It was early in 1981 when I first met George....

试题详情

It was early in 1981 when I first met George. I was in my early 30s, seeking a creative outlet unrelated to the humdrum of housework and raising little ones. My children, then aged three and five, were just entering kindergarten and school life. At 65, George had recently retired and was seeking a rewarding hobby for his golden years. For both of us, painting was art and we met at a local TAFE painting class. Thus began a friendship that was to last for 25 years—until the day he died.

In the late 1950s, George arrived in Western Australia from Britain with his wife and two children. He wasn’t a tall man but was as neat as a pin, with a mouthful of large teeth and glasses that gave his blue eyes a Bambi-like appearance. George was a man who lived life to the full; he worked hard, played hard, and had an opinion about everything. He loved his wife, his family, his friends, and was loyal and outspoken to the equal degree. A slim and vigorous man, George took pride in his fitness and health and walked three kilometres every day. “”I’d no more go without my walk than without brushing my teeth,” he’d say.

And as the only male in a painting class full of women, George was in his element. He loved his singular role and looked after his brood with the same attention he gave to everything.

He took to painting with passion and commitment, even turning the spare bedroom of his home into a studio. His painting equipment was comprehensive—an easel, quality paints, linseed oil, turpentine, brushes, palette, canvases, charcoal pencils, fixative, palette knives—even a rolling pin for removing air bubbles when gluing. Ever practical, George housed many of these items in a tool box-a red metal tool box-built to take hard knocks and purchased from a local hardware store.

For about six years George and I studied together through various units until the completion of the course and other commitments drew us apart, though we always maintained personal contact as we lived within a couple of kilometres of each other. Td sometimes see him on his daily walk or at the local shops and occasionally we'd touch base with a ‘proper’ afternoon tea, sharing a cuppa and a chinwag.

1.Why did the author start to learn painting?

A.To find a lasting and rewarding friendship.

B.To take a break from her boring family life.

C.To develop a hobby for her future golden years.

D.To realize her long-held dream of becoming a painter.

2.The phrase “his brood”（in paragraph 3) most probably refers to __________.

A.George’s interest B.George’s tools

C.George’s family D.George’s classmates

3.In the author’s eye, George was a person who__________

A.desired a luxurious life B.was enthusiastic about sports

C.cared little about his appearance D.seldom told others about his opinion

4.What is the author most likely to deal with in the paragraphs that follow the passage?

A.What happened on the day George died.

B.Why she became a painter while George didn’t.

C.How she and George turned away from each other.

D.Where George used to live before coming to Australia.

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