Question

    When the great library of Alexandria burned, the story goes, one book was saved. But it was not a valuable book, and a poor man got it.

The book wasn't very interesting, but between its pages there was something very interesting indeed. It was a thin strip of vellum（羊皮纸）on which was written the secret of the "Touchstone".

The touchstone was a small pebble（鹅卵石）that could turn any common metal into pure gold.

The writing explained that it was lying among thousands and thousands of other pebbles that looked exactly like it. But the secret was this; The real stone would feel warm, while ordinary pebbles are cold.

So the man sold his house, bought a tent, camped on the seashore, and began testing pebbles. He knew that if he picked up normal pebbles and threw them down again because they were cold, he might pick up the same pebbles 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. Yet he went on and on this way. Pick up a pebble. Cold—throw it into sea. Pick up another. Throw it into the sea. The days stretched into months and the months into years.

One day, however, about midafternoon, he picked up a pebble and it was warm. He threw it into the sea before he realized what he had done. He was used to throwing each pebble into the sea as soon as he picked it up. So when the one he wanted came along, he still threw it away.

So it is with opportunity（机会）. Unless we are vigilant, it’s easy to fail to realize an opportunity when it is in hand and it's just as easy to throw it away.

1.According to the passage, the touchstone is a stone __________.

A.that you can touch

B.that can turn common metal into pure gold

C.that can bring you thousands of pebbles

D.that can bring you good luck

2.The man threw the touchstone into the sea because __________________.

A.it was cold

B.it was a normal pebble

C.he was too tired to hold it

D.he had formed a habit

3.How did the man probably feel when he realized it was the touchstone?

A.Excited. B.Moved. C.Interested. D.Regretted.

4.What's the meaning of the underlined word “vigilant” in the last paragraph?

A.Brave enough. B.Hard-working enough.

C.Careful enough. D.Strong enough.

5.What does the writer want to tell us?

A.Opportunity knocks but once.

B.Use it or lose it.

C.Where there is a will, there is a way.

D.Practice makes perfect.

Answer

1.B

2.D

3.D

4.C

5.A

【解析】

这篇短文主要讲述了当亚历山大大图书馆被烧毁时一本书被保存了下来，上面写着“试金石”的秘密，试金石是一块小石子，可以把普通金属变成纯金。一个人买了这本书之后就去海边捡鹅卵石，每次见到就会扔掉，几年过去了，他成为了一种习惯，所以当他真捡到试金石的时候，也从习惯中把它扔掉了。

1.细节理解题。根据文中The touchstone was a small pebble（鹅卵石）that could turn any common metal into pure gold. 试金石是一块小石子，可以把普通金属变成纯金。故选B。

2.细节理解题。根据文中One day, however, about midafternoon, he picked up a pebble and it was warm. He threw it into the sea before he realized what he had done. He was used to throwing each pebble into the sea as soon as he picked it up.可知，他已经形成了一种习惯。故选D。

3.推理判断题。根据文中One day, however, about midafternoon, he picked up a pebble and it was warm. He threw it into the sea before he realized what he had done. He was used to throwing each pebble into the sea as soon as he picked it up. So when the one he wanted came along, he still threw it away.可知，当他把试金石扔掉之后他一定非常后悔。Regretted后悔的意思。故选D。

4.词句猜测题。根据下文it’s easy to fail to realize an opportunity when it is in hand and it's just as easy to throw it away.可知上文中vigilant的意思是“足够小心”的意思。故选C。

5.主旨大意题。根据文中So it is with opportunity（机会）. Unless we are vigilant, it’s easy to fail to realize an opportunity when it is in hand and it's just as easy to throw it away.可知，这篇短文主要是告诉我们机会只有一次，我们要抓住机会。故选A。