Question

【題目】When a friend is sad about a tragedy (悲劇)，it’s hard know how to comfort (安慰) him / her. But the worst thing you can do is say nothing. It could mean that you don’t care. You don’t have to say much. A single supportive phrase doesn’t require absolutely perfect words to break the ice. Here are some conversation starters when difficult situations have your tongue tied.

1. A friend loses his baby.

Don’t say: “Don’t worry. You’re so young. You’ll have another baby.” Do say: “I’m so sorry. I can’t begin to imagine what you are going through, but if you want to talk about it, call me anytime.”

2. A guy deserts（拋棄）your friend.

Don’t say: “I never liked that rat bustard (壞蛋) anyway!” (If the couple winds up reconciling (和解), you could end up losing your friend.) Do say: “Breaking up is always hard to deal with, but I’m here for you, whatever you need.”

3. A Maid has a death in the family.

Don’t say: “It’s God’s will.” or “I know exactly how you feel.” Do say: “I’m sorry about your loss. What can I do to help?"

4. A friend loses a job suddenly.

Don’t say: “Work is always boring. Those employers didn’t suit you!” Do say: “I’m sorry for that, but I know there’s an even better job waiting for you there. Let’s think about possibilities.”

5. Someone’s pet dies.

Don’t say: “Gee! It was only a cat!” or “My roommate doesn’t like her dog and she is getting rid of her dog. Do you want it?” Do say: “I’m sorry, she was such a great cat. How long did you have it?”

【1】Which of the following has the same meaning as the underlined part “have your tongue tied”？

A. tie your tongue in order not to say. B. make your tongue shut.

C. have no suitable words to say. D. say what you want freely.

【2】As a whole, what’s the best way to comfort your friend troubled with a tragedy?

A. To try to make the tragedy less serious.

B. To show your sorrow and offer your help.

C. To do your best to make him/her cheerful again.

D. To tell your friend not to think about it any more.

【3】Though your friend is deserted, you’d better not say dirty words about her / his friend because ________.

A. it may be a sign that you don’t care for your friend

B. your friend might not liker you to say that against her / his friend

C. your friend might hate you in the future

D. they might get along well again and you might be deserted

【4】Which of the following might be suitable words when your friend’s dog dies?

A. I’m sorry to hear that. It was such a good dog.

B. I’m sorry you lost your dog. But it was at its ripe age.

C. You must be sad about it. That’s enough.

D. Don’t worry too much. I’ll give you a good one.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】C

【2】B

【3】D

【4】A

【解析】文章講述的是當(dāng)朋友遇到了困難時，你該如何安慰他/她，文章列出了5種情況。

【1】C

猜測句意題。Here are some conversation starters when life difficult situationshave your tongue tied.橫線前面是difficult situations指遇見的一些生活中的可能出了現(xiàn)的困難情況，這些情況讓你無話可說。也就是是很難找出合適的詞來表達自己的意思。分析選項可知C項符合題意。

【2】B

推理判斷題。文章中提到的5種情況中，都有“I’m so sorry.，(for…)”等，涉及對他們的遭遇表示同情，可知都要表現(xiàn)出自己對他們的同情。故選B項。

【3】D

細節(jié)題細節(jié)。根據(jù)Don’t say: “I never liked that rat bastard (壞蛋) anyway!” ( If the couple winds up reconciling (和解)， youcould end up losing your friend.)我從來就不喜歡那個壞蛋（如果他們和好了那你就會永遠失去了你的朋友。）分析句意，可知你的朋友可能和她的朋友和好，所以D正確。

【4】A

細節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)第5中情況中的，Dosay: “I’m sorry, she was such a great cat. How long did you have it?”分析句意可知，如果是寵物貓死了，說她曾是多么好的一只貓。但如果是寵物狗的話就要說“這曾經(jīng)是一只多么好的狗”了，故A正確。