I know it is wrong to envy your children. But when I see my son, Tonio and his younger brother Sam going down a slide together, one’s arm around the other, I know I have missed something wonderful.
Not only did I never have a brother, but also I had no friendships like theirs. My sister was old enough to help take care of me, so she was more a mother than a playmate, and I was more a pest than a friend. A brother would have been wonderful, but it was not in the family planning.
Now I finally live with brothers, my sons, Tonio and Sam. I am watching them build the kind of relationship that I once dreamed about. They go to bed together. When one es into our bed after a nightmare, my wife and I know that before morning his brother will follow.
Sam manages the world with more ease than his elder brother, whose frustrations often bring him to tears. With a sincere “Smile, Tonio,” Sam is the one who forts him. Tonio, on the other hand, has stopped playing with boys at his age who don’t like playing with Sam. They are always backing each other up.
I don’t know what kind of relationship they will have when they grow up. Parents always want their children to have what they never could. I want them to have each other. So I imagine them going to the same college, marrying sisters and living on the same block.
That’s why I was so worried the day Tonio started kindergarten. I felt that I would lose something too. As we headed for school that morning, both boys seemed relaxed, as if neither had any idea that the day was going to be different, that starting then, Tonio would be leaving behind his brother, his best friend, his right arm.
Tonio’s first day was chaotic, with hundreds of children outside looking for their teachers. Before any of us could say goodbye, Tonio disappeared with his new classmates. He turned to wave and then was gone. It was so sudden. Sam even didn’ t see him go. Although parents had been asked to ease the craziness of the first day by statying out of the school, I lifted Sam up and took him to Tonio’s classroom, looking for a glimpse of Tonio. Sam spotted him first.
My wife and I didn’t head back home immediately, stopping instead at a coffee shop to treat Sam to hot chocolate. We even let him eat ice-cream with his fingers. Sam was still quiet, so I asked him if he missed his brother already.
He didn’t answer. Instead he asked, “Daddy, is Tonio going to be gone forever?”
“No, Sammy,” I said, feeling happy about his sweet question. “Not forever, just until three o’clock.”
I sometimes think that the greatest thing I have ever done is to help create these brothers. And I didn’t stop with them. We had another child, and for the third time in a row, it was a boy. It wasn’t long before his brothers climbed into the crib(婴儿床) to play with him. I am surrounded by brothers.
【小题1】What makes the author envy his sons?A．He has no friends like Sam and Tonio.B．He has only one brother in his family.C．He doesn’t enjoy brotherhood as they do.D．He doesn’t have a good relation with his sister.【小题2】What does the underlined word “pest” in paragraph 2 mean? A．a bad personB．an annoying personC．a good panionD．a lovely brother【小题3】What can we learn about the two little brothers? A．Tonio often encouraged Sam when Sam burst into tears.B．The two brothers went to the same kindergarten.C．Neither of the brothers played with other children.D．They supported each other in different ways.【小题4】The author was worried the day Tonio started his kindergarten, because .A．Tonio might not spend so much time with SamB．Tonio might not do well with his studyC．he was afraid he would lose Tonio forever.D．he wanted Tonio to have what he didn’t have【小题5】On the first day of the kindergarten, .A．Tonio had a nice day playing with his new classmates B．Sam was very sad because Tonio was gone foreverC．Sam was allowed to have ice-cream with fingers as usualD．the father felt happy when he sensed Sam’s love to Tonio【小题6】What does the title “Surrounded by Brothers” suggest? A．The author experienced brotherly affection by raising his sons. B．The author often plays with his sons whenever he has time.C．Parents want their children to stay at home and play together.D．The youngest son is always surrounded by his elder brothers.C
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(答案→)C
解析：文章大意：本文是一篇记叙文。作者叙述了两个儿子间亲密的兄弟关系以及在儿子成长过程中自己所感受到的浓浓的兄弟情意。
【小题1】C推理判断题。从文章第一段“I know it is wrong to envy your children.”和第二段可知作者嫉妒儿子们是因为他幼年没有伙伴，没享受过有个玩伴兄弟的快乐。所以C选项正确。
【小题2】B词意猜测题。从第二段可知，作者的姐姐年长很多，所以对于一个不得不照顾弟弟的大孩子来说，小孩子是很烦人的。所以C，D选项是褒义可以排除，A选项 bad 用词太重，所以B选项正确。
【小题3】D 推理判断题。从文章第四段可知，Sam 用语言来支持哥哥，而哥哥则是放弃和那些不喜欢和Sam玩的孩子一起的机会，也要和弟弟Sam一起，所以他们彼此用不同的方式支持彼此。C选项正确。
【小题4】A 推理判断题。从第四五段的叙述可知，孩子们关系密切彼此不分，而且作者也希望这种关系能够一直维持，所以当哥哥Tonio去上学时，作者担心弟弟Sam会伤心难过。
【小题5】D 细节题。从倒数第二段“No, Sammy,” I said, feeling happy about his sweet question.判断，D选项正确。
【小题6】A 推理判断题。从文章第一二段可知作者是家里唯一的男孩子，很遗憾没有体验过兄弟姐妹间应该有的感情，而从孩子们的成长过程中他却感受到了兄弟间那种亲密的关系，被兄弟情谊包围着。所以A选项正确。