Question

Before my first summer vacation at college, my roommate Ted asked me to work with him on his father’s farm in Argentina. The idea of spending two months in Argentina was exciting. But I was afraid of it. I had never been far from New England. What would it be like in a strange country? What about the language? The more I thought about it, the more the idea worried me.

In the end I turned down the invitation. As soon as Ted asked somebody else to go, I began kicking myself. I had turned down something I wanted to do because I was afraid, and had ended up feeling depressed (沮喪的) . That unhappy summer taught me a valuable lesson out of which I developed a rule for myself: do what makes you worried; don’t do what makes you depressed.

At the end of my senior year, I began to think about becoming a writer. But my professor was telling me to aim at teaching. I hesitated (猶豫). The idea of trying to live by writing was a lot scarier than spending a summer in Argentina. Back and forth I went, making my decision, unmaking it. Suddenly I realized that every time I gave up the idea of writing, that downhearted feeling went through me.

Giving up on what I really wanted to do depressed me. Right then I learned another lesson. To avoid that kind of depression meant having to bear a certain amount of worry and concern.

When I first began writing articles, I was frequently required to interview big names. Before each interview I would get anxieties (焦慮) in the mind and my hands would shake. One person I particularly admired was the great composer Duke Ellington. On the stage and on television, he seemed the very model of confidence. Then I learned Ellington still got stage fright and had anxiety attacks. I went on doing those frightening interviews. Then I realized that I was even looking forward to the interviews. What had happened to those anxieties?

Well, in truth, the anxieties were still there, but there were fewer of them. I had benefited from a process of overcoming them. If you put an individual in an anxious situation often enough, he will eventually learn that there isn’t anything to be worried about. This brings me to a conclusion: you’ll never get rid of anxiety by avoiding the things that caused it. The point is that the new, the different, is definitely scary (可怕的). But each time you try something, you learn, and as the learning piles up, the world opens to you.

1.What does the phrase “turned down” mean in the second paragraph?

A. To say “No” to his roommate. B. To say in a low voice.

C. To put away the invitation. D. To take the invitation.

2.We can infer from the passage that the writer________.

A. finds it difficult to make decision

B. has found out what causes anxiety

C. was inspired (受啟發(fā)的) by Duke Ellington’s stage fright

D. no longer feels anxious about new experiences

3.Which of the following opinions does the writer probably accept?

A. Hesitation leads to depression.

B. Anxiety can be a positive drive.

C. Avoiding anxiety reduces depression.

D. Depression is a signal that one is growing up.

 

Answer 1

1.A

2.C

3.B

【解析】

試題分析：這篇短文中作者結(jié)合自己的親身經(jīng)歷，告訴我們要想最后不會感到沮喪，就必須要忍受一些擔(dān)心和焦慮。事實(shí)上，有時候焦慮會成為你上升的一種動力。如果你經(jīng)常處在焦慮的狀況中，你會發(fā)現(xiàn)這其實(shí)并沒有什么可擔(dān)心的，你可以從中學(xué)到很多。

1.詞義猜測題。根據(jù)上文第一段中作者的這些顧慮以及這個短語所在的句子可知，the more I thought about it, the more the idea worried me作者想得越多，就會越擔(dān)心，所以最后拒絕了Ted的邀請。turn down在這里表示拒絕。故選A。

2.推理判斷題。根據(jù)短文第五段的內(nèi)容可知，當(dāng)作者剛開始寫作的時候，他經(jīng)常去采訪一些名人。在采訪之前，他通常會變得很緊張。而他采訪過的一個名人叫Duke Ellington，Duke Ellington在舞臺上，在電視上表現(xiàn)得很自信，但其實(shí)他也很害怕上臺。Duke Ellington給了他很大的啟發(fā)。從此作者不再害怕這些采訪。故選C。

3.推理判斷題。根據(jù)短文最后一段的內(nèi)容可知，作者在戰(zhàn)勝焦慮的過程中收獲了很多，如果你經(jīng)常處在一種焦慮的情況中，你就會覺得這根本就沒有什么可擔(dān)心的。所以有時候焦慮是你上升的一種動力，每次你嘗試一些新的東西的時候，你就會從中學(xué)到很多。故選B。

考點(diǎn)：人生哲理類短文閱讀。