In 1997,12-year-old American girl Caitlin and 14-year-old Zimbabwean (津巴布韦人) Martin became pen friends through their schools. They didn’t realize at that time how their handwritten letters would change their lives.

　　It all began as a school task. Everyone in Caitlin’s class was supposed to choose a pen friend from another country. All the other kids picked countries like France or Germany, but Caitlin chose Zimbabwe because the name sounded exotic(异国的) and cool.

　　Martin lived with his family in one of Zimbabwe’s worst slums(贫民窟) where they shared one room with another family. And a bed was their only piece of furniture.

　　When Caitlin’s first letters reached Martin, they were simple and general. The two kids wrote about their favorite music and what they liked to do. But as Martin gradually revealed more about his life and his letters started arriving written on pieces of trash, Caitlin realized what the living conditions were like for Martin. Without telling her parents, she began sending money with her letters—$ 20 at a time. While the money was not much to Caitlin, it meant more food for Martin’s family and enabled him to pay his school fees.

　　It lasted six years from their first exchange of letters to Martin’s arrival in the United States. With the help of the money from Caitlin’s parents later on, Martin finished his university and got his MBA from Duke University.

　　Today, Caitlin and Martin aren’t only best friends, but they also share their story in a book called I Will Always Write Back. They want to encourage readers to look beyond their own lives and do something kind for others, which might greatly influence their lives.

　　26.         is from Zimbabwe?

　　A. Duke    B. Caitlin    C. Martin    D. Frank

　　27. What does the underlined word “revealed” mean in Chinese?

　　A. 索要    B. 透露    C. 回顾    D. 检索

　　28. Which is the correct order of the following events?

　　      a. They shared their story in a book.

　　      b. Caitlin’s first letters reached Martin.

　　      c. Caitlin chose a pen friend from Zimbabwe.

　　     d. Martin got his MBA from Duke University.

　　A. a-b-c-d    B. a-b-d-c    C. c-b-d-a    D. c-d-b-a

　　29. According to the passage, which of the following is not TRUE?

　　A. Caitlin chose Zimbabwe because the name sounded exotic and cool.

　　B. Martin lived a very hard life in one of the worst slums in Zimbabwe.

　　C. Martin’s family could get more food with Caitlin’s money in the letters.

　　D. They had kept writing to each other for five years before Martin arrived in the US.

　　30. Which would be the best title for this passage?

　　A. The Two Pen Friends    B. The Power of Writing

　　C. The Special School Task    D. The Money in Letters

　　【答案】26. C    27. B    28. C    29. D    30. A

　　【解析】

　　【分析】

　　这篇短文讲述的是12岁的美国女孩Caitlin和14岁的津巴布韦男孩Martin偶然地成为了笔友，他们之间的通信维持了很多年，还改变了彼此的生活。

　　【26题详解】

　　细节理解题。根据短文第一句话In 1997,12-year-old American girl Caitlin and 14-year-old Zimbabwean (津巴布韦人) Martin became pen friends through their schools.可知，Martin是来自津巴布韦的14岁男孩。由此可知应选C。

　　【28题详解】

　　细节理解题。根据文意Caitlin chose Zimbabwe…. When Caitlin’s first letters reached Martin…With the help of the money from Caitlin’s parents later on, Martin finished his university and got his MBA from Duke University….Today, Caitlin and Martin aren’t only best friends, but they also share their story in a book called I Will Always Write Back.可知，Caitlin先选择了一个来自津巴布韦的笔友，然后他们开始通信，后来在Caitlin及家人的帮助下，Martin从杜克大学获得了MBA学位，现在他们仍然一起在一本书中分享他们的故事。故应选C。

　　【29题详解】

　　推理判断题。根据短文第五段中It lasted six years from their first exchange of letters to Martin’s arrival in the United States.可知，Caitlin和Martin的通信维持了六年，不是五年，故D是错误的。根据第二段中All the other kids picked countries like France or Germany, but Caitlin chose Zimbabwe because the name sounded exotic(异国的) and cool.可知A符合文意；根据第三段Martin lived with his family in one of Zimbabwe’s worst slums(贫民窟) where they shared one room with another family. And a bed was their only piece of furniture.可知B符合文意；根据第四段Without telling her parents, she began sending money with her letters—$ 20 at a time. While the money was not much to Caitlin, it meant more food for Martin’s family and enabled him to pay his school fees.可知C符合文意。

　　【点睛】这篇短文是一篇记叙文，给我们讲述了一对特殊的笔友，美国女孩Caitlin和来自津巴布韦的男孩Martin成为了笔友，他们之间的通信改变彼此的生活。文章内容贴近学生的日常生活，虽然有一些生词的障碍，但不影响理解文章的大意和掌握文章的细节。后面的题目设置比较全面，有细节理解、推理判断、词义猜测和主旨大意题，阅读理解的常考题型都出现了。细节理解考查学生们把握文章细节、快速寻找相关信息的能力，答案都可以在原文找到；推理判断则需要根据文章内容进行合理的猜测或判断句子的正误；词义猜测考查学生们猜测生词意思的能力，做题时需注意结合上下文的意思进行猜词；主旨大意考查对文章整体内容的理解以及概括文章大意的能力。例如第2小题，这是一个词义猜测题，我们把划线的这个单词还原到原文，根据句意可知，通过Martin的revealed…，Caitlin realized…可知，后面Caitlin意识到的事情是通过Martin的信才了解到的，所以reveal这个词的意思应该是“透露”，故B选项比较合适。再如第5小题，这个题目要求给短文找一个适当的题目，A是“两个笔友”；B选项是“写作的力量”；C是“特殊的学校任务”；D是“信中的钱”。结合文意可知，短文介绍了两个来自不同国家的笔友通过写信互相有了了解，还改变了彼此的生活，因此四个选项中最符合文意的应该是A，这个题目有较强的概括性，点明了文章的主要人物，有针对性。