OnWednesday,nearly300kidswilltakepartintheNationalSpell...

问题详情：

On Wednesday, nearly 300 kids will take part in the National Spelling Bee. Fewer will make it to the following day’s semifinals, where one mistake means elimination(淘汰). I’d bet that many of them will be silently praying—not on the first word I knew it because I was there 17 years ago.

I was 14 year old then. My mother and I had flown from Kentucky to Washington, but she was no strange to the capital. My older sister had already competed at nationals.

When my sister was 14 and I was 12, we trained together. We began with the Suggested List given out at school—hundreds of words printed on a poster that folded up like a map. When the words along the creases(折痕) began to disappear, we bought additional spelling bodes.

Sometimes my mother tested us, reading words most English teachers wouldn’t know how to pronounce, let alone my Indian-born mother. When she pointed out the misspelled words, I blamed her accent for my errors!

When it was my turn. I approached the microphone and waited for my first word.

The announcer was somewhere to my left, a man who pronounced clearly. “Barbican,” he said.

It seemed that my competitors were secretly complaining at the relative ease of my word. Would they laugh at me if I couldn’t spell it? Would my mother be disappointed in me? That last syllable could go two ways: C-A-N or C-O-N. Which one was right? Finally I decided on C-O-N.

Of course, I was eliminated and guided to the Comfort Room, where parents couldn’t enter. Inside, recent losers were sitting around a table abundant with junk food.

We casually mentioned the words that defeated us, like a special ceremony to welcome each new arrival. Then we changed the subjects if we’d already moved on from missed words and lost opportunities.

Eventually, I went out and saw my mother.

“Well,” she said, “I guess you won’t be doing this again.” Yes, next year I would be 15 and not allowed to take part in the competition.

25. What does the underlined word in Paragraph 1 refer to?

A. The difficulty of the first word.                                         B. The fierce competition.

C. The nervousness of the kids.                                         D. The strict rules.

26. The author failed probably because       .

A. she was unable to relax                                           B. the announcer had an accent

C. her competitors disturbed her                                        D. she didn’t practise hard enough

27. What did the author do m the Comfort Room?

A. She met her mother.                                                       B. She comforted new arrivals.

C. She talked with other losers.                                          D. She watched the competition.

28. Why did the author’s mother say the underlined sentence in die last paragraph?

A. She was disappointed in the author.                               B. The author would be beyond the age limit.

C. She didn’t want the author to suffer again.                     D. The author had no interest m the competition.

【回答】

C ACB

知识点：阅读理解

题型：阅读理解