Exercises
A. Determining the main idea.
Choose the best answer. Do not refer to the text.
The main idea of the story is that ______. ( C )
(a) people can never make full use of their seeing faculty
(b) valuable things often pass unnoticed by people
(c) we should make full use of our seeing faculty and never take life for granted
(d) different people see different things
B. Comprehending the text.
Choose the best answer.
1. According to the author, thrilling stories with heroes having limited and specified time to live may set us ________. ( C )
(a) wishing to do what the heroes might do in similar circumstances
(b) realizing that we are all mortals
(c) appreciating the values of life better
(d) feeling more happy as free people with a choice
2. Keller thinks that if people live each day as if they should die tomorrow, _______. ( D )
(a) they would eat, drink and be merry
(b) no one would follow the Epicurean motto of "Eat, drink, and be merry"
(c) all the people would be chastened by the impending death
(d) most people would cherish each day
3. Most people take life for granted because_______. ( D )
(a) they don’t know that they will die one day
(b) they are in good health
(c) they care about petty tasks only
(d) they think death is far in the future
4. According to Keller, those appreciating sight and hearing most are ones who __________. ( C )
(a) are able to see and hear
(b) are not able to see and hear
(c) have lost sight and hearing in adult life
(d) are born deaf and blind
5. When a good friend told Keller after a long walk in the woods that she had observed nothing in particular __________. ( C )
(a) Keller knew that her friend was not telling the truth
(b) it surprised Keller very much
(c) Keller knew that she was telling the truth
(d) Keller thought that that should be the case
6. Keller is delighted by the pageant of seasons in the woods through __________. ( D )
(a) hearing
(b) seeing
(c) reading
(d) touching
7. What Keller wished to see most is ___________. ( C )
(a) the colorful nature
(b) daylight
(c) her teacher’s face
(d) as many people as she could
8. According to Keller, she can understand people’s personalities by ____________. ( C )
(a) touch
(b) hearing
(c) their thoughts expressed to her
(d) looking at their eyes
9. Keller thinks that most people ________. ( B )
(a) try to see into the inner nature of a friend or acquaintance
(b) look only at the outward features of their friends or acquaintances
(c) can accurately describe the faces of five of their good friends
(d) pay attention only to changes in appearances
C. Understanding vocabulary.
Choose the correct definition according to the context.
1. All of us have read thrilling stories in which the hero had only a limited and specified time to live. ( A )
(a) stated exactly
(b) made special
(c) very short
(d) preserved
2. We should live each day with a gentleness, a vigor, and a keenness of appreciation which are often lost when time stretches before us in the constant panorama of more days and months and years to come. ( B )
(a) moving
(b) vista
(c) picture
(d) passing
3. When we are in buoyant health, death is all but unimaginable. ( D )
(a) plain
(b) conscious
(c) safe
(d) cheerful
4. But those who have never suffered impairment of sight or hearing seldom make the fullest use of these blessed faculties. ( A )
(a) loss
(b) disease
(c) weakness
(d) improvement
5. I might have been incredulous had I not been accustomed to such responses, for long ago I became convinced that the seeing see little. ( C )
(a) credible
(b) uncertain
(c) dubious
(d) incredible
6. I feel the delightful, velvety texture of a flower, and discover its remarkable convolutions; and something of the miracle of Nature is revealed to me. ( A )
(a) twists
(b) pictures
(c) workings
(d) shivers
7. To me the pageant of seasons is a thrilling and unending drama, the action of which streams through my finger tips. ( A )
(a) spectacle
(b) changing
(c) performance
(d) pages
8. And, incidentally, it is a chronic complaint of wives that their husbands do not notice new dresses, new hats, and changes in household arrangements. ( A )
(a) constant
(b) medical
(c) occasional
(d) suffering
D. Discussing the following topics
1. If you were given three days to see, what would you do?
答案：
If I were in a situation like Helen's and were given three days to see, the thing I would most like to do before I go blind is to see my family, because they are most important in my life. I would like to gather my family and have a reunion. I would like to see as much of them as possible. I would also try to see my friends and thank them for the help I received from them. I would also like to see the most beautiful things such as the beach, the sun, and the moon. I would like to spend a night on the beach and watch the sun set and have my loved ones at my side. (Open to discussion.)
2. Keller, both deft and blind, revealed neither bitterness nor anger for herself in the essay. Please find other features of the author through the essay.
The author showed great tranquility of mind and an unusual perception. She could write with lucidity and subtlety. Helen had a wonderful imagination, and showed great admiration for those who could see and pointed to the fact that the seeing see little. She was wise, witty and philosophical.
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