When I was young, I had an old neighbor named Dr. Gibbs. He didn’t look like any doctor I’d ever known. He never shouted at us for playing in his yard. I remembered him as a neighbor who was nicer than anyone else in the neighborhood.
When Dr. Gibbs was happy, he was planting trees. And his life’s goal was to make it a forest.
Dr. Gibbs had some interesting theories about planting. He talked about trees that weren’t watered would grow deep roots in search of water. So he never watered his trees. He planted an oak (橡树) and, instead of watering it every morning, he beat it with the rolled-up newspaper. I asked him why he did that, and he said it was to get the tree’s attention.
Dr. Gibbs died a couple of years. Every now and again, I walk by his house and look at the trees that he planted twenty-five years ago. They’re very strong now.
I planted a couple of trees a few years later. I watered them regularly and took good care of them. Whenever a cold wind blows, they shake their leaves and branches.
The funny thing about those trees of Dr. Gibbs was that difficulty seemed to help them in ways comfort and ease never could.
小题1:What was Dr. Gibbs’ life goal?
A．To build a forest.
B．To save more lives.
C．To make a lot of money.
D．To study plants.小题2:One of Dr. Gibbs’ theories about planting was that ______.
A．he often talked to the trees
B．he kicked the trees heavily
C．he never watered the trees
D．he buried the leaves around the roots小题3:What does the writer mainly want to tell us?
A．Trees are not as weak as we think.
B．We should listen to others’ advice.
C．Difficulty is necessary for growth.
D．Planting trees is good for the environment.
小题1:A
小题2:C
小题3:C
题目分析：作者通过他的邻居种树的经历来告诉我们对于成长来说有时候困难是必备的。
小题1:A 细节题。根据第一段最后一句And his life’s goal was to make it a forest.说明他的目标就是种出一片森林，巩固A正确。
小题2:C 细节题。根据第二段前3行Dr. Gibbs had some interesting theories about planting. He talked about trees that weren’t watered would grow deep roots in search of water. So he never watered his trees.说明C正确。
小题3:C 推理题。根据文章最后3行The funny thing about those trees of Dr. Gibbs was that difficulty seemed to help them in ways comfort and ease never could.说明文章想告诉我们的就是对于成长来说有时候困难是必备的。作者通过他的邻居种树的经历来告诉我们这个道理。
点评：本文细节题居多，答题时在文章找到对应的地方，用笔进行标记，这有利于后期有时间检查时可以立刻找到答案的位置。仔细理解作者所讲的意思，再结合选项，通过排除法和自己对全文的把握，选出正确答案。