About five weeks ago, I noticed the skin of our pet lizard was growing dusty. It worried me. I reported the strange surface on the skin of the lizard to my husband and children the next morning. Seconds later, our lizard emerged from its tank with its old skin flowing behind it.

I didn’t think about it much until a morning last week when I knocked my favorite teapot off the table. It burst into hundreds of pieces. As I swept up the mess, I wondered why we had been breaking so many things over the months.

The destruction started three months ago. It was my husband’s birthday. He had just lost his job. The uncertainty was starting to wear on us, so I wanted to do something special.

“Let’s make a cake for Dad!” I cried.

My kids screamed with joy. We baked, iced and sprinkled for most of the day. Candles on the cake! Balloons on the walls! Flowers on the table!

Two hours before my husband came back home from another job interview, my daughter climbed up to grab a glass vase from a high shelf. It fell and crashed beside the cake. Tiny pieces of glass were everywhere. She sobbed loudly as I threw the cake away. My husband had banana pudding for his birthday.

Three days ago the light in our living room suddenly went out. After several frustrating hours of unsuccessful attempts to fix it, my husband suggested watching the Michael Jordan documentary series The Last Dance.

The poignancy of Jordan retiring from his beloved basketball to play baseball and what had pushed him to make such a tough decision took me by surprise. As I watched him take off his basketball uniform and replace it with a baseball uniform, I saw him leaving behind the layer that no longer served him, just as our lizard had. Neither of them chose the moment that had transformed them. But they had to live with who they were after everything was different. Just like us. I realized that we have to learn to leave the past behind.

Humans do not shed skin as easily as other animals. The beginning of change is upsetting. The process is tiring. Damage changes us before we are ready. I see our lizard, raw and nearly new.

Jordan said that no matter how it ends, it starts with hope. With our tender, hopeful skin, that is where we begin.

40. What can we learn about the pet lizard from Paragraph 1?

A. Its tank grew dirty.              B. Its old skin came off.

C. It got a skin disease.              D. It went missing.

41. Why did the author’s husband have banana pudding for his birthday?

A. The birthday cake was ruined.              B. The author made good puddings.

C. Pudding was his favorite dessert.              D. They couldn’t afford a birthday cake.

42. Why does the author mention The Last Dance in the passage?

A. To prove a theory.              B. To define a concept.

C To develop the theme.              D. To provide the background.

43. The underlined part "leaving behind the layer" in Paragraph 8 can be understood as        .

A. letting go of the past              B. looking for a new job

C. getting rid of a bad habit              D. giving up an opportunity

44. What does the author most likely want to tell us?

A. Love of family helps us survive great hardships.              B. It’s not the end of the world if we break things.

C. We should move on no matter what happens.              D. Past experiences should be treasured.

　　

【答案解析】

40. B    41. A    42. C    43. A    44. C

【分析】这是一篇夹叙夹议文。讲述了作者的丈夫刚刚丢了工作，这种不确定性开始影响到家人，直到作者看到家里的宠物蜥蜴换皮和观看了Michael Jordan的纪录片《最后的舞蹈》后，领悟到我们必须学会把过去抛在脑后，像蜥蜴一样，用我们柔嫩、充满希望的皮肤，作为人生的起点。

【40题详解】

细节理解题。根据第一段中“I reported the strange surface on the skin of the lizard to my husband and children the next morning. Seconds later, our lizard emerged from its tank with its old skin flowing behind it.(第二天早上，我向丈夫和孩子们报告了蜥蜴皮肤上奇怪的表面。几秒钟后，我们的蜥蜴从水箱里出来，旧皮肤蜕了下来)”可知，宠物蜥蜴旧的皮肤脱落了。故选B。

【41题详解】

细节理解题。根据第六段“Two hours before my husband came back home from another job interview, my daughter climbed up to grab a glass vase from a high shelf. It fell and crashed beside the cake. Tiny pieces of glass were everywhere. She sobbed loudly as I threw the cake away. My husband had banana pudding for his birthday.(就在我丈夫参加另一场工作面试回家前两个小时，我女儿爬到一个高高的架子上，抓起一个玻璃花瓶。它掉下来摔碎在蛋糕旁边。到处都是细小的玻璃碎片。我把蛋糕扔掉时，她大声抽泣。我丈夫生日吃了香蕉布丁)”可知，作者的丈夫过生日吃了香蕉布丁是因为生日蛋糕毁了。故选A。

【42题详解】

推理判断题。根据倒数第三段“The poignancy of Jordan retiring from his beloved basketball to play baseball and what had pushed him to make such a tough decision took me by surprise. As I watched him take off his basketball uniform and replace it with a baseball uniform, I saw him leaving behind the layer that no longer served him, just as our lizard had. Neither of them chose the moment that had transformed them. But they had to live with who they were after everything was different. Just like us. I realized that we have to learn to leave the past behind.( Jordan从心爱的篮球退役，转而打棒球，这是多么令人痛心的事情，是什么促使他做出如此艰难的决定，让我感到惊讶。当我看着他脱下篮球服，换上棒球服时，我看到他脱下了那层不再适合他的衣服，就像我们的蜥蜴一样。他们都没有选择那个改变了他们的时刻。但他们必须和自己生活在一起因为一切都变了。就像我们一样。我意识到我们必须学会把过去抛在脑后)”以及最后一段“Jordan said that no matter how it ends, it starts with hope. With our tender, hopeful skin, that is where we begin.( Jordan说，不管结局如何，都是以希望开始的。用我们柔嫩、充满希望的皮肤，那是我们的起点)”可推知，作者在文章中提到The Last Dance是为了展开文章关于放手过去，重新开始的主题。故选C。

【43题详解】

词义猜测题。根据画线词后文“Neither of them chose the moment that had transformed them. But they had to live with who they were after everything was different. Just like us. I realized that we have to learn to leave the past behind.(他们都没有选择那个改变了他们的时刻。但他们必须和自己生活在一起因为一切都变了。就像我们一样。我意识到我们必须学会把过去抛在脑后)”可知，作者看着乔丹脱下篮球服，换上棒球服时，意识到看到他放开了过去，把过去抛在脑后了。即画线词意思是“放开过去”。故选A。

【44题详解】

推理判断题。根据倒数第二段“Humans do not shed skin as easily as other animals. The beginning of change is upsetting. The process is tiring. Damage changes us before we are ready. I see our lizard, raw and nearly new.(人类不像其他动物那样容易蜕皮。变革的开始令人不安。这个过程很累人。伤害在我们准备好之前就改变了我们。我看到了我们生嫩的、几乎是全新的蜥蜴)”以及最后一段“Jordan said that no matter how it ends, it starts with hope. With our tender, hopeful skin, that is where we begin.( Jordan说，不管结局如何，都是以希望开始的。用我们柔嫩、充满希望的皮肤，那是我们的起点)”可推知，作者最有可能想告诉我们无论发生什么，我们都应该继续前进。故选C。

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