A city child’s summer is spent in the street in front of his home, and all through the long summer vacations I sat on the edge of the street and watched enviously the other boys on the block play baseball. I was never asked to take part even when one team had a member missing—not out of special cruelty, but because they took it for granted I would be no good at it. They were right, of course.
     I would never forget the wonderful evening when something changed. The baseball ended about eight or eight thirty when it grew dark. Then it was the custom of the boys to retire to a little stoop(门廊) that stuck out from the candy store on the corner and that somehow had become theirs. No grownup ever sat there or attempted to. There the boys would sit, mostly talking about the games played during the day and of the game to be played tomorrow. Then long silences would fall and the boys would wander off one by one. It was just after one of those long silences that my life as an outsider changed. I can no longer remember which boy it was that summer evening who broke the silence with a question: but whoever he was, I nod to him gratefully now. “What’s in those books you’re always reading?” he asked casually. “Stories,” I answered. “What kind?” asked somebody else without much interest.
     Nor do I know what drove me to behave as I did, for usually I just sat there in silence, glad enough to be allowed to remain among them; but instead of answering his question, I told them for two hours the story I was reading at the moment. The book was Sister Carrie. They listened bug-eyed and breathless. I must have told it well, but I think there was another and deeper reason that made them to keep an audience. Listening to a tale being told in the dark is one of the most ancient of man’s entertainments, but I was offering them as well, without being aware of doing it, a new and exciting experience.
     The books they themselves read were the Rover Boys or Tom Swift or G.A. Henty. I had read them too, but at thirteen I had long since left them behind. Since I was much alone I had become an enthusiastic reader and I had gone through the books-for-boys series. In those days there was no reading material between children’s and grownups’ books or I could find none. I had gone right from Tome Swift and His Flying Machine to Theodore Dreiser and Sister Carrie. Dreiser had hit my young mind, and they listened to me tell the story with some of the wonder that I had had in reading it.
     The next night and many nights thereafter, a kind of unspoken ritual (仪式) took place. As it grew dark, I would take my place in the center of the stoop and begin the evening’s tale. Some nights, in order to taste my victory more completely, I cheated. I would stop at the most exciting part of a story by Jack London or Bret Harte, and without warning tell them that that was as far as I had gone in the book and it would have to be continued the following evening. It was not true, of course; but I had to make certain of my new-found power and position. I enjoyed the long summer evenings until school began in the fall. Other words of mine have been listened to by larger and more fashionable audiences, but for that tough and athletic one that sat close on the stoop outside the candy store, I have an unreasoning love that will last forever.
55. Watching the boys playing baseball, the writer must have felt ________.
   A. bitter and lonely                            B. special and different
   C. pleased and excited                         D. disturbed and annoyed
56. The writer feels grateful even now to the boy who asked the question because the boy ________.
   A. invited him to join in their game      
   B. liked the book that he was reading
   C. broke the long silence of that summer evening
   D. offered him an opportunity that changed his life
57. According to Paragraph 3, story-telling was popular among the boys basically because ________.
   A. the story was from a children’s book         
B. listening to tales was an age-old practice
   C. the boys had few entertainments after dark    
D. the boys didn’t read books by themselves
58. The boys were attracted to Sister Carrie because ________.
   A. it was written by Theodore Dreiser            B. it was specifically targeted at boys
   C. it gave them a deeper feeling of pleasure    D. it talked about the wonders of the world
59. Sometimes the writer stopped at the most exciting part of a story to _______.
   A. play a mean trick on the boys                B. experience more joy of achievement
   C. add his own imagination to the story      D. help the boys understand the story better
60. What is the message conveyed in the story?
   A. One can find his position in life in his own way.
   B. Friendship is built upon respect for each other.
   C. Reading is more important than playing games.
   D. Adult habits are developed from childhood.
【考点】考察文化教育类阅读
【文章大意】本文讲述了一个很孤独的男孩，并没有融入到其他孩子之中。但是他通过将故事吸引了其他孩子，并在这一行动中体验了成功，在孩子们有了自己的位置。他是通过阅读获得了自己的位置的。同时也告诉我们阅读的重要性。
55.A 推理题。根据文章第一段2,3句I was never asked to take part even when one team had a member missing—not out of special cruelty, but because they took it for granted I would be no good at it.得知他们从来都没有邀请我和他们一起踢球，即使他们缺一个人。他们想当然地认为我不擅长。所以我总是很孤独也很难过，因为我没有融入到他们的世界。故A正确。
56.D 推理题。根据第二段最后3行I can no longer remember which boy it was that summer evening who broke the silence with a question: but whoever he was, I nod to him gratefully now. “What’s in those books you’re always reading?” he asked casually得知我很感激他是因为他问了一个问题，这个问题让我可以和他们进行交流，也就是给了我一个融入他们的机会，得以改变自己的生活。故D正确。
57.B 细节题。根据文章第三段最后一句Listening to a tale being told in the dark is one of the most ancient of man’s entertainments, but I was offering them as well, without being aware of doing it, a new and exciting experience.
在夜晚听别人讲故事是一个古代人们娱乐自己的方法之一。也就是B项：听故事是一个古老的行为。故B正确。
58.C 推理题。根据本段最后一句I had gone right from Tome Swift and His Flying Machine to Theodore Dreiser and Sister Carrie. Dreiser had hit my young mind, and they listened to me tell the story with some of the wonder that I had had in reading it.因为在那个时候在孩子和成年人的读物之间的过渡的书籍并不多，所以我阅读了很多成年人的书，如Tome Swift and His Flying Machine 到Theodore Dreiser 和Sister Carrie.其中的Dreiser对我的思想很有促动，他们也听得很认真，主要是因为Sister Carrie给了他们更快乐。故C正确。
59.B 推理题。根据最后一段I would stop at the most exciting part of a story by Jack London or Bret Harte, and without warning tell them that that was as far as I had gone in the book and it would have to be continued the following evening.得知我经常在最精彩的地方停下了，第二天再讲。我这样做是很有成就感，因为自己可以吸引别人来听我讲故事，这让我体验了成功的喜悦。故B正确。
60.A 推理题。据文章第一段可知作者是一个很孤独的男孩，并没有融入到其他孩子之中。但是他通过将故事吸引了其他孩子，并在这一行动中体验了成功，在孩子们有了自己的位置。他是通过阅读获得了自己的位置的。故A正确。
【长难句解析】
Listening to a tale being told in the dark is one of the most ancient of man’s entertainments, but I was offering them as well, without being aware of doing it, a new and exciting experience.
【翻译】在黑暗里听故事是一个古老的娱乐形式，但是在他们没有意识到的情况下，我给了他们一直新的令人兴奋的经历。
【分析】本句中的主语是动名词短语Listening to a tale being told in the dark，其中的being told in the dark修饰名词tale，后面主句中的介词短语without being aware of doing it是一个伴随状语。