strange，but isn't it the fate many refugees have to face: a life left behind，that could have been theirs; and a life in an adopted country.

　　The theme of doubleness-choice and inevitability (不可避免性)，home and homelessness，starting afresh and being stuck-is present not only in the stories of Vietnamese refugees，but also of those who have become refugees from their own homes and loved ones. "Smiling at your relatives never got you very far，but smiling at strangers and acquaintances sometimes did. " So a pilot，who fought in the Vietnam war and is now revisiting the country for the first time，thinks while waving at the locals from a tour bus. He's distant from his daughter，just as a Mexican American in the collection is distant from his wife，or a young man from Hong Kong is distant from his father.

　　The collection is full of refugees，whether from external or from a deeper，more internal conflict between even those who are closest to each other. With anger but not despair，with reconciliation (和解) but not unrealistic hope，and with genuine humour that is not used to insult anyone，Nguyen has breathed life into many unforgettable characters.

【语篇解读】　本文主要介绍了一本关于难民的故事集。

1. The first paragraph is intended to ________.

A. describe the boring life of war victims

B. appeal to the readers to help war victims

C. criticize NATO's killing of innocent people

D. introduce the story collection The Refugees

答案　D　[推理判断题。根据文章第一段第一句话可知，第一段的主要作用是通过一个故事来引出下文。因此选D。]

2. Which of the following about The Refugees is TRUE?

A. It tells the news in a literary form.

B. It is full of surprising twists and plots.

C. The author experiences the stories himself.

D. Its characters narrate their own stories.