Question

Dear Guys,

I’d like to talk to you about the shame you subjected me to last night. Let me first refresh your memory You, a group of fit, young men, were playing soccer on the field across from my apartment building. I, a better-than-average looking young woman, was walking along the sidewalk with my groceries. That’s when your ball came flying over the fence and landed in front of me.

One of you approached and asked politely if I would throw the ball back to you. Fighting the urge to drop my bags and run screaming down the street, I reluctantly (勉強(qiáng)地) agreed.

Before I continue, let me explain something that I didn’t have a chance to mention last night I hate sports. More specifically, I hate sports involving balls. This results from my lack of natural ability when it comes to throwing, catching and hitting. I’m bad at aiming too. So you can understand why I’d be nervous at what I’m sure seemed to you like a laughably simple request.

However, wanting to appear agreeable, I put my bags down, picked up the ball and, eyes half-shut, and threw it as hard as I could.

It hit the middle of the fence and bounced back to me.

Trying to act casually, I said something about being out of practice, and then picked up the ball again. If you’ll remember, at your command, I agreed to try throwing underhand. While outwardly I was smiling, in my head, I was praying, oh God, oh please oh please oh please. I threw the ball upward with all my strength, terrified by what happened next.

The ball hit slightly higher up on the fence and bounced back to me.

This is the point where I start to take issue with you. Wouldn’t it have been a better use of your time, and mine, if you had just walked around the fence and took the ball then? I was clearly struggling; my smiles were more and more forced. And yet, you all just stood there, motionless.

Seeing that you weren’t going to let me out of the trouble, I became desperate. Memories of middle school softball came flooding back. I tried hard to throw the ball but it only went about eight feet, then I decided to pick it up and dash with ball in hand towards the baseline, while annoyed thirteen-year-old boys screamed at me that I was ruining their lives. Children are cruel.

Being a big girl now, I pushed those memories aside and picked up the soccer ball for the third time. I forced a good-natured laugh while crying inside as you patiently shouted words of support over the fence at me.

“Throw it granny-style!” one of you said.

“Just back up a little and give it all you’ve got!” another offered.

And, most embarrassing of all, “You can do it!”

I know you thought you were being encouraging, but it only served to deepen the shame.

Anyway, I accepted your ball-throwing advice, backed up, rocked back and forth a little, took a deep breath and let it fly.

It hit the edge of the fence and bounced back to me.

I surprised myself—and I’m sure you as well—by letting out a cry, “DAMN IT!!!” I then willed myself to have a heart attack and pass out in front of you just so I’d be put out of my misery.

Alas, the heart attack didn’t happen, and you continued to look at me expectantly, like you were content to do this all night. I had become a sort of exhibition for you. I could feel your collective thoughts drifting through the chain-link “Can she really not do it? But I mean, really?”

Unfortunately for you, I wasn’t really game to continue your experiment. Three failed attempts at a simple task in front of a group of people in a two-minute period were just enough blows for me for one night. I picked up the ball one last time, approached the fence and grumbled, “Please just come get the damn ball.”

And you did. And thanks to you, I decided at that very moment to never throw anything ever again, except disrespectful glances at people who play sports.

Sincerely, Jen Cordery

1. The writer agreed to throw the ball because ______.

A. she needed to have a relax carrying the heavy groceries

B. she wanted to refresh her childhood memories

C. she could not refuse the polite request from the young man

D. she had fallen in love with the young man at first sight

2. Which of the following is closet in meaning to the underlined word “game”?

A. anxious B. brave C. afraid D. curious

3. Why did the writer mention her middle school memory?

A. To explain why she failed the attempts to throw the ball back.

B. To complain that she had not mastered the ball throwing skills.

C. To show how cruel those 13-year-old boys were.

D. To express her dislike towards softball.

4. What the boys said before the writer’s third attempt actually made the writer ________.

A. encouraged B. moved C. awkward D. depressed

5. What happened to the ball at last?

A. The writer managed to throw the ball back.

B. The boy got the ball back by himself.

C. The writer threw the ball away out of anger.

D. The boys got angry and left without the ball.

6. What’s the writer’s purpose in writing this open letter?

A. To express her regret over what she did the day before.

B. To announce that she would never play all games again.

C. To reflect upon an embarrassing incident in her life.

D. To criticize the young men for their cruelty to her dignity.

Answer 1

1.C

2.B

3.A

4.C

5.B

6.C

【解析】

試題分析：這是一個(gè)女士寫給一些男孩的信，因?yàn)槟泻⒉恍⌒陌亚虼虻脚�士的家，女士答�?yīng)把球扔回來給男孩，但是因?yàn)檫@個(gè)女士一直不擅長運(yùn)動(dòng)，所以扔了幾次都沒有扔回來，這使她很尷尬，最后還是男孩自己把球取回的

1. of you approached and asked politely if I would throw the ball back to you…I reluctantly (勉強(qiáng)地) agreed你們中的一個(gè)靠近我并禮貌地詢問我是否愿意將球扔回給你們......我勉強(qiáng)地同意了�？芍�作者覺得不能拒絕禮貌的請(qǐng)求，所以同意扔球。故選C

2. for you, I wasn’t really game to continue your experiment對(duì)于你們不幸的是，我真的是沒有勇氣繼續(xù)你們的測(cè)試�？芍�作者在經(jīng)歷數(shù)次失敗后，對(duì)于自己能否將球扔過去產(chǎn)生懷疑，這種尷尬的時(shí)刻，作者失去了勇氣。故選B

3. you can understand why I’d be nervous at what I’m sure seemed to you like a laughably simple request這樣你們就明白了為什么我確定對(duì)于你們來說只是一個(gè)令人發(fā)笑的簡單請(qǐng)求�？芍�作者提到中學(xué)的記憶是為了解釋為什么不能把球扔回來。故選A

4. most embarrassing of all, “You can do it!”接著，最為尷尬的，“你能做到的”可知男孩說的話使作者感到尷尬。故選C

5. just come get the damn ball.請(qǐng)來拿走這該死的球�！焙� And you did. And thanks to you,然后你們做到了，謝謝你們�？芍�最后是男孩自己去拿的球。故選B

6. like to talk to you about the shame you subjected me to last night.我來談?wù)勱P(guān)于昨晚你們使我遭受的羞辱。而全文從作者主觀出發(fā)，將自己無比尬尷的情緒表達(dá)出來。這封信件便是向男孩們反映這是她生活中的尬尷事件。故選C

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