Question

When the great library of Alexandria was burned, the story goes, one book was saved. It was not a valuable book, and so a poor man bought it for a few copper coins (铜钱). Between its pages there was something very interesting. It was a thin paper on which was written the secret of the touchstone!

The touchstone was a small pebble (卵石) that could turn any common metal into gold. The writing explained that it was among thousands of other pebbles that looked exactly like it. But the secret was this: the real stone would feel warm, while ordinary pebbles were cold.

So the man camped on the seashore and began testing pebbles. He thought that if he picked up ordinary pebbles and put them down again, he might pick up the same pebble hundreds of times. So, when he felt one that was cold, he threw it into the sea.

He spent a whole day doing this but none of them was the touchstone.

The days became weeks and the weeks into months. One day, however, he picked up a pebble and it was warm. He threw it into the sea before he realized what he had done. He had formed such a strong habit of throwing each pebble into the sea. So when the one he wanted came along, he still threw it away.

So it is with opportunity. Unless we are careful, it’s easy to fail to recognize an opportunity when it is at hand. And it’s just as easy to throw it away.

1.The poor man bought the book because ______.

A. it was very cheap    B. it was of great value

C. there was a secret in the book    D. he wanted to find the touchstone

2.According to the story, the touchstone______.

A. is a big pebble    B. feels cold

C. is magic    D. is pure gold

3.The man threw pebbles into the sea _____.

A. to test how far he could throw    B. to practice throwing pebbles

C. to avoid picking up the same pebble    D. to express his disappointment

4.What message does the story want to tell us?

A. Careful habits can lead to success.    B. Habits can benefit you but also hold you back.

C. Never judge a person or a thing by appearance.    D. Opportunity only visits the ready and watchful mind.

Answer

1.A

2.C

3.C

4.D

【解析】本文介绍了有个男人在一本书上得知有一种试金石能把普通东西变成黄金。于是他到海边捡卵石。这个试金石是温暖的。为了避免捡到同一个卵石，他把不是温暖的卵石扔到大海里。他感觉到那个卵石是温暖的，但是他却因为习惯扔进了大海里。这个故事告诉我们，机会留给那些有准备，并且细心的人。

1.A

推理判断题。根据It was not a valuable book, and so a poor man bought it for a few copper coins (铜钱).可知那个贫穷的人买了那本书，是因为他只需几个铜钱，因此非常便宜，故选A。

2.C

推理判断题。根据The touchstone was a small pebble (卵石) that could turn any common metal into gold.可知这个试金石能进把普通的金属变成黄金，因此它具有魔力，故选C。

3.C、

推理判断题。根据He thought that if he picked up ordinary pebbles and put them down again, he might pick up the same pebble hundreds of times. So, when he felt one that was cold, he threw it into the sea.可知这个男人把卵石扔进海里是为了避免捡到同样的卵石。故选C。

4.D

推理判断题。根据So it is with opportunity. Unless we are careful, it’s easy to fail to recognize an opportunity when it is at hand.可知机会只会访问那些认真的，有准备的人。故选D。

点睛：认真阅读题干，根据题干要求，在文中寻找答案所在的语句或段落，进行分析理解，词义猜测，推理判断和概括归纳，选出正确的选项。例如小题2，根据The touchstone was a small pebble (卵石) that could turn any common metal into gold.可知这个试金石能进把普通的金属变成黄金，因此它具有魔力，故选C。