On a sunny day last August, Tim heard some shouting. Looking out to the sea care

On a sunny day last August, Tim heard some shouting. Looking out to the sea carefully, he saw a couple of kids in a rowboat were being pulled out to sea.

Two 2-year-old boys, Christian and Jack, rowed out a boat to search for a football. Once they’d rowed beyond the calm waters, a bleach umbrella tied to the boat caught the wind and pulled the boat into open water. The pair panicked and tried to row back to shore. But they were no match for it and the boat was out of control.

Tim knew it would soon be swallowed by the waves.

“Everything went quiet in my head,” Tim recalls(回忆). “I was trying to figure out how to swim to the boys in a straight line.”

Tim took off his clothes and jumped into the water. Every 500 yards or so, he raised his head to judge his progress. “At one point, I considered turning back,” he says. “I wondered if I was putting my life at risk.” After 30 minutes of struggling, he was close to yell to the boys, “Take down the umbrella!”

Christian made much effort to take down the umbrella. Then Tim was able to catch up and climb aboard the boat. He took over rowing, but the waves were almost too strong for him.

“Let’s aim for the pier(码头),” Jack said. Tim turned the boat toward it. Soon afterward, waves crashed over the boat, and it began to sink. “Can you guys swim?” he cried. “A little bit,” the boys said.

Once they were in the water, Tim decided it would be safer and faster for him to pull the boys toward the pier. Christian and Jack were wearing life jackets and floated on their backs. Tim swam toward land as water washed over the boys’ faces.

“Are we almost there?” they asked again and again. “Yes,” Tim told them each time.

After 30 minutes, they reached the pier.

35. Why did the two boys go to the sea?

A. To go boat rowing.

B. To get back their football.

C. To swim in the open water.

D. To test the umbrella as a sail.

36. What does “it” in Paragraph 2 refer to?

A. The beach                      B. The water.

C. The boat.                        D. The wind

37. Why did Tim raise his head regularly?

A. To take in enough fresh air. 

B. To consider turning back or not.

C. To check his distance from the boys. 

D. To ask the boys to take down the umbrella.

38. How did the two boys finally reach the pier?

A. They were dragged to the pier by Tim.

B. They swam to the pier all by themselves.

C. They were washed to the pier by the waves.

D. They were carried to the pier by Tim on his back.

试题答案

【语篇解读】本文是一篇记叙文，题材是人物故事。作者描述了两个孩子划船出海捡球遇险，Tim勇敢地游泳去营救的故事。

段落	关键词、句	大意推测
第一部分（Para. 1）	heard...shouting; being pulled out to sea;	故事的发生：听到有人求救；注意到孩子被拖入大海
第二部分（Para. 2-3）	rowed beyond the calm water; caught the wind...into open water;panicked; out of control; be swallowed;	故事的起因：孩子们划过了平静的水面，风把他们带到开阔水域，孩子们惊慌，船失控，不久会被吞没。
第三部分（Para. 4-10）	swim to; take down the umbrella; catch up and climb aboard; took over rowing; crashed; sink; swam toward land; pull; reached the pier	故事的发展及结局：Tim游泳去营救，赶上并往回划，但海浪击毁船只，下沉，因此，他拖着孩子们游回码头。

【解析】

35. B。细节理解题。难度：较易。题干关键词为two boys go to the sea，定位第二段第一句。根据“to search a football”，可知B项正确。

36. D。词汇猜测题。难度：较难。no match for“无法对抗；不敌”，定位原文中的it，阅读其上文可知，绑在船上的伞利用了风力将船带入开阔的水域，孩子们慌了，尽力往岸边划，但却抵不过它，船失控了。因此，it指的是“the wind”，因此，选D。

37. C。细节理解题。难度：较易。根据关键词“raise his head”定位原文在第五段第二句 “... raise his head to judge his progress”，可知，Tim抬头是为了判断自己的进程。C项是对原文的同义转述，因此，选C。

38. A。细节理解题。难度：中等。根据题干关键词“how...reach the pier”定位原文第八段“Tim decided... to pull the boys toward the pier”，可知，Tim 将两个孩子拖回了码头，A项中的“drag”与原文“pull”同义，因此，选A。