Jack used to curse(咒骂) the front yard as if it were a living thing. He was the man who lived with my grandmother for thirty years. He was not my grandfather, but an Italian who came down the road one day, selling fruit in Florida.

　　Jack stopped at my grandmother’s house to sell her some oranges just a stone’s throw from downtown Miami, and he was delivering her whiskey a week later. He stayed for thirty years. Jack hated the front yard because he thought it was against him. There had been a beautiful lawn(草坪) there when Jack came along, but he let it wander off into nothing. He refused to water it or take care of it in any way.

　　Now the ground was so hard that it gave his car flat tires(轮胎) in the summer. The yard was always finding a nail to put in one of his tires or the car as always sinking out of sight in the winter when the rains came on. The lawn had belonged to my grandfather, who lived out the end of his life in an insane hospital. It had been his pride and joy and was said to be the place where his powers came.

　　1. It can be inferred that the real reason Jack had problems with the yard was that _______.

　　A. he didn’t like the lawn.

　　B. the author’s grandfather was against Jack working on the lawn

　　C. the lawn was full of living things

　　D. he himself did not take care of the lawn

　　2. We can learn from the passage that when the lawn belonged to the author’s grandfather, it had been _______.

　　A. beautiful B. worn out C. wasted D. full of nails

　　3. What do we know about Jack and the author’s grandfather?

　　A. They both hated the front lawn.

　　B. Jack was jealous of the author’s grandfather.

　　C. They sold fruit in Florida.

　　D. They came from Italy and lived together.

　　【答案解析】

　　Jack为什么曾经指桑骂槐，因为他嫉妒我祖父。我祖父曾把前花园弄得很漂亮。

　　1. D。判断题。从第2段最后一句话He refused to water it or take care of it in any way. 可以判断。

　　2. A。语义理解题。根据There had been a beautiful lawn(草坪) there when Jack came along, but he let it wander off into nothing 可知答案。

　　3. B。判断题。运用排除法：根据原文可知A、C、D三项明显不对。再看第1段第1句话的意思：Jack 过去常常咒骂前花园，就好像那花园是一个有生命的东西一样，可以看出Jack 不是在骂花园，而是指桑骂槐，所以选B。