1999/01（本試）
“We’re going,” Mimi called out to her mother in the family’s grocery store next to her house. This was her first date, and Robert Rovere had just arrived to take her to a dance. She could hardly believe it was happening. During the long wait she had wondered again and again what to wear, finally putting on her favorite blouse. Now at last Robert was here. He looked beautiful to her. His hair was neatly combed and he wore a yellow sweater she hadn’t seen before. Mimi felt wonderful.
As they stepped out of the door, Mimi’s mother popped out of the store and said hello to Robert. Then she put a package wrapped in white paper into Mimi’s hand.
“Limburger cheese for Sally Thompson, Mimi. We got a case of imported Limburger in today. I promised Sally you’d deliver it tonight.”
“Tonight!” Mimi echoed, staring down at the cheese. “Why not tomorrow?”
“Sorry, but I promised Sally,” her mother said. “Well, have fun you two.”
“Oh well. Robert, let’s go,” she said.
Her first date ever, her first date with Robert Rovere, and she was stuck with a large, smelly, messy package of cheese! She tried to forget it. Here I am, she said to herself, going to a dance with Robert Rovere. She glanced up at him,
“That cheese smells,” he said.
She held the cheese in the hand farthest from him, but the smell seemed to be crawling up her arm.
They turned onto Montcalm Street. Mimi didn’t know the house number, hut she thought she’d recognize the house because she’d passed there once before. “Oh, here it is.” She rang the bell but nobody answered. Then she noticed that the name under the bell wasn’t Thompson. She had come to the wrong house. Oh, how embarrassing, she thought. She dropped the cheese into her coat pocket and rejoined Robert.
“Wrong house,” she said. “I was sure she lived there.”
“What do we do now?” Robert asked.
Mimi bit her lip. She couldn’t bring the cheese home again now, It would just have to
go to the dance with her. “Let’s go,” she said. She was so miserable she couldn’t think of another thing to say, and she and Robert walked the rest of the way in a silence as thick as the bad smell of the cheese.
When they arrived at the dance, the place was full of people and there was no room to hang their coats. Mimi wanted to wash her hands, but Robert led her straight onto the dance floor. Mimi noticed that Robert smelled sweet, like lily of the valley. She smelled of Limburger cheese,
Mimi danced with all her heart. Robert’s eyes were closed. Probably trying to forget her and her smell, she thought.
After a while they went to the snack bar. As they enjoyed their drinks, Robert stared over Mimi’s head. He’s bored, she thought. Well, the evening was a disaster. The strong smell rising from her pocket was growing stronger by the moment.
A redheaded boy stopped to talk to Robert. “Who took off their shoes here?” the boy asked.
Mimi’s heart sank.
“Something smells.” said the redheaded boy.
Mimi held her breath. She couldn’t look at Robert.
“I don’t smell a thing,” Robert said. “Do you, Mimi?”
For a moment she thought she’d heard wrong. Robert was smiling at her in a special way. She stared at him in astonishment. “No, I don’t smell anything,” she managed to say.
“Must be your imagination,” Robert said to the boy.
Mimi couldn’t believe her ears. Then she burst out laughing.
How about that! Robert was sticking up for her. It was wonderful. The cheese had suddenly become their secret.
When Mimi and Robert left the dance, the streets were quiet. They walked close together, humming one of the songs they’d danced to. The moon was high now, sliced thin, riding like a cheerful boat above them,
“I’m sorry about the cheese,” Mimi said,
“Cheese?” smiled Robert. “What cheese?”
- What particular point suggests that Mimi was nervous about her date?
① She could hardly believe she had taken such a long time to get ready.
② She kept Robert waiting for a long time until she was ready.
③ She spent a long time making herself look nicer.
④ She wondered many times whether Robert would like the yellow sweater. - What happened when Mimi brought the cheese to the house?
① At first Mimi didn’t realize that it was someone else’s house.
② It was not the right house but the house number was correct.
③ The wrong person came to the door.
④ There was no one at the Thompsons’ home. - Why did Mimi bring the cheese with her into the dance hall?
① Robert said nothing about the cheese on the way to the dance.
② She couldn’t find any place to leave it.
③ She thought the cheese smelled less than the lily of the valley.
④ The room for hanging coats was full of people. - Why did Mimi hold her breath when the redheaded boy asked Robert about the smell?
① She couldn’t stand the smell of the cheese.
② She feared that Robert would notice the terrible smell.
③ She was afraid that Robert would mention the cheese.
④ She was worried that Robert would look bored. - When Mimi heard Robert say ‘.Vi cheese?” how did she probably feel?
① She was afraid she wouldn’t be able to have a date with Robert again.
② She was happy because she realized that Robert really did care about her.
③ She was happy because Robert wanted to know what type of cheese it was.
④ She was pleased because Robert had forgotten about the cheese
