题目内容
I ______ on him; he didn’t know a bit about the Mars.
A. gave way B. gave out C. gave up D. gave away
C
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?
| 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. |
| 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 |
| A.realize their abilities | B.gain happiness |
| C.make money | D.gain respect |
| A.craftsmen make a lot of money | B.whatever you do, do it well |
| C.craftsmen need self-respect | D.people are born equal |
Today, in many high schools, teaching is now a technical miracle of computer labs, digital cameras, DVD players and laptops. Teachers can e-mail parents, post messages for students on online bulletin(公告,告示) boards, and take attendance with a quick movement of a mouse.
Even though we are now living in the digital age, the basic and most important element of education has not changed. Most students still need that one-on-one, teacher-student relationship to learn and to succeed. Teenagers need instruction in English, math or history, but they also want personal advice and encouragement. Kids talk with me about their families, their weekend plans, their favorite TV shows and their relationship problems. In my English and journalism classes, we talk about Shakespeare and persuasive(富有哲理的) essays, but we also discuss college basketball, the war in Iraq and career choices. Students show me pictures of their rebuilt cars, their family vacations, and their newborn baby brothers. This personal connection is the necessary link between teachers and students that no amount of technology can improve upon or replace.
A few years ago I had a student in sophomore English who was struggling with my class and with school in general. Although he was a humorous young man who liked to joke around, I knew his family life was far from ideal. Whenever I approached him about missing homework or low test grades, he always had the same reply, “It doesn’t matter because I’m quitting school anyway.” Even though he always said this in a half-teasing way, I knew he needed to hear my different opinion and my “value of a high school education” lecture. He needed to hear this speech from me. After he left my class, he struggled through the next two years of school. But, he did finally graduate because we kept telling him to hang in there. We’d cared about him finishing school.
Recently, I saw this former student working at a local Italian restaurant. I told him again how proud I was of him. He said that he was hoping to go back to school to become a certified electrician. I encouraged him to get that training.
Students rely on compassionate teachers to guide, to tutor, to listen, to laugh and to cry with them. Teachers provide the most important link in the educational process—the human one.
【小题1】The first paragraph mainly talks about _____________.
| A.the variety of modern teaching methods. |
| B.the wide use of modern technology in education |
| C.the importance of teacher-parent relationship. |
| D.the importance of using modern technology. |
| A.ambitious | B.knowledgeable | C.sympathetic | D.generous |
| A.teachers’ good instruction | B.advanced technology |
| C.teachers’ encouragement | D.personal connection |
| A.example | B.description | C.figure | D.comparison |