河南省实验中学2018-2019学年度上期第二次月考试题

高三英语

命题人：韩晗

一阅读理解(共20小题，每小题2分，满分30分)

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A 、B、C、D）中，选出最佳选项。

　　My mom takes pride in the fact that I was talking in three and four word sentences before I was ten months old. Some say it's a gift while others simply think I talk too much.

　　As my thirties came to a close, I found myself reflecting on my life. I'm very happy and have no significant regrets. However, when I looked back on those times of difficulty, I saw a clear common denominator(特征); I didn't seem to know when to stop talking. Whether it was hurting someone's feelings, or having carelessly told a secret, the incident could have been avoided had I closed my mouth sooner. So I decided to practice the power of quiet.

　　To take this step, I needed to understand how people could sit comfortably in a group and not talk. Why does my husband feel completely content to say nothing in a conversation? He's highly intelligent and has wonderful opinions but he'll sit quietly and just listen. Even when he's asked a pointed question, he'll answer with few words while still communicating effectively. What a talent!

　　Can you imagine being happy just listening? In surveying those I know who talk less than I do, I got two answers-they either didn't feel confident enough to speak up, or they just didn't feel the need to participate in the conversation. Of course there were other reasons for not talking, but these were the two most popular answers.

The first one didn't work for me. I'm just fine letting people know what I think about them, and hopefully it will make the conversation much more interesting. The second one didn't work either. I do feel the need to participate. I feel it physically like an electrical pulse through my body; sometimes it's so strong that it causes