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 had my eyes 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 —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.
My man saw I wouldn’t give in, and he smiled. He wiped 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 and his pride in his craft.
These 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 rather than a way to realize their 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 proud of his skills.
D. He was a native Parisian.
2.The sentence“He was something out of an ancient legend.(Paragraph 7) implies that .”
A. nowadays you can hardly find anyone like him
B. it was difficult to communicate with this man
C. the man was very strange
D. the man was too old
3.According to the author, many people work just to .
A. realize their abilities B. gain happiness
C. make money D. gain respect
4.This story wants to tell us that .
A. craftsmen make a lot of money B. whatever you do, do it well
C. craftsmen need self-respect D. people are born equal
I grew up poor-living with six brothers, three sisters and my mother. We had little money, but plenty of love and attention. I was and energetic. I understood that no matter how poor a person was, he could still a dream.
My dream was . By the time I was sixteen, I could throw a ninety-mile-per- hour baseball and anything that moved on the field. I was also : my high school coach was John, who not only me, but also taught me how to believe in myself. He me the difference between having a dream and showing conviction(信念). One particular incident with coach John changed my life forever.
A friend me for a summer job. This meant a chance for money in my pocket — money for a new bike, new clothes and the of savings for a house for my mother. Then I realized I would have to up summer baseball to handle the work schedule, and that meant I would have to tell John I wouldn’t be playing.
When I told John, he was as as I expected him to be. “You have your whole life to work,”he said,“Your days are limited. You can’t afford to waste them.”I stood before him with my head , trying to think of the that would explain to him why my dream of buying my mom a house and having money in my pocket was worth facing his in me.
“Well,”he asked,“is $ 3.5 an hour the price of a dream?”
That simple question made to me the difference between something right now and having a goal. I myself in sports that summer and the year I was drafted(选拔) by the Pittsburgh Pirates to play baseball, and a $ 20,000 contract. Later, I bought my mother the house of my dream!
1.A.happyB.politeC.shyD.honest
2.A.bringB.affordC.makeD.occupy
3.A.athleticsB.musicC.businessD.money
4.A.kickB.playC.passD.hit
5.A.rightB.popularC.luckyD.confident
6.A.believed inB.relied onC.called onD.dealt with
7.A.gaveB.taughtC.broughtD.asked
8.A.calledB.advisedC.appliedD.recommended
9.A.aimB.ideaC.startD.purpose
10.A.keepB.endC.giveD.pick
11.A.madB.excitedC.frightenedD.shameful
12.A.livingB.playingC.workingD.dreaming
13.A.movingB.noddingC.shakingD.hanging
14.A.questionsB.excusesC.wordsD.ways
15.A.beliefB.prideC.helplessnessD.disappointment
16.A.directB.clearC.straightD.bare
17.A.wantingB.changingC.dreamingD.enjoying
18.A.devotedB. engagedC.appliedD.contributed
19.A.byB.forC.beyondD.within
20.A.paidB.foundC.offeredD.presented
The child tiptoed(翘起脚尖走) quietly to the bird. ______ into the forest when he was about to catch it.
A. Flew it away B. Away flew it C. Away it flew D. Flew away it
This picture called up my memory of that day when I ______ him for the first time.
A. had met B. was meeting C. would meet D. met
— Hasn’t the thief admitted his crime by now?
— No, ______ questioned many times.
A. if B. though C. unless D. once
The meeting ______ over, I found her seated at the desk and ______ to music.
A. to be; listened B. was; listened
C. was; listening D. being; listening
