Do you sometimes argue about what seems to you to be a simple fact? Do you argue whether it’s cold outdoors or whether the car in front of you is going faster than the speed limit (限速)?

If you get into such arguments, try to think about the story about the six blind men and the elephant. The first blind man who felt the elephant’s trunk (象鼻) said it was like a snake. The second who felt the elephant’s side said it was like a wall, while the third said it was like a spear( 矛 ) as he touched the animal’s tusk. The fourth, who took hold of the elephant’s tail, insisted that it was like a rope. The fifth man said it looked like a tree as he put his arms around one of the elephant’s legs. The last, who was tall and got hold of the elephant’s ears, said it was like a huge fan.

Each man’s idea of the animal came from his own experience. So if someone disagrees with you about a “simple fact”, it’s often because his experience in the matter is different from yours.

To see how hard it is for even one person to make up his mind about a “simple fact”, try this simple experiment. Get three large bowls. Put ice water in one. Put hot water in the second. Put lukewarm water (温水)in the third. Now put your left hand in the hot water. Put your right hand in the lukewarm water. Your right hand will tell you the water is cold. Your left hand will tell you it is hot.

1.There were _______ blind man who were trying to tell what an elephant was like in the story.

2.The man who touched the elephant’s ears must be very_______.

3.The underlined word “it” in the last line of the paragraph refers to ___.

4.What makes people think about simple facts differently?

5.It can be inferred from the passage that we should__________.

A rich American went into a shop in London. He wanted very much __31___ a nice looking watch. He saw a watch and liked it __32_____much that he decided to buy it. But the owner of the shop insisted five hundred dollars for it. When the American was hesitating, a young man suddenly came into the shop, took___33__out of the owner’s hand and ran out with it. It all happened in few seconds. When the owner ran out ___34____the street, the young man was already disappearing among the people. The American went on. At the next corner, he saw ___35_____with the stolen watch in his hand. “Don’t you want to buy a fine watch, sir?” he asked in a low_____36____ , “It’s only a hundred dollars.”

“The young man doesn’t know _____37____saw him stealing the watch just now,” he thought. The American paid at once and went ___38______back to his room with the watch. He told his friend about the fine watch. His friend took a look at the watch and started laughing. He said, “You are ____39_____. The watch isn’t worth ___40______ten dollars. I’m sure the shop owner and the young man planned all this together.”

Tom walked into a shop . It had a sign outside : "Second-hand (旧的) clothes bought and sold . "He was carrying an old pair of trousers and asked the owner of the shop, "How much will you give me for these?" The man looked at them and then said: "Two dollars."

　　"What !" said Tom. "I had guessed they were worth at least five dollars."

　　"No," said the man, "they aren't worth a cent more than two dollars."

　　"Well," said Tom, taking two dollars out of his pocket. "Here's your money. These trousers were hanging outside your shop. The list price (标价)of them was six dollars and a half. But I thought that was too much money, so I wanted to find out how much they were really worth."

　　Then he walked out of the shop with the pair of trousers and disappeared before the shop owner could think of anything to say .

1.At first the owner of the shop thought that Tom __________.

A. wanted to steal the trousers　 　　  B. wanted to sell the trousers

C. wanted to fool him　　　　　　   D. wanted to buy the trousers 

2.The owner of the shop_______ 　for the old trousers.

A. would give Tom two dollars　  

B. would pay three dollars

C. would pay five dollars　　　  　　 

D. would give Tom six dollars and a half 

3.The shop owner insisted（坚持） that the trousers were worth only two dollars because ____.

A. he wanted to sell them cheaply   　 

B. he wanted to buy them cheaply

C. he didn't like the trousers    　　 

D. they were old and dirty 

4.In fact, the trousers _________.

A. were hanging inside the shop　  　　 

B. were stolen by Tom from the shop

C. had been the shop owner's　　 　　 

D. had been Tom's 

5.From the story we know that _________ cheaper than the list price.

A. the owner sold the trousers two dollars

B. Tom sold the trousers one dollar and a half

C. the owner bought the trousers three dollars

D. Tom bought the trousers four dollars and a half

A rich American went into a shop in London. He wanted very much __31___ a nice looking watch. He saw a watch and liked it __32_____much that he decided to buy it. But the owner of the shop insisted five hundred dollars for it. When the American was hesitating, a young man suddenly came into the shop, took___33__out of the owner’s hand and ran out with it. It all happened in few seconds. When the owner ran out ___34____the street, the young man was already disappearing among the people. The American went on. At the next corner, he saw ___35_____with the stolen watch in his hand. “Don’t you want to buy a fine watch, sir?” he asked in a low_____36____ , “It’s only a hundred dollars.”
“The young man doesn’t know _____37____saw him stealing the watch just now,” he thought. The American paid at once and went ___38______back to his room with the watch. He told his friend about the fine watch. His friend took a look at the watch and started laughing. He said, “You are ____39_____. The watch isn’t worth ___40______ten dollars. I’m sure the shop owner and the young man planned all this together.”