17．I was the typical"I can't"child-whatever my mother told or asked me to do was immediately followed by my cry，"I can't．"As a result，very few tasks or goals that I set out to achieve were ever completed．
One evening，my mother called me into the family room．"I want you to read this article，"Mother began．"It's about Marlo Thomas．She tells how a simple poem that she was forced to learn by her father changed her life•She went from saying‘I can't'to‘I can'•According to this article，she was able to reorganize her life and her career by learning the principles（原则）in the poem．"
I took the small magazine from Mother and looked down at the pages．There was Marlo-my idol．Beside her photo was the poem my mother had spoken of，a simple poem entitled，"I Can"．
"I want you to memorize that poem，"Mother said firmly．"Mama，"I belly-ached．"I can't learn that poem．It's too long．"
"It's not too long and you can learn it．1want you to know it perfectly by this time tomorrow，"said my mother．Unwillingly，I went back to my bedroom with the magazine．With a heavy heart，Ithrew myself into the bed and began my task．
"Can't is a word that is the enemy to ambition，"I began．I repeated the line．I repeated it again and again．"An enemy ambush to shatter your will…"I continued the process until I proudly recited the poem the following evening．It has now become my principle．Marlo 1homas did not know me，but her story forever changed my life．
Saying"I can"helped me to get through the worst moments of my life：Saying"I can"encouraged me to complete things I would have otherwise seen as out of my reach．A simple poem learned at seven is a poem that will support me to seventy-seven，maybe even longer．
1．One evening my mother asked me toA，
A．read an article
B．meet Marlo
C．write a poem
D．take photos
2．The underlined part"I belly-ached"in Paragraph 3probably means"C"．
A．I was hungry
B．I was relaxed
C．I felt unhappy
D．I ate too much
3．On the following evening，IC．
A．repeated the lines on TV
B．read more stories about Marlo
C．proudly recited the poem
D．had a long talk with my mother
4．What can we learn from the passage'？D
A．Marlo is very popular among teenagers．
B．I become interested in poems all my life．
C．Marlo always encourages me to work hard．
D．Saying"I can"has helped me get over difficulties．
分析 本文讲述的是作者的母亲帮助作者树立自信，走向成功的故事．作者曾是一个事事都说"I can't"的孩子，妈妈推荐他背诵了作者偶像的一首诗之后，作者深受感到，变成了一个"I can"的孩子．说"I can"帮助他度过了人生中最糟的时节．七岁时学到的一首小诗，将会支持他到七十七岁，甚至一生．
解答 1．A 细节理解题．根据短文第二段：One evening，my mother called meinto the family room．"I want you to read this article，"Mother began．可知妈妈叫他读一篇文章．故选A．
2．C 词义猜测题．结合题意：第三段有下划线的部分"I belly-ached"可能意思是什么？根据后面的句子："I can't learn that poem．It's too long．"可以推测出，作者认为诗太长，不愿意背，因此是不高兴地说出了这些话．故选C．
3．C 细节理解题．根据：I continued the process until I proudlyrecited the poem the following evening．可知，作者第二天晚上会背了．故选C．
4．D 推理判断题．根据文章最后一段Saying"I can"encouraged me to complete things I would have otherwise seen as out of my reach．说我可以鼓励我完成我认为不可能的事情，故本文主要告诉我们说我可以可以帮助我克服很多困难．故选D．
点评 做题时要在理解好文意的基础上，与题目有机的结合，从文章中找到相关细节性的句子与选项细细比对，进行选择或推理判断，选出符合文章内容的正确选项．做题注意灵活，有时可采用排除法或直选法确定出最终答案．
