Question

In the 1950s，a family who owned a farm near Beulah，Michigan kept a bull chained to an elm (榆树)．The bull paced around the tree，dragging the heavy iron chain，which led to a groove (槽) in the bark.The groove deepened over the years，though for whatever reason，it did not kill the tree.

After some years，the family took their bull away.They cut the chain，leaving the loop (圈) around the tree and one link hanging down.

Then one year，agricultural disaster struck Michigan in the form of Dutch Elm Disease.All of the elms lining the road leading to the farm became infected and died.Everyone thought that the old elm would be next.

The farm’s owners considered doing the safe thing：pulling it out and cutting it up into firewood before it died.But they simply could not bring themselves to do it.It was as if the old tree had become a family friend.So they decided to let_nature_take_its_course.

Amazingly，the tree did not die.Nobody could understand why it was the only elm that was still standing in the country!

Plant pathologists(病理学家) from Michigan State University came out to observe the tree.They observed the scar left by the iron chain，now almost completely covered by bark.The plant experts decided that it was the chain that saved the elm’s life.They reasoned that the tree must have absorbed so much iron from the chain that it became immune (免疫) to the fungus (真菌)．

It’s said that what doesn’t kill you will make you stronger.Or，as Ernest Hemimgway put it，“Life breaks us all，but afterwards，many of us are strongest at the broken places.”

1.What happened to the elms in Michigan during the agricultural disaster?

A．The elms were tied by iron chains.

B．Some of the elms were cut up into firewood.

C．All the elms were infected by a disease and died.

D．Nearly all of the elms died of a disease.

2.From the passage we can learn that the old elm was saved by________.

A．the groove in the bark B．the fungus in the tree

C．the iron remaining in it D．its own immune system

3.The underlined sentence “let_nature_take_its_course” means______.

A．leave the elm at the mercy of nature

B．help the elm grow normally

C．let nature take the elm away

D．have nature give a lesson to the elm

4.What is the best title for the text?

A．Never Lose Heart in Trouble

B．Strike While the Iron is Hot

C．Brave to Face Failure

D．Stronger after Suffering

 

Answer 1

1.D

2.C

3.A

4.D

【解析】文章大意：本文是一篇夹叙夹议文。文章主要讲述了在一次农业灾难中，荷兰榆树菌(Dutch Elm Disease)袭击密歇根的本土榆树，农场沿路边几乎所有的榆树都感染并死掉了，但有一棵曾经被铁链拴过的老榆树却仍然存活着。作者以这则故事告诉我们：曾经经历的磨难会让我们更强大。

1.细节理解题。根据文章第三段第二句“All of the elms lining the road leading to the farm became infected and died.”可知，在这次农业灾难中，几乎所有的榆树都因为感染了荷兰榆树菌而死掉了

2.细节理解题。根据文章第六段第二、三、四句话“They observed the scar left by the iron chain...it was the chain that saved the elm’s life...must have absorbed so much iron from the chain...”可知，这棵老榆树是吸收了铁链中的铁(iron)，增强了它对病菌的免疫力

3.句意理解题。根据文章第四段可知，农场的主人曾想过要在这棵榆树死之前将其砍掉当柴火，但由于这么多年来这棵老榆树已经成为了他们的朋友，所以他们不忍心下手，并决定让这棵榆树顺其自然。因此，此处的let the nature take its course意为“听天由命；任由大自然的摆布”，即leave the elm at the mercy of the nature。

4.标题概括题。文章最后一段是全文的中心段，“what doesn’t kill you will make you stronger.”和“Life breaks us all，but afterwards，many of us are strongest at the broken places.”是全文的升华，作者以老榆树的故事告诉人们，生活中的磨难并不可怕，它会使我们更坚强。所以D项“Stronger after Suffering”最适合做文章的标题，故答案选D。