It was the last day of July and the long hot summer was drawing to a close As for me．1 was out of spirits，and，if the truth must be told, out of money as well，During the past year I had not managed my finances as carefully as usual；and 1 was now limited to spending the autumn economically between my mother’s cottage at Hampstead and my own in town.
My father had been dead for some years，and my sister and 1 were the sole survivors of a family of five children. My father was a drawing-master before me He had been highly successful in his profession and my mother and sister were left economically independent after his death.
The view of London below me had sunk into the black shadow of the cloudy night, when I stood before the gate of my mother’s cottage I had hardly rung the bell．When the house door was opened violently．My worthy Italian friend，Professor Pesca，appeared in the servant’s place，and rushed out joyously to receive me．
I had first bee acquainted(熟悉)with my Italian friend at certain great houses，where he taught Italian and I taught drawing What I then knew of the history of his life was that he had left Italy for political reasons and that he had been respectably established for many years in London as a teacher of languages It once happened that I saved him from certain death by drowning while we
were swimming in the sea at Brighton Afterwards he overwhelmed(淹没)me with the wildest expressions of affection and exclaimed passionately, that he would hold his life at my disposal from then on, and declared that he should never be happy again until he had had the opportunity of proving his gratitude．Little did I think that the occasion to serve me was soon to e．
Pesca dragged me in by both hands into the parlor, where my mother sat by the open window, laughing and fanning herself．Pesca was one of her especial favorites，and his wildest strange acts were always pardonable in her eyes．
“Now, my good dears．”began Pesca．“listen to me The time has e I recite my good news．I speak at last…'Hear, hear!”said my mother, humoring the joke“I go back into my life，and I address myself to the noblest of men，who found me dead at the bottom of the sea，and who pulled me up to the top. What did I say when l got into my own life and my own clothes again? I said that my life belonged to my dear friend，Walter, for the rest of my days Now,”cried the enthusiastic little mall at the top of his voice．“happiness bursts out of me at every pore of my skin．For I have found a job for you”
【小题1】The first two paragraphs of the passage serve as an introduction to——A．the financial situation the writer then facedB．the season that the story was set inC．the family members of the writerD．the successful profession of the writer’s father【小题2】The underlined word‘‘sole’’in the second paragraph probably means‘‘ ”A．mainB．onlyC．lucky D．possible【小题3】It can be learned from the passage that Pesca A．used to be a politicianB．was a successful drawing-masterC．was quite close to the mother D．wanted to give the writer some money in return【小题4】According to the last paragraph，Pesca was more than happy because A．he went back into his lifeB．he met his dear friend againC．his friend ever saved his lifeD．he had done something good for his friendA
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(答案→)A
解析：这是一篇自传。作者的父亲去世多年，他自己在经济上独立。由于管理不善，作者在小镇的生活陷入了困境。就在那年夏天他认识了新朋友，并在他的帮助下找回了自我。
【小题1】主旨大意题。前两段交代了作者的背景情况，就是作者面对的经济状况。故选A。
【小题2】词义猜测题。根据句意（父亲去世，五个孩子的家庭里现在只剩下我和姐姐。）可知：sole的意思是：仅仅。故选B。
【小题3】推理判断题。由“ Pesca dragged me in by both hands into the parlor, where my mother sat by the open window, laughing and fanning herself．Pesca was one of her especial favorites，and his wildest strange acts
were always pardonable in her eyes．”以及后面 Pesca的话可以推断Pesca和作者的母亲关系密切。故选C。
【小题4】细节理解题。由“happiness bursts out of me at every pore of my skin．For I have found a job for you”可知，作者陷入了财务困境，而Pesca在此时为他找到了一份工作，帮了他的大忙。因此Pesca帮助了朋友很高兴。故选D。