Itallbeganwithastopataredlight.KevinSalwenwasdrivinghis...

问题详情：

It all began with a stop at a red light.

Kevin Salwen was driving his 14-year-old daughter, Hannah, back from a sleepover in 2006. While waiting at a traffic light, they saw a black Mercedes Coupe on one side and a homeless man begging for food on the other.

“Dad, if that man had a less nice car, that man there could have a meal.” Hannah protested. The light changed and they drove on, But Hannah was too young to be reasonable. She pestered （纠缠）her parents about inequity, insisting that she wanted to do something.

“What do you want to do?” her mom responded. “Sell our house?”

Warning! Never suggest a grand gesture to an idealistic teenager. Hannah seized upon the idea of selling the luxurious family home and donating half the money to charity, while using the other half to buy a smaller replacement home.

Eventually, that’s what the family did. The project —crazy, impetuous （鲁莽的） and utterly inspiring — is written down in detail in a book by father and daughter scheduled to be published next month: The Power of Half. It’s a book that, frankly, I’d be nervous about leaving around where my own teenage kids might find it. An impressionable child reads this, and the next thing you know your whole family is out on the street.

At a time of great needs in Haiti and elsewhere, when so many Americans are trying to help Haitians by sending everything from text messages to shoes, the Salwens offer an example of a family that came together to make a difference — for themselves as much as the people they were trying to help. In a newspaper a week ago, it described neurological（神经学的） evidence from brain scans(扫描) that unselfishness lights up parts of the brain normally associated with more primary satisfaction. The Salwens’ experience confirms the selfish pleasures of selflessness.

Mr. Salwen and his wife, Joan, had always supposed that their kids would be better off in a bigger house. But after they downsized, there was much less space, so the family members spent more time around each other. A smaller house unexpectedly turned out to be a more family-friendly house.

41. What does the underlined word “inequity” most probably mean in Paragraph 3?

A. Unfairness.

B. Satisfaction.

C. Personal attitude.

D. Reasonable statement.

42. What is suggested in the underlined sentence “Never suggest a grand gesture to an idealistic teenager.” in Paragraph 5?

A. Never advise an idealistic child to make a grand gesture.

B. Unless a child is realistic, never give any promise.

C. Give an immediate answer if the child is reasonable.

D. Don’t respond to a child's demands without consideration.

43. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A. The Salwens donated a lot to charity though they weren’t rich.

B. Unselfishness comes from people’s primary satisfaction.

C. Hannah’s parents sold their house at Hannah’s request.

D. The writer’s children asked him to sell their house.

44. What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A. The Salwens regretted selling their house.

B. The family members got much closer.

C. People living in small houses are happy.

D. The Salwens intend to buy another big house.

45. The best title for the passage should be “___________________”.

A. The Less, the Better

B. An Expected Satisfaction

C. Something We Can Live Without

D. Somewhat Crazy but Inspiring

【回答】

ADCBD

知识点：阅读理解

题型：阅读理解