Question

【题目】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 6 ) 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 abilitiesB. gain happiness

C. make moneyD. gain respect

【4】This story wants to tell us that .

A. craftsmen make a lot of moneyB. whatever you do, do it well

C. craftsmen need self-respectD. people are born equal

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】C

【2】A

【3】C

【4】B

【解析】

本文讲述了一个老鞋匠。作者去找巴黎一家鞋匠修鞋时，他说他没时间，告诉作者可以去另一个人那里去，他会马上给作者修好。作者只看到他的长凳上放满了工具和皮革，就知道他是个技艺高超的工匠。作者最后决定在这家鞋店修鞋。他骄傲地告诉作者在巴黎只有三个人能做这种工作。他对自己的手艺感到自豪。作者感慨现在的人工作，只是为了挣钱，不是一种实现自身价值的途径。

【1】题意：关于这个老皮匠，下面哪一个是正确的？考查细节推断。A. He was equipped with the best repairing tools. 他配备了最好的修理工具；B. He was the only cobbler in the Marais. 他是马拉斯唯一的鞋匠；C. He was proud of his skills. 他为自己的技术感到骄傲；D. He was a native Parisian. 他是个本地的巴黎人。从第六段“he said with pride,‘Only three of us in Paris can do this kind of work.’”可知，他说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C。

【2】题意：“他是一个古老传说中的人物。”（第6段）意味着_________________。推测词义题。A. nowadays you can hardly find anyone like him现在你几乎找不到像他这样的人了；B. it was difficult to communicate with this man很难与这个人沟通；C. the man was very strange这个人很奇怪；D. the man was too old那人太老了。划线句子的意思是“他好像是从远古时代出来的一样”。作者在说这句话的时候一点贬义也没有，作者很尊重他，这句话只是表明他跟现在的人不一样，现在很难找到像他这样的人了，故选A。

【3】题意：据作者说，许多人工作只是为了赚钱。考查细节推断题。A. realize their abilities了解他们的能力；B. gain happiness获得幸福；C. make money赚钱；D. gain respect赢得尊重。从最后一段“people look on work as a path to ever-increasing consumption”可知，人们工作的原因是为了增加消费。挣钱才能消费。因此，人们工作的原因是挣钱。选C。

【4】题意：这个故事想告诉我们，________________。考查主旨题。A. craftsmen make a lot of money工匠赚大钱；B. whatever you do, do it well无论你做什么，都要做好；C. craftsmen need self-respect工匠需要自尊；D. people are born equal人生而平等。最后一段讲到现在的人不认真工作，只是为了挣钱。最后一句话“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.” 作者认为，看见一个鞋匠从做好一个工作中得到最大的满足是一种安慰。由此可得，作者希望人们应该认真工作，故选B。