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． “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．

My 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．

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 （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?

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

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

4.This story wants to tell us that__________．

选择下列词语的适当形式填空 (每题1分,共10题, 满分10分)

1.Do you know when the earth ____________________.

2.After we heard his funny story, we all __________________________.

3.She says she is all right now, which makes me happy ______________.

4.I don’t know how to _____________ the problem .

5.___________, he is right in saying so.

6.He didn't work hard. _____________, he failed his exam.

7.The boss considers Mr Wang as the most able (能干的) member of the team and _____________ him.

8.When she was in difficulty, she didn't know whom to ___________for advice.

     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.

      My 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.

      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  (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 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

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． “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．
My 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．
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 （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．
【小题1】Which of the following is true about the old cobbler?

Even if he is not the most liked comedian in China today, his popularity certainly has risen the fastest within the last two months.

He's "Little Shenyang", who came into national fame overnight after his appearance on CCTV's Spring Festival Gala. With his funny cross-dressing, unique northeastern accent and superb imitative(模仿的) skills, Little Shenyang has obvious talent to support his rise to fame.

Hundreds of video clips of his shows have been posted on YouTube and other online video sites, and his performance fees reportedly grew 50-fold in just a few weeks. He has, at the same time, become one of the most controversial of entertainers.

Many have doubted his artistic potential, pointing out that his shows were repetitive and lacked creativity, a key to continued comedic success. Others belittle (轻视) the style of humor, saying it's too crude and appeals only to less-educated people. His defenders were just as up in arms. Many media commentators and bloggers said that his quick rise to star proved the broad appeal of his art form. He became a national champion not because of his "northeastern hick(乡巴佬)" humor, they argued, but because he represented something new on TV, something with a grassroots feel that appealed to millions of ordinary people.

Now, does Little Shenyang really deserve his star status?

1. Some people belittle Little Shenyang’s humor because _________. 

A. He represents something with a grassroots feel.

B. The style of humor lacked creativity.

C. He speaks with a northeast accent.

D. He became famous overnight.

2.What’s the secret of Little Shenyang’s success?                 

A. His funny cross-dressing.

B. His unique accent

C. His super imitative skills

D. All of the above

3.From the passage, we can infer that _________.                

A. Little Shenyang is the most popular comedian in China.

B. Few people like Little Shenyang’s performance.

C. Little Shenyang earns a lot of money now.

D. The author thinks little of Little Shenyang.