Some years ago，writing in my diary used to be a usual activity.I would return from school and spend the expected half hour recording the day’s events，feelings，and impressions in my little blue diary.I did not really need to express my emotions by way of words，but I gained a certain satisfaction from seeing my experiences forever recorded on paper.After all，isn’t accumulating memories a way of preserving the past?
When I was thirteen years old，I went on a long journey on foot in a great valley，well?equipped with pens，a diary，and a camera.During the trip，I was busy recording every incident，name and place I came across.I felt proud to be spending my time productively，dutifully preserving for future generations a detailed description of my travels.On my last night there，I wandered out of my tent，diary in hand.The sky was clear and lit by the glare of the moon，and the walls of the valley looked threatening behind their screen of shadows.I automatically took out my pen...
At that point，I understood that nothing I wrote could ever match or replace the few seconds I allowed myself to experience the dramatic beauty of the valley.All I remembered of the previous few days were the dull characterizations I had set down in my diary.
Now，I only write in my diary when I need to write down a special thought or feeling.I still love to record ideas and quotations that strike me in books，or observations that are particularly meaningful.I take pictures，but not very often－only of objects I find really beautiful.I’m no longer blindly satisfied with having something to remember when I grow old.I realize that life will simply pass me by if I stay behind the camera，busy preserving the present so as to live it in the future.
I don’t want to wake up one day and have nothing but a pile of pictures and notes.Maybe I won’t have as many exact representations of people and places；maybe I’ll forget certain facts，but at least the experiences will always remain inside me.I don’t live to make memories－I just live，and the memories form themselves.
小题1:Before the age of thirteen，the author regarded keeping a diary as a way of________.
A．observing her school routine
B．expressing her satisfaction
C．impressing her classmates
D．preserving her history
小题2:What caused a change in the author’s understanding of keeping a diary?
A．A dull night on the journey.
B．The beauty of the great valley.
C．A striking quotation from a book.
D．Her concerns for future generations.
小题3:What does the author put in her diary now?
A．Notes and beautiful pictures.
B．Special thoughts and feelings.
C．Detailed accounts of daily activities.
D．Descriptions of unforgettable events.
小题4:The author comes to realize that to live a meaningful life is________.
A．to experience it
B．to live the present in the future
C．to make memories
D．to give accurate representations of it
答案
小题1:D
小题2:B
小题3:B
小题4:A
解析
这是一篇富有生活哲理的记叙文。作者小时候喜欢写日记，每天忙着把“现在”记录在本子上。但她13岁时的一次经历使她意识到，我们应该学会享受而不是记录“现在”，“活着不是为了记忆”。
小题1:解析：选D。细节理解题。第一段在讲述作者小时候记日记的经历之后说，“把记忆积累起来，这不就是在保存过去吗？”由此可知选D。
小题2:解析：选B。细节理解题。第二、三段描述作者13岁的那次经历，当时作者还是热衷于为了将来的回忆而记录“现在”，但晚上她看到山谷的美丽时突然明白，“我写的任何东西都比不上此时让自己好好体验山谷的美丽”，从此作者的态度发生了转变。
小题3:解析：选B。细节理解题。第四段说，作者现在只把自己特殊的想法或情感写在日记中，即B项所陈述的，而不是“笔记和美丽的图画”“日常活动的详细记载”“对难忘的事情的描述”。
小题4:解析：选A。推理判断题。最后一段作者说，“也许我会忘了一些事实，但至少，这些经历将一直在我的脑海里”。这就是主人公对生活的感悟：把握现在，感受今天；生活，重在感受而不是为了回忆而记忆。
考点名称：人物传记类阅读
人物传记类文章的文体特征：
人物传记是记叙文体的一种，主要描写某人的生平事迹、趣闻轶事、生活背景、个性特征、成长奋斗历程等，包含记叙文的时间、地点、人物、事件等要素。其特点是以时间的先后或事件的发展为主线，空间或逻辑线索贯穿文章始终，脉络清楚，可读性较强。