Miss Popular
I was awkward in middle school: bony and athletic, with a high grade in science and a low one in self-esteem. Though I had a few friends, I wasn’t popular. I was picked last in football and I sometimes ate lunch by myself.
I remember the day Brittany came to our school. Her teeth were crooked(歪斜的), and she was a little overweight. Not that this mattered though, because she walked around like she was better than all of us. She was outspoken and incredibly frightening, making people lose confidence.
Around Brittany, I tried my best to go unnoticed. Standing out or stealing her spotlight could only result in one thing: conflict. Brittany was always the first girl picked for teams; I was lucky if I was picked at all. I was thrown the ball while she stood with the quarterback, chatting about the last party she’d gone to. I had never been to a party before or kissed a boy.
One day, a classmate asked me to the school dance. I was flattered. Then Brittany told me during science class that she had persuaded him to invite me. She asked in front of everyone, “Why would anyone even want you?” I went home and cried.
Although she was seemingly perfect in everyone’s eyes, I wanted to be everything that she wasn’t and yet a million times more perfect. Brittany was so frightening and violent, but I wanted to be calm and not at all aggressive.
I found Brittany’s online profile a few weeks ago. She still had the same chubby(圆胖脸) face and mocking（嘲笑的）simile, and had posted half-naked pictures of herself. But as I read on, I realized that Brittany had died in a drunken driving accident a year ago. She had been 16 and pregnant at the time. Suddenly my view of Brittany changed from a bad influence into a struggling little girl whose life was taken before she could understand right from wrong. My experience with Brittany taught me that though we are all innocent in our youth, the choices we make will have great effects on us forever. I will always remember Brittany as that loud, overconfident girl. As part of that shy insecure person I used to be will always keep me modest.
【小题1】From the first three passages we can conclude that .A．the author was trying to avoid conflict with BrittanyB．the author secretly envied Brittany for being popularC．Brittany’s appearance made her popular with boysD．Brittany was puzzled at how she could be popular【小题2】Which of the following is TRUE about Brittany? A．She didn’t mean to hurt the author.B．She took delight in hurting others.C．Her confidence came from her popularity.D．Her overweight made her more outspoken.【小题3】According to the passage we can learn that the author .A．was afraid of Brittany and followed her leadB．saw the influence that low self-esteem can have C．was determined to be better than BrittanyD．knew she was quietly different from Brittany【小题4】The last passage is meant to .A．tell us the reason for Brittany’s deathB．present the changed attitude to BrittanyC．show the influences of the youth D．stress the importance of behaviorsA
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(答案→)A
解析：
【小题1】推断题。结合Around Brittany, I tried my best to go unnoticed. Standing out or stealing her spotlight could only result in one thing: conflict.（要在布里塔尼旁边，我就尽量保持低调。太引人注目或抢她的风头只会有一个下场，那就是与她发生冲突。） 可知答案。
【小题2】细节题。结合She was outspoken and incredibly frightening, making people lose confidence；以及第3、4段提到的具体事例可知Brittany是以取笑伤害别人为乐的人。
【小题3】推断题。结合倒数第2段可知：Brittany在每个人眼里似乎都完美无缺，做一个与她完全相反的人，但却要比她更加完美。布里塔尼气势汹汹叫人害怕，而我却想文静安详不与人争吵冲撞。我想和她完全相反，以此证明我比她要优秀得多。
【小题4】推断题。结合文章内容可知作者对Brittany的态度由厌恶转化为可怜同情。“突然之间，我对布里塔尼的印象发生了转变，由一个对周围产生很坏影响的人，变成了一个苦苦挣扎的年轻女孩，一个在能明辨是非前就已失去生命的人” 。