8．Once many years ago，I pulled a family out of a burning car somewhere in Wyoming．Last week I received a telephone call from a woman who could not stop crying as she told me that one of my stories had saved her son from committing suicide．In closing she called me a hero．
That got me thinking about what a hero is．Was I a hero because I pulled a family from a burning car？If so，how could I be a hero just because I wrote a story that saved someone's life？
Today I looked up the word"hero"in the dictionary to see exactly what it meant．It read"a person who does something brave"and also"a person who is good and noble"．
That statement impressed me more than the part about being brave．So I thought about something very important．And I remembered what happened to me years ago．
After my marriage of twenty years ended，I was in such a condition．I was within hours trying to get up enough courage to end the pain and misery．When I returned home，someone had sent me a card in the mail which told me how much they would appreciate me as a friend．That wonderful card probably saved my life．That person，without even knowing it，saved a life and became a hero．
The many stories I kept writing in the following years saved the life of a teenage boy．In turn that makes the person who sent me the card a double hero．I suppose that is why I fight so hard to help the children now living in orphanages （孤兒院）．Most children come out of these institutions with a very hard and bitter attitude against the world．The gifts we send them let them know that they have not been forgotten．Hopefully，most of them will never hurt anyone because of the kindness shown to them by those of us who cared．If it works，we will also become"heroes"．
56．The main idea of the passage isB
A．why the writer should be a hero
B．what a hero exactly is
C．whether the writer is a hero
D．that everyone is a hero
57．Why did the woman call the writer a hero at the end of the call？A
A．Because his story saved her son's life．
B．Because he saved a family from a burning car．
C．Because he asked her son not to kill himself．
D．Because he was cute and kind to everybody．
58．What does the underlined word"it"in the last sentence of Paragraph 5 refer to？
C
A．The wonderful card the writer received．
B．The action of sending the card．
C．The fact that the sender helped the writer．
D．The fact that the sender was a friend of the writer．
59．According to the writer，who can be considered as a hero？D
A．A person who is brave
B．A person who writes wonderful stories．
C．A person who can hold a door for others
D．A person who helps someone in trouble．
分析 本文屬于記敘文閱讀，作者通過這篇文章主要向我們介紹了不同時期作者對什么樣的人才是"英雄"的不同認識，現(xiàn)在作者認為見義勇為的人是英雄，幫助那些需要幫助的人也是英雄的一種表現(xiàn)．
解答 56．B 主旨大意題．通讀全文可知文章主要介紹了不同時期作者對什么樣的人才是"英雄"的不同認識．故選B．
57．A 細節(jié)理解題．根據(jù)第一段Last week I received a telephone call from a woman who could not stop crying as she told me that one of my stories had saved her son from committing suicide．In closing she called me a hero．可知女士感激作者是因為他的故事阻止了她兒子自殺，故選A．
58．C 詞義理解題．根據(jù)第五段That wonderful card probably saved my life．那個美好的卡片救了作者的命，盡管送卡片的人沒有意識到這一點可知，it應該指代作者獲救這件事．故選C．
59．D 推理判斷題．根據(jù)作者對英雄的解釋，可知見義勇為的人是英雄，幫助那些需要幫助的人也是英雄，故選D．
點評 考查學生的細節(jié)理解和推理判斷能力．做細節(jié)理解題時一定要找到文章中的原句，和題干進行比較，再做出正確選擇．在做推理判斷題時不要以個人的主觀想象代替文章的事實，要根據(jù)文章事實進行合乎邏輯的推理判斷．
