Question

Back in the fifteenth century, in a tiny village near Nuremberg, lived a family with eighteen children．In spite of the hopeless condition, two of the children, Albrecht Durer and Albert, had a dream．They both wanted to pursue their talent for art．After many long discussions, the two boys finally worked out an agreement．They would toss a coin．The loser would go down into the nearby mines and, with his earnings, support his brother who attended the academy．Then, when that brother who won the toss completed his studies, in four years, he would support the other brother at the academy．

Tossing a coin, Albrecht Durer won and went off to Nuremberg．Albert went down into the dangerous mines and, for the next four years, supported his brother, whose work at the academy was almost an immediate sensation（轰动）．By the time he graduated, he had earned considerable fees for his outstanding works．

When the young artist returned to his village, the Durer family held a festive dinner to celebrate Albrecht’s triumphant（胜利的）homecoming．Albrecht drank a toast to his beloved brother for the years of sacrifice that had enabled him to complete his dream．“And now, Albert, blessed brother of mine, now it is your turn．Now you can go to Nuremberg to look for your dream, and I will take care of you．”

Tears streaming down his pale face, Albert sobbed, “No．．．no．．．It is too late for me．Look．．．look at what four years in the mines have done to my hands！The bones in every finger have been broken at least once, and lately I have been suffering from arthritis（关节炎）so badly in my right hand that I cannot even hold a glass to return your toast, much less draw delicate lines with a pen or a brush．”

To show thanks to Albert for all that he had sacrificed, Albrecht Durer painstakingly drew his brother’s injured hands with palms together and thin fingers stretched skyward．He called his powerful drawing simply “Hands”, but the entire world almost immediately opened their hearts to his great masterpiece and renamed it “The Praying Hands”．The next time you see a copy of that touching creation, let it be your reminder—no one ever makes any success alone！

1.Why did the two brothers work out the agreement？

A．They were so curious as to make a joke．

B．Their family couldn’t afford the academy．

C．One of the brothers was supposed to go into mines．

D．They wanted to support the other sisters and brothers．

2.The underlined word “whose” in Para．2 refers to _____ ．

A．the Durer family’s   B．the miners

C．Albert’s             D．Albrecht’s

3.Which of the following statements is NOT true about Albrecht Durer？

A．He began to earn his living after graduation．

B．He did perfectly well at the academy．

C．He wanted his brother to go to the academy．

D．He created great masterpieces．

4.Which of the following is the correct order of the story？

a．Albrecht went to Nuremberg．

b．Albert supported his brother．

c．The Durer family held a festive dinner．

d．Albrecht drew his brother’s injured hands．

e．The brothers tossed a coin．

A．b, a, c, d, e    B．a, e, c, d, b

C．e, a, c, b, d     D．e, a, b, c, d

5.What can we learn from the story？

A．One can achieve success simply on his own．

B．Any success requires the help of others．

C．It’s other people who contribute to one’s success．

D．Nobody could succeed without good guidance．

Answer

1.B

2.D

3.A

4.D

5.B

【解析】文章大意：本文叙述了有两个兄弟家境贫困，通过扔硬币来决定了弟弟Albrecht Durer去学习艺术了，哥哥 Albert要去危险的矿井干活供弟弟上学。Albrecht Durer毕业后回到自己的村庄，感谢哥哥对他的牺牲和奉献，希望他的哥哥能完成自己的梦想。通过这故事我们可以总结这样一个道理：没有人帮助指导，人们就不会成功的。

1.推理判断题。根据In spite of the hopeless condition, two of the children, Albrecht Durer and Albert, had a dream．可知两个兄弟的家庭比较穷，无法供养他们学习艺术，一次要讨论，在达成一致意见。故选B。

2.词义猜测题。根据Albrecht Durer won and went off to Nuremberg可知Albrecht Durer赢了，他去学习艺术了。故选D。

3.推理判断题。根据Albrecht drank a toast to his beloved brother for the years of sacrifice that had enabled him to complete his dream．可知Albrecht Durer毕业后回到自己的村庄，感谢哥哥对他的牺牲和奉献，希望他的哥哥能完成自己的梦想。因此A项与文章不符合。故选A.

4.细节理解题。按照事情发展的顺序：先是两兄弟扔硬币来决定谁去上学，然后是Albrecht赢了，去上学了，他的哥哥供他上学；接下来是Albrecht学成归来，杜勒一家为他准备了丰盛的晚餐，最后，Albrecht画了一幅他哥哥受伤的手。故选D。

5.推理判断题。根据no one ever makes any success alone可知没有人帮助指导，人们就不会成功的。故选B。