田亚珍

难词探意

1. mourn /mn/ v. （因失去……而）哀悼;忧伤

2. empathy /empθi/ n. 同感;共鸣

3. wit /wt/ n. 风趣;才思

Meg Wolitzer is an American novelist whose new book， The Female Persuasion， is out now， published by Riverhead Books. Here are her comments on some books that have a great impact on her life.

Charlottes Web by E.B. White

When I think of this wonderful book， I always remember that it was the first book I ever cried over. The fact that readers mourn the death of a spider is a testament to E.B. Whites ability to create characters so deeply that we feel for them as if we actually know them. In recent years I read about a study that showed that people who read fiction have a greater capacity for empathy. I wasnt surprised. Charlottes Web is all about empathy， as seen through the friendship between a spider and a pig. Even looking at the cover makes the significance of this book come flooding back to me.

Mrs. Bridge by Evan S. Connell

I cant count how many copies of this book I have given to friends as gifts. I consider it a perfect novel， filled with wit and human tragedy in equal measure. The novel， published in 1959， takes place in the years leading up to the Second World War， and the title character is an upper middleclass housewife living in Kansas City， Missouri. What happens in this book？ Well， not that much， but also a ton， depending on how you look at it. Connells brilliant， funny and sad novel of a womans domestic life， social life， inner life， and continual need to rely on convention， is a pleasure to read.

The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers

The main character of this beautiful novel in 1946， Frankie Addams， is only 12 years old， a tall， awkward girl whose brother is getting married. She isnt sure where she fits in， and over the course of one Southern summer she has to reckon with ideas around togetherness and apartness. This is a classic coming of age story that doesnt get talked about as often as it should. Upon rereading it， I was reminded of how much it has to say about growing up and entering the world as an individual， but it also has powerful words in it about racism， spoken by the housekeeper， Berenice.

1. In which book can we read a story about a spider and a pig？

A. The Member of the Wedding. B. Mrs. Bridge.

C. Charlottes Web. D. The Female Persuasion.

2. Which book has been often given as gifts by Meg Wolitzer？

A. The Female Persuasion. B. Charlottes Web.

C. Mrs. Bridge. D. The Member of the Wedding.

3. What can we know about The Member of the Wedding？

A. The main character is a 12yearold boy.

B. It is filled with wisdom and human tragedy.

C. It is mainly about an awkward girls marriage.

D. The housekeeper speaks some words about racism.

4. In which column of a newspaper can we see the text？

A. Sports. B. Culture. C. Entertainment. D. Politics.

Sentence for writing

Upon rereading it， I was reminded of how much it has to say about growing up and entering the world as an individual， but it also has powerful words in it about racism， spoken by the housekeeper， Berenice.

【信息提取】Upon doing...意为“一……就……”，upon可以用on替換。

【句式仿写】我一看见他就会把这个消息告诉他的。