Question

He's an old cobbler（修鞋匠）with a shop in the Marais,a historic area in Paris.When I took him my shoes,he at first told me: “I haven't time.Take them to the other fellow on the main street ; he'll fix them for you right away.”

But I'd had my eye on his shop for a long time.Just looking at his bench loaded with tools and pieces of leather,I knew he was a skilled craftsman（手艺人）.“No,” I replied,“the other fellow can't do it well.”

“The other fellow” was one of those shopkeepers who fix shoes and make keys “while-U-wait”-without knowing much about mending shoes or making keys.They work carelessly,and when they have finished sewing back a sandal strap（鞋带）you might as well just throw away the pair.

The man saw I wouldn't give in,and he smiled.He wiped his hands on his blue apron（围裙）,looked at my shoes, had me write my name on one shoe with a piece of chalk and said,“Come back in a week.”

I was about to leave when he took a pair of soft leather boots off a shelf.

“See what I can do?” he said with pride.“Only three of us in Paris can do this kind of work…”

When I got back out into the street,the world seemed brand-new to me.He was something out of an ancient legend,this old craftsman with his way of speaking familiarly,his very strange,dusty felt hat,his funny accent from who-knows-where and,above all,his pride in his craft.

There are times when nothing is important but the bottom line,when you can do things any old way as long as it “pays”,when,in short,people look on work as a path to ever-increasing consumption（消费）rather than a way to realize their own abilities.In such a period it is a rare comfort to find a cobbler who gets his greatest satisfaction from pride in a job well done.

1.Which of the following is true about the old cobbler?

A. He was equipped with the best repairing tools.

B. He was the only cobbler in the Marais.

C. He was a native Parisian.

D. He was proud of his skills.

2.The sentence “He was something out of an ancient legend.” ( paragraph 7 ) implies that     .

A. the man was very strange

B. it was difficult to communicate with this man

C. the man was too old

D. nowadays you can hardly find anyone like him

3.According to the author,many people work just to     .

A. realize their abilities    B. gain respect

C. make money    D. gain happiness

4.This story wants to tell us that     .

A. craftsmen make a lot of money    B. people are born equal

C. whatever you do,do it well    D. craftsmen need self-respect

Answer

1.D

2.D

3.C

4.C

【解析】本文讲述了一个老鞋匠几十年如一日的兢兢业业的工作，让自己的补鞋手艺变得非常的好，由此告诫世人，做任何工作都应该努力认真。

1.细节理解题。由原文第六段Only three of us in Paris can do this kind of work…”可知在巴黎只有三个鞋匠能做这项工作，因此他对于自己的手艺很自豪，故选D.

2.词义推测题。划线句子He was something out of an ancient legend.意为他好像是从远古时代出来的一样。作者在说这句话的时候没有贬义，只是表明他和现在的人不一样，现在很难找到他这样的人了，故选D。

3.细节理解题。由原文最后一段people look on work as a path to ever-increasing consumption rather than a way to realize their own abilities.可知人们把工作作为一个不断增长的消费路径，而不是一种实现自己能力的方法。故选C。

4.主旨大意题。由原文最后一段In such a period it is a rare comfort to find a cobbler who gets his greatest satisfaction from pride in a job well done.

可知在这样一个时期，找到一个能从一份工作中的骄傲中获得最大满足感的鞋匠是一种难得的安慰。作者希望人们认真工作，故选C。