在ACT瀏覽測驗中，小說類文章是考生感到比擬有難度的，很多考生在這部門失分都比擬緊張，本日留學ACT測驗頻道就經由過程例子為考生剖析下ACT小說類文章，願望能贊助考生更好的答題。
小說類：改編自伊麗莎白· 畢曉普(ElizabethBishop)的短篇故事《女管家》(TheHousekeeper)
Outside, the rain continued to run down the screened windows of Mrs. Sennett's little Cape Cod cottage. The long weeds and grass that composed the front yard dripped against the blurred background of he bay, where the water was almost the color of the grass. Mrs. Sennett's five charges were vigorously playing house in the dining room. ( In the wintertime, Mrs. Sennett was housekeeper for a Mr.Curley, in Boston, and during the summers the Curley children boarded with her on the Cape ).
My expression must have changed. "Are those children making too much noise?" Mrs. Sennett demanded, a sort of wave going over her that might mark the beginning of her getting up out of her chair. I hook my head no, and gave her a little push on the shoulder to keep her seated. Mrs. Sennett was almost stone-deaf and had been for a long time, but she could read lips. You could talk to her without making any sound yourself, if you wanted to, and she more than kept up her side of the conversation in a loud, rusty voice that dropped weirdly every now and then into a whisper. She adored talking.
To look at Mrs. Sennett made me think of eigh-teenth-century England and its literary figures. Her hair must have been sadly thin, because she always wore, indoors and out, either a hat or a sort of turban, and sometimes she wore both. The rims of her eyes were dark; she looked very ill.
Mrs. Sennett and I continued talking. She said she really didn't think she'd stay with the children another winter. Their father wanted her to, but it was too much for her. She wanted to stay right here in the cottage.
The afternoon was getting along, and I finally left because I knew that at four o'clock Mrs. Sennett's "sit down" was over and she started to get supper. At six o'clock, from my nearby cottage, I saw Theresa coming through the rain with a shawl over her head. She was bringing me a six-inch-square piece of spicecake, still hot from the oven and kept warm between two soup plates.
A few days later I learned from the twins, who brought over gifts of firewood and blackberries, that their father was coming the next morning, bringing their aunt and her husband and their cousin. Mrs. Sennett had promised to take them all on a picnic at thepond some pleasant day.
On the fourth day of their visit, Xavier arrived with a note. It was from Mrs. Sennett, written in blue ink, in a large, serene, ornamented hand, on linen-finish paper :
. . . Tomorrow is the last day Mr. Curley has and the Children all wanted the Picnic so much. The Men can walk to the Pond but it is too far for the Children. I see your Friend has a car and I hate to ask this but could you possibly drive us to the Pond tomorrow morning? . . .
Very sincerely yours,
Carmen Sennett
After the picnic, Mrs. Sennett's presents to me were numberless. It was almost time for the children to go back to school in South Boston. Mrs. Sennett insisted that she was not going; their father was coming down again to get them and she was just going to stay. He would have to get another housekeeper. She said this over and over to me, loudly, and her turbans and kerchiefs grew more and more distrait.
One evening, Mary came to call on me and we sat on an old table in the back yard to watch the sunset.
"Papa came today," she said, "and we've got to go back day after tomorrow."
"Is Mrs. Sennett going to stay here?"
"She said at supper she was. She said this time she really was, because she'd said that last year and came back, but now she means it."
I said, "Oh dear," scarcely knowing which side I was on.
"It was awful at supper. I cried and cried."
"Did Theresa cry?"
"Oh, we all cried. Papa cried, too. We always do."
"But don't you think Mrs. Sennett needs a rest?"
"Yes, but I think she'll come, though. Papa told her he'd cry every single night at supper if she didn't,
and then we all did."
The next day I heard that Mrs. Sennett was going back with them just to "help settle." She came over the following morning to say goodbye, supported by all five children. She was wearing her traveling hat of black satin and black straw, with sequins. High and somber, above her ravaged face, it had quite a Spanish-grandee air.
"This isn't really goodbye," she said. "I'll be back as soon as I get these bad, noisy children off my
hands."
But the children hung on to her skirt and tugged at her sleeves, shaking their heads frantically, silently saying, "No! No! No!" to her with their puckered-up mouths.
Q
Given the evidence provided throughout the passage, the children probably silently mouth the word "no" ( underlined ) because:
F. Mrs. Sennett has just called them bad, noisy children, and they are defending themselves.
G. they do not want to leave the Cape before the summer is over and are protesting.
H. they are letting the narrator know that Mrs. Sennett is thinking about returning to the Cape.
J. they are continuing their battle against Mrs. Sennett’s intention to return to the Cape.
剖析
這個題讓考生答復的是當孩子們說“no”的時刻孩子們是甚麽意思。這個題目之以是難是由於“no”在這類情形下有多個寄義。這篇文章並無具體特殊地說到孩子們是愛好照樣不愛好Mrs.Sennett。這就象征著解題的第一步就應當是弄清孩子們對Mrs.Sennett的感觸。
文中有兩個重要線索揭露了孩子們對Mrs.Sennett的立場。起首在第67-68行，故事的論述者“我”具體地描寫了和個中一個叫Mary的孩子的互動。Mary在晚餐時代告知“我”說Mrs. Sennett說她不會和孩子們一路分開科德角(the Cape，美國馬塞諸塞州的一個沿海地域)，孩子們和他們的父親曉得這個新聞後都哭了。咱們可以對孩子和父親的哭做兩種懂得：孩子們和父親都是至心地悲傷，大概他們是對Mrs.Sennett的決議覺得喜極而泣。由於孩子們的體驗還不清晰，咱們必需再去找找別的的線索來剖斷到底哪一個懂得才是對的。
Mrs. Sennett告知“我”說他們的分別不會是永遠的：她將在贊助孩子習氣了闊別科德角的家以後返來。當她告訴孩子們這個的時刻，孩子們牢牢捉住她的衣服不放而且猖狂地搖頭，這就泄漏了孩子們對付Mrs.Sennett的立場：他們至心地愛好她並不肯意她分開。由此看出這道題的絕佳謎底就是J.they are continuing their battle against Mrs. Sennett’s intention to return tothe Cape.
選項F是錯的是由於其表述的孩子們和Mrs. Sennett間的幹系是毛病的， 而選項H是錯的是由於Mary已告知故事論述者“我”Mrs. Sennett籌劃要回到科德角。末了，選項G是錯的是由於分開科德角不是他們悲傷的緣故原由，分開Mrs.Sennett才是讓他們悲傷的緣故原由。
以上內容經由過程例題為考生剖析了ACT小說類文章的解題思緒，願望能為考生供給一些參考，更多ACT測驗出色內容盡在留學ACT測驗頻道，敬請考生連續存眷。末了，預祝考生在接下來ACT測驗中有精彩的施展。
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