗给他的妻子，D正确。
【小题3】推理题。根据本段Not with the sort of concentration and sort of flame that I look forward to in the future, but I am blackening some pages说明他还是要继续写作的，但是可能没有以前那么有热情了。故A正确。
【小题4】推理题。根据第六段Young says "Rhythms" was written about the beginning of his illness．说明在这首诗歌里他提及了他的疾病，故D正确。
【小题5】主旨大意题。本文主要介绍了Dean Young和他最近的作品Fall Higher。故C正确。
【小题6】细节题：从文章最后一段的句子：“I just feel enormous gratitude,” he says of his donor (捐献者). “He gave me a heart so I’m still alive … I’m sure I’m going to think about this person for the rest of my life.”可知Young对现在的生活是很感激的，选A
考点：考查人物传记类短文
科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn't already know.
I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned around to find a wrinkled，little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being. She said，“Hi, handsome. My name is Rose. I' m eighty－seven years old. Can I give you a hug？”I laughed and enthusiastically responded，“Of course you may.”and she gave me a giant squeeze. “Why are you in college at such a young，innocent age？”I asked. She jokingly replied，“I'm here to meet a rich husband，get married，have a couple of children，and then retire and travel.”“No，seriously？”I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age.
“I always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm getting one. ”she told me. After class we walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate milk- shake. We became instant friends. Every day for the next three months, we would leave class together and talk nonstop. I was always attracted listening to this “time machine” as she shared her wisdom and experience with me.
Over the course of the year，Rose became a campus icon and she easily made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she enjoyed the attention from the other students. She was living it up.
At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet. I'll never forget what she taught us. She was introduced and stepped up to the podium(讲台). As she began to deliver her prepared speech，she dropped her 3x5 cards on the floor. Frustrated and a little embarrassed, she leaned into the microphone and simply said，“I'm sorry I'm so nervous. I gave up beer for Lent(一种威士忌的牌子) and this whisky is killing me. I'll never get my speech back in order to let me just tell you what I know.”
As we laughed she cleared her throat and began：“We do not stop playing because we are old；we grow old because we stop playing. There are only four secrets to staying young，being happy，and achieving success.” “You have to laugh and find humor every day.” You've got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams，you die. We have so many people walking around who are dead and don't even know it.” “There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don't do one productive thing，you will turn twenty years old. If I am eighty－seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything, I will turn eighty－eight. Anybody can grow older. It’s non-optional but that doesn't take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding the opportunity in change.” “Have no regrets. The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we did，but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets.” She concluded her speech by courageously singing “The Rose.” She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives. At the year's end Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years ago.
One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep. Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in honor of the wonderful woman who taught by example that it's never too late to be all you can possibly be. When you finish reading this, please send this peaceful word of advice to your friends and family, they’ll really enjoy it! These words have been passed along in loving memory of ROSE.
【小题1】The writer provides the details about Rose in Paragraph 2 to show that_______.
| A．she was an innocent and enthusiastic person |
| B．she was an optimistic and humorous person |
| C．she was an aggressive person with a strong sense of honor |
| D．she was an intelligent person with highly motivated personality |
| A．To describe the friendship between Rose and her young schoolmates. |
| B．To stress her old age and rich wisdom and experience. |
| C．To show that she enjoyed dressing up in spite of her old age. |
| D．To emphasize that she took on the challenge at such an old age. |
| A．“If we lose our dreams, we will regret for what we did when young.” |
| B．“If we don’t laugh every day, we will easily get old.” |
| C．“Once we stop seeking and working for our dreams, we will really become old.” |
| D．“Once we stop exercising, we will get weaker physically and mentally.” |
| A．those who don’t have dreams are as good as dead |
| B．growing old is uncontrollable but growing up is optional |
| C．the elderly usually feel regretful for what they did |
| D．our talent and ability decline with age |
| A．making comments | B．making comparisons |
| C．providing arguments | D．giving examples |
| A．Meeting challenges | B．Secrets to success |
| C．Dream in heart | D．My best friend |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
A famous Renoir had been stolen from a museum. Detective Earl Blackman was to work on the case.
Everyone was in the dark before an art professor came to point out the false picture. So the museum even didn’t know when the picture had been stolen. Thousands of people came to visit the museum every day. After long work, some art students were focused on.
The five students who had made copies of the Renoir during the last six months were asked to bring their copies to the museum. The fifth student said she had sold her copy, which was later proved to be the one in the museum. She, however, could only remember the buyer was a man with the little finger on his left hand missing.
Blackman went back and stayed in his office looking at all the pictures of known thieves. No success.
The next afternoon, at about closing time, Blackman went to the museum to ask if the cleaning men were in the museum after everyone else had left. The director told him they had no cleaning man but six cleaning women.
As the detective left the director’s office, he saw five cleaning women. He stopped one and asked about her work. Then came the sixth cleaning woman. She was dressed just like the other women except the gloves on her hands which made her different. Blackman watched her for some time. When she came near, Blackman caught her. The woman cried out in a man’s voice, “What was that?” Blackman was more sure.
【小题1】Everything came to light ________________.
| A．when an art student was asked |
| B．when the cleaning man came into the office |
| C．when Blackman looked at all the pictures |
| D．when the cleaning woman cried |
| A．a-c-e-d-b | B．c-a-d-s-b | C．e-c-a-b-d | D．e-a-b-d-c |
| A．the glove | B．the clothes | C．her sex | D．her work |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
It was a winter morning, just a couple of weeks before Christmas 2005. While most people were warming up their cars, Trevor, my husband, had to get up early to ride his bike four kilometers away from home to work. On arrival, he parked his bike outside the back door as he usually did. After putting in 10 hours of labor, he returned to find his bike gone.
The bike, a black Kona 18 speed, was our only transport. Trevor used it to get to work, putting in 60-hour weeks to support his young family. And the bike was also used to get groceries（食品杂货），saving us from having to walk long distances from where we live.
I was so sad that someone would steal our bike that I wrote to the newspaper and told them our story. Shortly after that, several people in our area offered to help. One wonderful stranger even bought a bike, then called my husband to pick it up. Once again my husband had a way to get to and from his job. It really is an honor that a complete stranger would go out of their way for someone they have never met before.
People say that a smile can be passed from one person to another, but acts of kindness from strangers are even more so. This experience has had a spreading effect in our lives because it strengthened our faith in humanity（人性）as a whole. And it has influenced（影响）us to be more mindful of ways we, too, can share with others. No matter how big or how small, an act of kindness shows that someone cares. And the results can be everlasting.
【小题1】Why was the bike so important to the couple?
| A．The man’s job was bike racing. |
| B．It was their only possession. |
| C．It was a nice Kona 18 speed. |
| D．They used it for work and daily life. |
| A．the couple worked 60 hours a week |
| B．people were busy before Christmas |
| C．the stranger brought over the bike |
| D．life was hard for the young family |
| A．From radio broadcasts. | B．From a newspaper. |
| C．From TV news. | D．From a stranger. |
| A．Strangers are usually of little help. |
| B．One should take care of their bike. |
| C．News reports make people famous. |
| D．An act of kindness can mean a lot. |
| A．The couple will never steal bikes in revenge. |
| B．The couple will try their best to help others in trouble. |
| C．Trevor bought a new Kona immediately after someone stole his old one. |
| D．The couple got some help from several people in their area. |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
I was very disappointed not to be able to go to the jazz（爵士音乐） concert last Friday. The advertisement（广告） in the paper said that you could buy tickets at the theatre box in Richland Hills any day between 10:00 and 4:00.Since I work from 9:00 to 5:30, the only time I could go to the theatre was during my 45-minute lunch break. Unluckily, the theatre is on the other side of the town, and the bus service between my office and Richland Hills is not very good. But if you are lucky, you can make the round（往返的） trip in 45 minutes. Last Monday, I stood at the bus stop for fifteen minutes waiting for the bus. By the time I saw one come around the corner, there was not enough time left to make the trip. So I gave up and went back to the office. The same thing happened on Tuesday, and again the next day. On Thursday, my luck changed. I got on a bus right away and arrived at the theatre in exactly twenty minutes. When I got there, however, I found a long line of people at the office. I heard one man say he had been waiting in line for over an hour. Realizing I would not have enough time to wait in line, I caught the next bus and headed back（奔回） across the town. By Friday I realized my only hope was to make the trip by taxi. It was expensive, but I felt it would be worth it to hear the concert. The trip by taxi only took 10 minutes, but it felt like an hour to me. When I got to the theatre, I was relieved to see that nobody was waiting in line. The reason, however, I quickly discovered, was that they had already sold all the tickets.
【小题1】The man learned that there would be a concert last Friday ________.
| A．from his friends | B．from one of his workmates |
| C．over the radio | D．from the newspaper |
| A．forty-five minutes | B．fifteen minutes |
| C．just twenty minutes | D．over an hour |
| A．worried | B．pleased | C．puzzled | D．sorry |
| A．enjoyment of the concert | B．anger for buying the ticket |
| C．efforts to buy the ticket | D．disappointment at the concert |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
I will never forget the lesson about my window. Four years ago, I moved to a house in a large town. One of my new neighbors’ house was only a few feet away from mine. There lived a woman. Through one of my windows, I could see her reading by her window every afternoon.
Several months later, I found I couldn’t see the woman clearly. I thought her window was too dirty. I said to myself, “Why doesn’t she clean her window? It looks terrible!”
One afternoon, I decided to clean my house including the window. I felt tired after three hours of hard work. So I sat down by the window for a rest. What a surprise! I could see the woman reading there clearly again! By that time, I realized that my own window was too dirty, not hers! I really felt ashamed for myself. I had been watching her through my dirty window in the past days!
The experience is very important for me. So I try to clean the window of my heart before judging others.
【小题1】How long has the writer lived in the house according to the passage?
| A．One years | B．Two years. | C．Three years. | D．Four years. |
| A．Read by her window. | B．played tennis on the grass. |
| C．Danced in her house. | D．sang in front of the house. |
| A．the writer’s window was dirty |
| B．the woman’s house was too far |
| C．the woman didn’t open her window |
| D．there was something wrong with his eyes. |
| A．高兴的 | B．放松的 | C．羞愧的 | D．自豪的 |
| A．clean the house | B．judge others | C．help neighbors | D．learn English |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Sam, a dog, was left behind in Colorado while his owners, Mr. And Mrs. Green moved to Southern California. They did not give the dog up. They found him a very nice home before they moved. They would have let Sam accompany them, but they were afraid the dog’s presence would make it difficult for them to rent(租) a house when they reached their destination.
The Green family lived in Colorado for less than a year. Before that, they had lived in the same neighborhood in California to which they returned. So Sam had been there before, but only for a short time when he was young.
Several months after the Greens left Colorado, after they were comfortably settled back in California, they heard a scratch（抓）at the door. They couldn’t imagine who might be there. They never thought that it might be Sam, because they were sure he was happily set up with his new family back in Colorado. When they opened the door, the Greens saw a dirty, tired dog with very hurting feet. The animal looked a little bit like Sam, but no one could believe that Sam could have walked 840 miles on his own. The tired dog spent the night under the family car. The next day, when he was more rested, he performed some of his old tricks. The Greens knew they had their own dog back.
【小题1】The story suggests that _______ .
| A．dog owners have trouble renting |
| B．many people treat their pets badly |
| C．keeping a dog is easy |
| D．dogs are too much trouble |
| A．b, d, c, e, a | B．b, c, d, a, e | C．a, c, b, e, d | D．c, e, d, a, b |
| A．the cost of living |
| B．the country of one’s birth |
| C．the damage to oneself |
| D．the place to which one is going |
| A．because of his hurting feet |
| B．from the color and the markings |
| C．by the way he walked |
| D．after he did some tricks |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
When I was 12, all I wanted was a signet (图章) ring. They were the "in" thing and it seemed every girl except me had one. On my 13th birthday, my Mum gave me a signet ring with my initials(姓名首字母) carved into it. I was in heaven.
What made it even more special was that it was about the only thing that wasn't being "replaced". We'd been burnt out in fires that swept through our area earlier that year and had lost everything—so most of the " new" stuff (东西) we got was really just to replace what we'd lost. But not my ring. My ring was new.
Then, only one month later, I lost it. I took it off before bed and it was missing in the morning. I was sad and searched everywhere for it. But it seemed to have disappeared. Eventually, I gave up and stopped looking for it. And two years later, we sold the house and moved away.
Years passed, and a couple of moves later, I was visiting my parents' when Mum told me that she had something for me. It wasn't my birthday, nor was it Easter or Christmas or any other gift-giving occasion. Mum noticed my questioning look. " You'll recognize this one," she said, smiling.
Then she handed me a small ring box. I took it from her and opened it to find my beautiful signet ring inside. The family who had bought our house 13 years earlier had recently decided to do some redecorations, which included replacing the carpets. When they pulled the carpet up in my old bedroom, they found the ring. As it had my initials carved into it, they realized who owned the ring. They'd had it professionally cleaned up by a jeweler before sending it to my mother. And it still fits me.
【小题1】The underlined word "in" in the first paragraph probably means "_____".
| A．fashionable | B．available | C．practical | D．renewable |
| A．13 years old | B．15 years old | C．26 years old | D．28 years old |
| A．The writer’s family moved several times. |
| B．The writer never stopped looking for her ring. |
| C．The writer’s ring was cleaned up by the new house owner. |
| D．The writer lost her ring in the morning when she took it off. |
| A．My New Ring |
| B．Lost and Replaced |
| C．Lost and Found |
| D．An Expensive Ring |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
On a number of drives throughout my childhood, my mother would suddenly pull over the car to examine a flower by the side of the road or rescue a beetle from tragedy while I, in my late teens and early twenties, sat impatiently in the car.
Though Mother’s Day follows Earth Day, for me, they have always been related to each other. My mom has been “green” since she became concerned about the environment. Part of this habit was born of thrift (节俭). Like her mother and her grandmother before her, mom saves glass jars, empty cheese containers and reuses her plastic bags.
Mom creates a kind of harmonious relationship with wildlife in her yard. She knows to pick the apples on her trees a little early to avoid the bears and that if she leaves the bird feeders(给食器) out at night, it is likely that they will be knocked down by a family of raccoons (浣熊). Spiders that make their way into the house and are caught in juice glasses will be set loose in the garden.
I try to teach my children that looking out for the environment starts with being aware of the environment. On busy streets, we look for dandelions (蒲公英) to fly in the wind; we say hello to neighborhood cats and pick up plastic cups and paper bags. This teaching comes easily, I realize, because I was taught so well by example. Mom didn’t need to lecture; she didn’t need to beat a drum to change the world. She simply slowed down enough to enjoy living in it and with that joy came mercy and an instinct for protection.
I am slowing down and it isn’t because of the weight of my nearly forty years on the planet, it is out of my concern for the planet itself. I’ve begun to save glass jars and reuse packing envelopes. I pause in my daily tasks to watch the squirrels race each other in the trees above my house.
Last summer, in the company of my son and daughter, I planted tomatoes in my yard. With the heat of August around me, I ate the first while sitting on my low wall with dirt on my hands. Warm from the sun, it burst on my tongue with a sweetness I immediately wanted to share with my mom.
【小题1】. Why does the author say Earth Day is connected with Mother’s Day?
| A．Because Mother’s Day falls shortly after Earth Day. |
| B．To stress that all the older women in her family are environmentalists. |
| C．To stress how much her mother cares about the environment. |
| D．Because her mother shows her how to be friendly to nature on Mother’s Day. |
| A．Rescuing a beetle from a certain tragedy. |
| B．Saving glass jars, empty cheese containers. |
| C．Setting a caught spider free in the garden |
| D．Picking dandelions on busy streets. |
| A．the author realizes that she should teach her children by example as well |
| B．the author’s mother knows how to get rid of the wildlife in her yard |
| C．the author believes that only by learning to slow down can we enjoy life |
| D．the author’s mother used to lecture her to protect the environment. |
| A．Tomatoes make the author think of her mother. |
| B．The author likes eating tomatoes planted by herself. |
| C．Planting tomatoes is a way of protecting environment. |
| D．The author really appreciates her mother’s teaching. |
| A．understanding — critical — approving |
| B．approving — doubtful — negative |
| C．negative — understanding — approving |
| D．doubtful— critical— positive |
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