When Joe was about to start school, all signs pointed to success. Yet things turned out to be quite 36 . The fourth grade even found him at the 37 of the class. Joe struggled day and night, but it did not 38 —until one stormy afternoon.
On that afternoon, 39 the math teacher started to introduce difficult concepts, dark clouds
covered the sky, and the storm set in. Hard though she tried to make the kid, 40 , the thunder won the battle for their attention. No one 41 the concepts. Except for Joe. He understood them and answered all the questions correctly. The teacher patted him on the back, and told him to go around to the others and explain how he had managed it. 42 by his newfound success, Joe moved quickly throughout the room. Soon math time was followed by the time for 43 . All children naturally drew 44 pictures on such a day. Except for Joe.
Since then, Joe started 45 . Though he never made it to the top, his math teacher was always 46 and curious about the change: Why had that stormy day changed Joe?
On the day Joe graduated, he presented the teacher with his most 47 possession—the picture of a bright yellow sun. On the picture Joe had written: This is the day I 48 my brightness.
【小题1】A．unfairB．boringC．disappointingD．dangerous【小题2】A．centerB．topC．beginningD．bottom【小题3】A．happenB．workC．finishD．last【小题4】A．untilB．sinceC．becauseD．as【小题5】A．concentrateB．changeC．hideD．sit【小题6】A．challengedB．graspedC．doubtedD．admitted【小题7】A．RelievedB．SurprisedC．EncouragedD．Puzzled【小题8】A．classB．sportsC．artD．tea【小题9】A．greatB．darkC．differentD．strange【小题10】A．improvingB．paintingC．recoveringD．studying【小题11】A．worriedB．amazedC．friendlyD．cautious【小题12】A．familiarB．expensiveC．admirableD．precious【小题13】A．woke up toB．put up withC．got on withD．looked down uponC
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(答案→)C
解析：
【文章大意】本文是一篇记叙文。讲述了Joe虽然曾是个好学生，但是突然情况急转直下，虽然他努力过，但是没有成效。一场雷雨却改变了Joe的学习轨迹。在别的同学不能集中注意力的情况下，Joe却掌握了老师讲的所有的概念，于是老师鼓励他给同学们讲解他是如何做到这一点的。在一个阴雨天，Joe却看到了希望的阳光，而充满阳光的画也成了他最珍贵的记忆。最后一段点出文章主旨大意。
【小题1】利用上下文语境。根据上文all signs pointed to success, 和yet可知情况发生了变化，不是朝向成功的方向，而是令人失望，所以选择C。
【小题2】利用上下文的语境。如果能确定36题答案，确定本题答案难度不大。因为情况是令人失望的，可知Joe的成绩在班里是排在最后，所以答案选择bottom, at the bottom of意为“在…底部”。
【小题3】把握句内的逻辑关系。本句中Joe struggled day and night说明他很努力，后面的but提示虽然努力了，但是没有见效(work)，所以答案为B.
【小题4】把握句子间的逻辑关系。本句中表达的是在数学老师解释概念的时候发生的事情，所以用as引导时间状语从句，所以选择as。
【小题5】把握句子间的逻辑关系。根据the thunder won the battle for their attention可知雷声吸引了学生的注意力，也就是学生们不能集中注意 (concentrate)，所以答案选择A。
【小题6】根据上下文推断。上句中说到学生不能把注意力集中在老师讲的内容上，所以没有人能够掌握那些概念。challenged挑战; grasped 掌握；doubted 怀疑；admitted 承认。根据上下文推断，答案为B。
【小题7】根据生活常识和上下文推断。上句中提到只有Joe能正确回答这些问题，所以老师拍拍他的背，让他向同学解释他是怎样做到的。本句中说的是Joe受到鼓励，在教室里来回穿梭。由此确定答案为C。
【小题8】根据上下文语境。下句中all children drew pictures可知数学课之后是美术课。所以答案为C。
【小题9】根据上下文推断。在下一个段落中的the picture of a bright yellow sun，以及except for Joe可知别的孩子画的都是暗淡颜色的画，只有Joe的画是明亮的。bright是解题的关键，所以答案为B。
【小题10】利用上下文的语境。本文在讲述Joe的转变过程。前面提到的是Joe 的成绩是disappointing，而这里在讲Joe开始转变，开始提高，所以选择A。
【小题11】把握句内的逻辑关系。本题的解题关键是空后的连词and和curious, 根据and可知要填空的词和后面的curious同义概念的词，所以选择amazed，意为又吃惊又好奇，所以选择B。
【小题12】利用上下文语境。做好本题的关键是通读全文，才能悟出答案的意义。这幅充满金色阳光的画，对于Joe 来讲是十分珍贵的，因为它改变了Joe的学习轨迹。所以答案为D。
【小题13】利用上下文的语境。上文中已经谈到这幅画是Joe的珍藏，那么可知在图画上他所写的字是：这是我见到光明的日子。wake up to 意识到；put up with 忍受；get on with 和…友好相处；look down upon 看不起。鉴于此，答案为A。