A
Two years ago, my friend Terry and I were living in our dormitory at our university. With his birthday approaching, he came to me with an unusual request. Instead of receiving presents and getting drunk (like most every other 21yearold would), he wanted to do some acts of kindness. I was struck with such an idea.He told me about a TED talk he had watched online, which had inspired him.
Our university is not located in the safest area in Los Angeles. In fact, its location is so unsafe that the school employs the second largest private legal militia (民兵队伍) in the United States to protect its students. They have to work around the clock, standing on street corners throughout the university keeping watch. It's a thankless job as most students grow used to seeing officers all around and finally hardly even notice their presence.
How could we show them our appreciation? We rented a truck and asked its driver to drive us around the place where we knew the officers would be and we poured them each a cup of hot chocolate.The truck driver was a bit hesitant (犹豫的) about our plan at first but after a while he was helping us spot officers and our lively spirits had spread to him as well. Smiles and appreciative words from the officers impressed us a lot. Soon they were talking about us over their radio and we were the ones being spotted and called over. Finally, the hot chocolate seemed secondary (次要的) to their interest in meeting us, the two boys that went around with hot chocolate expecting to share some latenight laughter. It was amazing to see how a small simple act can lift everyone's spirits.
【语篇解读】 本文语篇类型是记叙文，主题语境是学校生活。Terry过21岁生日时没有像大多数同龄人那样收礼物，开派对。取而代之的是，他通过善举在给他人带来快乐的同时也让自己收获了快乐。
1．What inspired Terry to celebrate his birthday in a different way?
A．An online video.
B．A radio speech.
C．His concern for other people.
D．Other 21yearolds' birthday celebrations.
A [细节理解题。根据第一段最后一句可知，Terry生日善举的灵感来自于自己观看的一个TED talk的网络视频。]
2．What do most students think of the officers?
A．They feel frightened to see the officers around.
B．They seldom appreciate the officers' hard work.
C．They are not used to being watched by the officers.
D．They don't think the officers perform their duty well.
B [推理判断题。根据第二段最后一句可知，许多学生对时刻坚守岗位，保证学生安全的民兵们已经习以为常，甚至很少注意到这些辛勤付出的人们。由此可推知，大多数学生很少对民兵的辛劳表示感谢。]
3．How did the truck driver respond to the idea at first?
A．He was struck with the idea.
B．He was strongly against the idea.
C．He was unwilling to accept the idea.
D．He couldn't wait to join the two boys.
C [细节理解题。根据第三段第二句话可知，卡车司机起初对于他们的计划有些犹豫，过了一段时间之后才在两个人的感染之下积极加入了其中。]
4．What would be the best title for the text?
A．Latenight Laughter
B．A Unique Birthday Request
C．Importance of School Safety
D．Lovely Officers Around the School
B [标题归纳题。文章在第一段提出Terry在自己21岁生日即将来临之际，有了一个特别的请求——通过一些善举来庆祝自己的生日。下文围绕该主题展开，故最佳标题为B项。]
