高考英语专题冲刺专题阅读理解之记叙文(含解析)

专题卷一
阅读理解之记叙文
1.阅读理解
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

I closed the door. He was full of energy, throwing things around and making a huge mess. But I could see that he was doing all these to annoy me. He needed connection, and this was the only way he knew how to ask for it. So I sat back down and kept quiet. Then he slowed down and began making a rocket. I talked to him about it. We continued like this for a few minutes before I slipped into the conversation: “So what happened today?”
It was purely a question, no blame or anger in my tone. I believe that if I had criticized him, the gate that was slowly opening would have shut firmly closed. He told me that the teacher didn’t let him do what he knew well due to safety but asked him to do what he disliked. He also admitted that he had enjoyed making her run around and saw it as a game. I explained that his teacher had not seen it as a game and was very upset. This again was stated simply as a fact. I suggested that next time he have a session, he talked about what he hoped to do at the start, which might be easier for everyone. He agreed and was quiet for a moment. Then he looked at me with tears in his eyes before quietly asking if he could go to find his teacher to apologize.
1.The boy made trouble for his teacher because he_____.
A. was accused of destroying property
B. was told not to yell at other children
C. was made to do things against his will
D. was blamed for creating an air of tension
2. Why didn’t the author do anything about the boy’s bad be havior at first?
A. She didn’t want to make it worse.
B. She didn’t mind the huge mess at all.
C. She was tired of shouting and threats.
D. She hadn’t thought of a coping strategy.
3.In what way the author managed to get the boy to talk to her?
A. By playing games with him.
B. By giving him a good suggestion.
C. By describing his teacher’s feelings.
D. By avoiding making critical remarks.
4.Why did the boy have tears in his eyes in the end?
A. He was sorry about his reputation.
B. He was regretful about his behavior.
C. He was fearful of the author’s warning.
D. He was sad for the author’s misunderstanding.
【答案】
1.C
2.A
3.D
4.B
考点：考查记叙文阅读
【题型】阅读理解
【难度】较易
2.阅读理解
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

A farmer grew some vegetables in his garden. One day his wife was ill and he had no money. He had to sell some cabbages and carrots in the market. The next morning, he took two baskets of vegetables to town, but it was raining hard that afternoon and there were few people in the street. When his vegetables were sold out, it was dark. He bought some medicine and hurried to his village.
On his way home, he saw a person lying on the ground. He placed his baskets on the ground and was going to help the person to get up. At that time, he found it was a dead man and there was much blood on his body. He was so afraid that he ran away quickly, without taking his baskets.
The next afternoon the farmer was sent to the police station. Having shown the baskets, an officer asked, “Are these yours? ” “Yes, sir. ” The farmer answered timidly（胆怯地）. “Have you killed the man?” “No, no, sir.” The farmer said in a hurry. “When did you see the dead man?” “About seven last evening. ” “Did you see who killed the man?” “No, sir. ” The officer brought out a knife and asked, “Have you seen it yet?” “No, sir. ” The officer became angry and told the policemen to beat him up and sent him into prison (监狱)。

That evening the officer went on trying. Pointing to the knife, he asked again, “Have you seen it yet?” “yes, sir.” The officer was happy and asked, “When and where?” “I saw it here this afternoon, sir.”
1.Why did the farmer decide to sell the vegetables?
A. To go to the market.
B. To go to see the doctor.
C. To buy some food for his family.
D. To buy some medicine for his wife.
2.Why didn’t The farmer sell out his vegetables until the evening？
A. Because they were too bad.
B. Because they were very expensive.
C. Because it rained hard that morning.
D. Because people wouldn’t go out on such a bad day.
3.Why did the farmer run quickly?
A. He was afraid to see a dead man.
B. His wife was waiting for him at home.
C. The policemen were coming towards him.
D. It was so late and he had to buy some medicine.
【答案】
1.D
2.D
3.A
考点：考查记叙文阅读
【题型】阅读理解
【难度】一般
3.阅读理解
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

When other nine-year-old kids were playing games, she was working at a petrol station. When other teens were studying, or going out, she struggled to find a place to sleep on the street. But she overcame these terrible setbacks to win a highly competitive scholarship and gain entry to Harvard University. And her amazing story has inspired a movie, “Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story” shown in late April.
Liz Murray, a 22-year-old American girl, has been writing a real-life story of willpower and determination. Liz grew up in the shadow of two drug-addicted parents. There was never enough food or warm clothes in the house. Liz was the only member of the family who had a job. Her mother had AIDS and died when Liz was just 15 years old. The effect of that LOSS became a turning point in her life. Connecting the environment in which she had grown up with how her mother had died, she decided to do something about it.
Liz went back to school. She threw herself into her studies, never telling her teachers that she was homeless. At night, she lived on the streets. “What drove me to live on had something to do with understanding, by understanding that there was a whole other w ay of being. I had only experienced a small part of the society,” she wrote in her book Breaking Night.
She admitted that she used envy to drive herself on. She used the benefits that come easily to others, such as a safe living environment, to encourage herself that “next to nothing could hold me down”. She finished high school in just two years and won a full scholarship to study at Harvard University, but Liz decided to leave her top university a couple of months earlier this year in order to take care of her father, who has also developed AIDS. “I love my parents so much. They are drug addicts. But I never forget that they love me all the time.”
Liz wants moviegoers to come away with the idea that changing your life is “as simple as making a decision”.
1.The main idea of the passage is __________.
A. why Liz loved her parents so much
B. how Liz struggled to change her life
C. what a hard time Liz had in her childhood
D. how Liz managed to enter Harvard University
2.What actually made her go towards her goal?
A. Willpower and determination.
B. Envy and encouragement.
C. Decisions and understanding.
D. Love and respect for her parents.
3.When she wrote “What drove me to live on...I had only experienced a small part of the society”, what did she mean by that?
A. She needed to travel more around the world.
B. She would do something for her own life.
C. She could hardly understand the society.
D. She had little experience of social life.
【答案】
1.B
2.A
3.B
考点：考查记叙文阅读
【题型】阅读理解
【难度】较难
4.阅读理解
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

An 80-year-old man was sitting on the sofa in his house along with his 45-year-old highly educated son.
Suddenly a crow perched on the tree near their window.
The f ather asked his son, “What is this?”
The son replied, “It is a crow.”
After a few minutes, the father asked his son the second time, “What is this?”The son said, “Father, I have just now told you. It is a crow!”
After a little while, the old father again asked his son the third time, “What is this?”
“It’s a crow, a crow, a crow!” said the son loudly.
A little after, the father again asked his son the fourth time, “What is this?”
This time the son shouted at his father, “Why do you keep asking me the same q uestion again and again? ‘IT IS A CROW’. Are you not able to understand this?”
A little later the father went to his room and came back with an old diary, which he had kept since his son was born. On opening a page, he asked his son to read that page. When the son read it, the following words were written in the diary: “Today my little son aged three was sitting with me on the sofa, when a crow was sitting on the window. My son asked me 23 times what it was, and I replied to him all 23 times that it was crow. I hugged him lovingly each time he asked me the same question again and again for 23 times. I did not at all feel annoyed; I rather felt affection for my innocent child.”
1.What does the underlined word “perched” mean in the passage?
A. knocked.
B. hit.
C. landed.
D. flew.
2.Why did the father ask the same question again and again?
A. Because he wanted to make his son angry.
B. Because he was too old to remember anything.
C. Because he couldn’t understand what his son said.
D. Because he wanted to see how patient his son would be.
3.How old was the old man when his son asked him 23 times “What is this?”
A. 38 years old.
B. 45 years old.
C. 80 years old.
D. 35 years old.
4.What is the most suitable title for the passage?
A. A Crow
B. An Old Man
C. An Old Diary
D. Father’s Love
【答案】
1.C
2.D
3.A
4.D
2.D推理判断题。

由最后一段可知，父亲的日记记录了儿子3岁的时候问了相同的问题23次，但是父亲没有生气，所以现在父亲问这个问题是想试试儿子的耐心。

故选D。

考点：考查记叙文阅读
【题型】阅读理解
【难度】较易
5.阅读理解
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

In June 2013, a five-year-old boy, Toby, was walking home from school thinking about the long summer ahead. Money was tight that year and Toby’s parents had told
him they would not be able to afford a holiday.
Instead of dreaming about foreign travel, he had been reading a book, Letter to New Zealand, where the author explains what happen s in an envelope’s journey from England to the other side of the world. As they neared their house, Toby asked his mum, Sabine, if he could write a letter to New Zealand. After a few more steps, he was struck by an even better idea. “Can I write a letter t o every country in the world?”
Sabine says she often wonders what would have happened if she had replied differently that day. “It was just one of those typical questions that five-year-old have,” she says. “If he had asked me in the evening when I was tir ed, I might have refused. But as parents you realize there’s a lot of power in just allowing kids to have a go. Also, it seemed a nice way to do some armchair exploration. So I told him” Let’s see how far you get.”
The answer was very far indeed. Toby has since written and posted letters to all 193 UN member states, as well as numerous other bad-conditioned areas with comforting ones.
To date he has written 681 letters—the best of which have been selected to appear in a new book called Dear World, How Are You? - although so productive is Toby’ pen that the number will have risen by the time you read this.
“Writing these letters has made me realize that the world isn’t actually all that big,” he says with a grin.
In the future, part of him would like to be a musical director to turn his beloved Star Wars into a ballet. Of course, he also hopes to travel the globe in person to see some of the countries where his letters have ended up.
“We’re so lucky to have this wonderful world, and I hope we can live on plane t Earth in peace.”
1.Why did Toby want to write letters to other countries?
A. He was good at writing.
B. He got inspired by a book.
C. He was eager to go abroad.
D. He wanted others to help his family.
2.From Toby’s mother’s words, we know that at first____.
A. she got tired of her son’s request
B. she believed her son would succeed
C. she thought her son’s idea was of no value
D. she thought she should give her son a try
3.What’s the influence of writing letters to Toby?
A. He has to put his letters into a book.
B. He understands more about the world.
C. He becomes productive in writing stories.
D. He has traveled to 193 UN number states.
4.How can we describe Toby?
A.Clever and persistent.
B. Brave and strong-willed.
C. Ambitious and kind-hearted.
D. Hardworking and humorous.
【答案】
1.B
2.D
3.B
4.C
【解析】本文描述的是一个五岁的男孩Toby受Letter to New Zealand这本书的影响，了解了更多关于世界的知识，他还希望亲自周游世界去看一些国家，并希望我们能和平地生活在这个星球上。

1.B推理判断题。

根据第二段第一句Instead of dreaming about foreign travel, he had been reading a book, Letter to New Zealand, where the author explains what happens in an envelope’s journey from England to the other side of the world.他一直读一本书，Letter to New Zealand，在这本书里作者解释了发生在一个信封的旅程，从英国到世界的另一边。

可知Toby给其他国家写信是受到这本书的鼓励。

故选B。

2.D细节理解题。

根据第三段第四句But as parents you realize there’s a lot of p ower in just allowing kids to have a go.作为父母，意识到允许孩子们有一个尝试。

故选D。

考点：考查记叙文阅读
【题型】阅读理解
【难度】较难
6.阅读理解
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

On a Saturday night at home while relaxing with friends, a dog showed up at the house. In an attempt to find the legal owner and return the dog, we knocked on the door of the legal owner and an old man opened the door. This was the start of an interesting week.
The old man sat down, made himself at home, and gifted us the dog. After a brief visit, he left, and we were now the proud owners of this dog. It takes experience and knowledge to know that our lifestyle can’t satisfy the needs of this dog; the owner that gifted us the dog was mismatched for him as well.
Three attempts to return the dog to his old owner failed. (I think he was avoiding us.) Because our lifestyle didn’t allow us to give this poor dog the attention he needed, he disturbed the neighbors. They got involved. After we shared the story, they gained a new perspective and wisely stepped in to help us find a solution.
One week later it was decided that dog would be picked up from us by the old neighbor. He would then return it to the previous owner who was more equipped to care for it.
When faced with unexpected challenges in life, it helps to see everyone’ s p erspective. We have to look at one another’s perspective to solve a problem with
honesty, experience and knowledge. That’s the sign of a leader. Although the old neighbor typically has little to do with leadership, it did bring a neighborhood together to understand one another and work as a team to solve a problem.
1.Why was the dog taken to the author’s home?
A. To find food to eat.
B. To seek a proper owner.
C. The author was friendly to him.
D. The old man couldn’t feed him.
2.What did the author find after he was gifted with the dog?
A. He didn’t like the dog at all.
B. He could deal with dog easily.
C. The old neighbor was cheating him.
D. It was unsuitable for him to keep the dog.
3.What does the author intend to stress in the text?
A. The value of team spirit.
B. The smartness of the old neighbor.
C. The importance of leadership skills.
D. The need for calmness in front of challenges.
【答案】
1.B
2.D
3.A
3.A主旨大意题。

作者前面是属于记叙部分，最后一段点题了，尤其是
That’s the sign of a leader. Although the old neighbor typically has little to do with leadership, it did bring a neighborhood together to understand one another and work as a team to solve a problem.可知作者强调团队精神的作用，故选A。

考点：考查记叙文阅读
【题型】阅读理解
【难度】一般
7.阅读理解
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

Choke Selassie, aged 13, is working hard to help drivers avoid potholes(坑洼). The eighth-grader was inspired to kick off his creation on a recent morning, when his mother was driving him to school. Their car was damaged as it went over a huge pothole in the middle of the street in their hometown of Jackson, Mississippi. He decided to do something about the pothole problem in his city.
Choke developed the app with his friends Rodriguez Ratliff and Emmanuel Brooks. When the app detects a pothole, it is highlighted in red. And if you get close to the pothole, your phone will warn you with a beep. Drivers can also use the app to report any potholes and look for other routes they can take to avoid roads that have them.
The app relies on current available information about the streets of Jackson, already stored in a database of the city’s 311 call system. Through the call system, citizens dial 3-1-1 to report non-emergency problems which include potholes. Choke and his friends determined that focusing on the 10 busiest streets in Jackson would give them a large enough sample size to test the prototype.
While developing the app, the boys took part in a Minority Male Makers Program sponsored by Verizon and held at Jackson State University. They learned 3D printing and design, and how to create apps. Through the program, Choke and his friends received encouragement and guidance.
Although the app isn’t yet available for sale, Choke is alre ady looking for ways to improve the app. He hopes to add more to it until it spreads all over the
country.
1.Why is the car damage mentioned in the first paragraph?
A. To scold the road builders.
B. To introduce their bad luck.
C. To tell the inspiration for the app.
D. To warn the danger of careless driving.
2.What is the app used to do?
A. Warn drivers about potholes.
B. Help drivers obey traffic rules.
C. Tell drivers to avoid red lights.
D. Stop drivers using mobile phones.
3.How does the app work through the 311 call system?
A. By replying to citizens’ calls.
B. By broadcasting traffic accidents.
C. By settling non- emergency problems.
D. By using its information about potholes.
4.Which can be Choke’s future target?
A. Encouraging more kids to create apps.
B. Taking part in more learning programs.
C. Making the app available for sale online.
D. Making the app include streets nationwide.
【答案】
1.C
2.A
3.D
4.D
1.C 推理判断题。

根据文章第一段后两句Their car was damaged as it went over a huge pothole in the middle of the street in their hometown of Jackson, Mississippi. He decided to do something about the pothole problem in his city.可知，在第一段提到汽车受损是为了告诉读者检测路面有坑洼的APP的灵感。

故选C。

2.A 细节理解题。

根据第二段三、四句if you get close to the pothole, your phone will warn you with a beep（如果你靠近坑洼，你的电话会警告你一声。

）Drivers can also use the app to report any potholes and look for other routes they can take to avoid roads that have them.（司机也可以使用应用程序来报告任何坑洼，寻找他们可以采取的其他路线，以避免他们走的道路。

）可知，选A。

3.D 细节理解题。

根据第三段第一、二句The app relies on current available information about the streets of Jackson, already stored in a database of the city’s 311 call system. Through the call system, citizens dial 3-1-1 to report non-emergency problems which include potholes. （该程序依赖当前可利用的关于Jackson街道的信息，信息已存储在城市的311呼叫系统的数据库中，通过这个呼叫系统，人们拨打311来报告非紧急问题，其中包括路面坑洼的问题。

）可知，故选D。

考点：考查记叙文阅读
【题型】阅读理解
【难度】较难
8.阅读理解
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

On the eve of our daughters’ weddings, I gave both of them what I considered to be excellent marital advice: never leave your husband unsupervised (无人监督的) with pruning shears (修枝剪).
If only I had taken my own advice. I recently let my guard down. Thirty-some years of marriage can do that to a woman. Give a man pruning shears and electric trimmers (电动修剪器) and he will give new meaning to “armed and dangerous.”
One day earlier this year, my husband said that the crab apple tree was dead.
“Why do you think it is dead?” I asked.
“Look at it. There’s not a leaf on it.”
“There’s not a leaf on anything. It’s March,” I said.
“It looked sick last fall and with this bitter winter we had, I’m convinced it’s dead.”
The truth is he’s never liked the crabapple. Sure, it has beautiful blooms in the spring, but then it gets a disease, the leaves curl, and it drops those little apples that sit on the driveway.
Each passing week he pronounced the tree dead. Eventually I began to believe him. Though he agreed it would be a regrettable loss, there was a twinkle in his eye. He armed himself a couple of weeks ago and began trimming. A branch here, a branch there, a small limb, then a large limb. I watched and then decided to check the wood on some of the branches closer to the trunk. I broke one off and saw green.
The crabapple was not dead. It just hadn’t had time to leaf out. The tree was now falling to one side, but it was not dead. I would have told him so, but he had moved on to a maple. Once the man starts, he can’t stop. One trim leads to another.“Please, stop!” I called.
He smiled and nodded, but he couldn’t hear because he had started the hedge (树篱) trimmers and was getting ready to fix a line of hedges.
Zip (飕飕声), zip, zip.
“What do you think?” he shouted.
“It’s supposed to be a privacy hedge; now all that will be private are our ankles.”He started the trimmers again.
“Stop!” I called, “Come back!”
“Why?” he shouted.
“You’re in the neighbor’s yard.”
1.By saying “if only I had taken my own advice.” , what does the author mean ?
A. She should have kept a closer watch on her husband.
B. She feels regretful about her marriage after many years.
C. She didn’t follow her own advice about pruning shears.
D. She shouldn’t have given that marital advice to her daughters.
2.We can learn from the article that the author’s husband ____________.
A. has a great talent for gardening
B. nearly ruined their neighbor’s garden
C. had never used pruning shears before
D. mistook their crab apple tree for a maple tree
3.What does the article mainly talk about?
A. Why husbands shouldn’t be left to trim trees alone.
B. How the author’s husband killed their crab apple tree.
C. How the author has survived her “thirty-some” years of marriage.
D. Why the author’s husband insisted on trimming their crab apple tree.
4.What is the tone of the article?
A. Anxious.
B. Critical.
C. Serious.
D. Humorous.
【答案】
1.C
2.B
3.A
4.D
2.B细节推理题。

根据A branch here, a branch there, a small limb, then a large limb.及Once the man starts, he can’t stop. One trim leads to another.可知丈夫一发而
不可收，根据最后一句“You’re in the neighbor’s yard.”可知差点破坏了邻居的花园，故选B.
3.A推理判断题。

文章开头就提到never leave your husband unsupervised (无人监督的) with pruning shears.下文讲述作者这样说的原因，通过丈夫的例子来说明。

所以说全文都在讲这个问题，故选A.
4.D推理判断题。

根据第二段Give a man pruning shears and electric trimmers (电动修剪器) and he will give new meaning to “armed and dangerous.”及下文的Though he agreed it would be a regrettable loss, there was a twinkle in his eye.和A branch here, a branch there, a small limb, then a large limb.可知作者写作的语气是幽默的，故选D。

考点：考查记叙文阅读
【题型】阅读理解
【难度】一般
9.阅读理解
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

Annie slept in the front of the seat with her father drove through the darkness. “We’re almost there!” Dad announced cheerfully. “Soon well be observing and counting owls at the state park.” Yawning, Annie nodded and smiled. The time was 4:30 a.m. Looking out into the darkness, Annie remembered learning in school that most owls are active at night, when they hunt for food. During the day, they sleep in hard-to-find spots.
“Dad, why do you need to count owls?” she asked. “It’s important for the scientists to have current information about bird populations,” he explained. “We want to know which birds have decreased in number and whether any new kinds of birds are coming into a certain area. You and I will write down the kinds of birds that we see today and keep a record of how many times we see each kind. Th e we’ll send out a report to a scientific organization that is collecting about birds from people all over the county.”
Dad pulled into the parking lot of the state park. Then, with flashing in hand,
they began their hike into the woods. Annie zipped up her coat and tried to keep from trembling. She had not expected the morning to be so frigid. Luckily her gloves were in her pocket.
Suddenly Annie’s father stooped and gestured for her to be still. Obeying, Annie did not take another step. She thought she he ard a low crying up head. “That’s certainly a screech owl,” her father whispered. “Let’s get a look at it.” After looking more closely, Annie could see that it was a small owl. Sensing danger, the owl narrowed its eyes and pulled its feathers tightly against its body. Annie carefully wrote down in her notebook that they had seen a screech owl.
Walking a little farther, they came to a tall oak tree. “This looks like a perfect spot to attract owls,” Dad said. “I’m going to play a recording of common call of t he barred owl. Maybe we can get one to answer.’ Annie could hardly believe her ear. The recorded all sounded as if the bird were asking, “who cooks for you?” Moments later Annie thought she heard a return call in distance. She held her breath and waited. Suddenly a huge bird landed very quietly on a branch above them.
Annie had long forgotten how cold it was. She stood in wonder, shining her flashlight on the bird and studying it carefully. The barred owl was nearly two feet tall. Gray feathers surrounded its dark eyes. The bird did not matter. Annie would never forget the image of the powerful barred owl.
1.Why did Annie and her father go to the state park to ?
A. To catch owls.
B. To collect information about owls.
C. To record the call of owls and feed them.
D. To carry out an experiment on owls and study.
2.Annie could study the barren owl carefully with the help of ________.
A. scientists
B. moonlight
C. flashlight
D. a recorder
3.How did Annie feel when she saw the barren owl?
A. Bored.
B. Relaxed.
C. Frightened.
D. Amazed.
4.What would be the best title?
A. The Owl Count.
B. A Study on Owls.
C. Observation of Birds.
D. A Cheerful Early Morning.
【答案】
1.B
2.C
3.D
4.A
3.D推理判断题。

根据文中She stood in wonder, shining her flashlight on the bird and studying it carefully. 她惊奇地站着，把手电筒照在这只鸟儿上，仔细地研究它。

故选D。

4.A主旨大意题。

根据文中的Soon well be observing and counting owls at the state park；“It’s important for the scientis ts to have current information about bird populations,” he explained. “We want to know which birds have decreased in number and whether any new kinds of birds are coming into a certain area. 可以得知文章大意：文章讲述了Annie与父亲一起观察猫头鹰，计算猫头鹰的数量是否减少。

故选A。

考点：考查记叙文阅读
【题型】阅读理解
【难度】一般
10.阅读理解
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

The old man fished alone in a small rowboat and he had gone eighty-four days now without taking a fish. In the first forty days, a boy had been with him. But after forty days without a fish the boy’s pa rents had told him that the old man was now bad luck, and ordered the boy to join another boat, which caught three good fish the first week. It made the boy sad to see the old man come in each day with his boat empty and he always went down to help him carry in the fishing lines or take down the old, patched sail.
“Santiago,” the boy said to him as they dragged up the boat to the sand. “I could go with you again. I’ve made some money.” the old man had taught the boy to fish and the boy loved him. “No,” the old man said. “You’re with a lucky boat. Stay with them. You must obey your father.” “We can be lucky again too. Remember when we didn’t catch a fish for 10 days, then caught a big one each day for a month?” said the boy. “Can I offer you a beer on the balcony and then we’ll take the stuff home,” said the boy. “Why not?” the old man said.
“Santiago,” the boy said as they sat on the balcony, “If I cannot fish with you, I would like to serve in some way.” “You bought me a beer,” the old man said, lifting the bottle to his mouth. “Do you remember the first time I took you out to fish?” the old man asked. “I was five. I remember the tail of a huge fish slapping against the boat, the noise of you clubbing him and the sweet blood smell. I remember everything from when we first went together,” the boy said. The old man looked at him with his sun-burned, loving eyes.
“May I get some sardines for tomorrow? Let me get four fresh ones,” said the boy. “One,” the old man said. His hope and his confidence had never gone. B ut now they were freshening like a sea breeze. “Two,” the boy said. “Thank you,” the old man said. He was too simple to wonder when he had attained modesty. But he knew he had attained it and he knew it was not disgraceful and it carried no loss of true。