A
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，wellequipped 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 special thoughts or feelings.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.
【语篇解读】 本文是一篇记叙文。题材为个人情况和日常活动。本文讲述了作者对写日记循序渐进的认识，过去写日记仅是记录过去的事，现在写日记就是记录自己的思想感情和对生活的感悟。这一切的变化取决于去山谷的一次旅行，在那儿，作者被美景深深吸引和触动，彻底改变了对写日记的认识。由此告知我们：生活要有意义，必须去亲身体验，感悟人生。
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
D [细节理解题。由第一段，特别是最后一句“After all，isn't accumulating memories a way of preserving the past？”可知，在13岁之前，作者把写日记作为记录过去的一种方法。]
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.
B [细节理解题。由文章第二段可知，作者13岁去一座山谷旅游，被当地美丽的景色所吸引，所以作者情不自禁地拿出笔想记录下这里的美丽画面，并由此产生了一些感悟。]
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.
B [细节理解题。由第四段第一句“Now，I only write in my diary when I need to write down a special thought or feeling.”可知，作者现在的日记只记具有特殊意义的思想感情。]
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
A [推理判断题。由文章最后一段，特别是“...maybe I'll forget certain facts，but at least the experiences will always remain inside me”可知，作者逐渐意识到：要想生活过得有意义，你就得亲身体验生活。]
