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 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

Take a look in your clothes drawer. Do you see a pair of jeans? You probably do. You may be wearing a pair right now. Or you might have a jean jacket, shirt, or a pair of denim (牛仔布) shoes. Jeans are so common, and you may wonder who invented them and how the fashion took off.

Jeans were invented by a German named Levi Strauss. He went to the U. S. in 1847 and followed the Gold Rush to San Francisco. He carried many kinds of fabric (布料) to sell to dry goods stores. Levi quickly became a successful businessman. The miners (矿工) in California had a problem with their pants. When they found gold or ore (矿石) , they carried it in their pockets. But the metal was heavy, and the pockets ripped (撕开) . In 1873, Jacob and Levi made the first jeans-tough denim pants. The miners loved them, and the jeans quickly became popular.

In the beginning, Levi's jeans were work pants. Many workers wore them all the time. But a gentleman wouldn't think of wearing jeans. Women didn't wear pants at all. But this changed when Western movies became popular. All the cowboys were in jeans. People thought the cowboys looked tough and cool. But jeans still weren't proper for places like schools and offices. Back in the U. S. , fashions changed. Movie stars wore jeans in their films. Teenagers everywhere loved them. Some schools banned jeans because of their "rebel" (叛逆) image. But casual clothing, including jeans, became popular for more and more occasions. Eventually, jeans were so common that it became okay for anyone to wear them. You can even find pictures of the president wearing jeans.

Today, all kinds of people around the world wear jeans. People wear them everywhere. Jeans are popular today for the same reasons they were popular when Levi Strauss first made them. They look good, they last long, and they are comfortable. That's probably why you own a pair or two, or seven, yourself.

1.Were jeans invented by an American?

2.When did Jacob and Levi make the first jeans?

3.What did people think of the cowboys in jeans?

4.Why are jeans popular today?

5.What's the passage mainly about?

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