Question

    At the age of 16, Einstein always played with a group of naughty（调皮的）kids. Because he was so busy playing, he didn’t study enough and failed his final exam.

One morning, when Einstein was holding a fishing rod and was about to go fishing with his friends, his father stopped him and said calmly, “Einstein, you’re so fond of playing all day that you failed your exam. I’m worried about your future.”

“What are you worrying about? Jack and Robert also failed, but don’t they still get to go fishing?”

“My boy, you can’t think like that,”  his dad said. “There is a story that people tell in our hometown. Listen to it now.”

“There were two cats playing on a roof. One cat got caught off guard and fell down the chimney（烟囱）while holding the other cat. When the two cats climbed out of the chimney, one of the cats had soot on his face, while the other cat’s face was clean. Seeing the soot-faced cat, the clean cat thought its face must be dirty, so it quickly ran to the riverside and washed its face. The soot-faced cat saw the clean-faced cat and thought its face was also clean, so it just swaggered（大摇大摆地走）down the street.”

“Einstein, no one can be your ‘mirror’. You have to think for yourself. If you always notice what others say and do, you will never learn.”

Hearing this, Einstein laid down his fishing rod and returned to his room. He decided to pay more attention to his studies and less attention to what his friends were doing. This allowed him to be successful.

1.What was Einstein’s main problem in his father’s opinion?

A.He failed his exams. B.He was not good at math.

C.He liked playing too much. D.He had too many friends.

2.The underlined word “soot” may mean “______” in Chinese.

A.颜料 B.油渍 C.烟灰 D.污水

3.Which of the following is TRUE about the story?

A.The soot-faced cat fell into the chimney first. B.The soot-faced cat washed its face clean.

C.The clean cat didn’t wash its face. D.Both of the cats made the wrong decision.

4.What did Einstein decide to do after hearing what his father said?

A.Make more friends. B.Pay more attention to his studies.

C.Learn more knowledge from his father. D.Stay at home every day.

5.Einstein’s father told him a story to ______.

A.make him happy B.tell him a lesson C.teach him a skill D.keep him inside

Answer

1.A

2.C

3.D

4.B

5.B

【解析】

本文介绍了爱因斯坦成功的原因，是受爸爸讲给他的一个寓言故事的启发。通过这个寓言故事告诉他只有自己才是自己的镜子，必须看清自己，并清楚自己想追求什么，自己的未来如何，不取决于别人怎样做，而是取决于自己怎样做，我们应该对生活有自己的态度。

1.细节理解题。根据第二段中“Einstein, you’re so fond of playing all day that you failed your exam. I’m worried about your future.”可知，在爱因斯坦因为喜欢整天玩耍以至于考试失利，父亲非常担心爱因斯坦的未来，在父亲看来，考试失利是爱因斯坦的主要问题。故选A。

2.词意猜测题。根据第五段中“One cat got caught off guard and fell down the chimney（烟囱）while holding the other cat.”可知，两只猫是掉进了烟囱里，所以当它们爬出来的时候，其中一只猫脸上有烟灰，也对应了下文去河边洗脸的经历，所以划线部分单词soot的意思是“烟灰”。故选C。

3.推理判断题。The soot-faced cat fell into the chimney first.那只满脸烟灰的猫先掉进了烟囱。根据第五段中“One cat got caught off guard and fell down the chimney（烟囱）while holding the other cat.”可知，一只猫抱着另一只猫掉进了烟囱，当它们爬出来的时候，一只猫脸上有烟灰，但并没有指出是满脸烟灰的猫先掉进烟囱的，所以A项表述错误。The soot-faced cat washed its face clean.那只满脸烟灰的猫把脸洗干净了。根据第五段中“the clean cat thought its face must be dirty, so it quickly ran to the riverside and washed its face”可知，脸上干净的那只猫去洗脸了，而不是脸上有烟灰的那只猫洗脸，所以B项表述错误。The clean cat didn’t wash its face.根据第五段中“the clean cat thought its face must be dirty, so it quickly ran to the riverside and washed its face”可知，脸上干净的那只猫洗脸了，所以C项表述错误。Both of the cats made the wrong decision.两只猫都做了错误的决定。根据第五段中“Seeing the soot-faced cat, the clean cat thought its face must be dirty, so it quickly ran to the riverside and washed its face. The soot-faced cat saw the clean-faced cat and thought its face was also clean, so it just swaggered（大摇大摆地走）down the street.”可知，满脸烟灰的那只猫认为自己的脸是干净的，就没有洗脸，脸上没有灰的那只猫认为自己脸上有烟灰，去洗脸了，所以两只猫都做出了错误的决定，所以D项表述正确。故选D。

4.细节理解题。根据最后一段中“He decided to pay more attention to his studies…”可知，爱因斯坦听了父亲的话以后，决定把更多的精力放在自己的学习上。故选B。

5.推理判断题。根据最后一段中“Hearing this, Einstein laid down his fishing rod and returned to his room. He decided to pay more attention to his studies and less attention to what his friends were doing.”可知，爱因斯坦放下他的鱼竿，回到他的房间。他决定把更多的精力放在学习上，而不是关注他的朋友们在做什么，所以父亲给他讲故事是为了给他上一课，让他明白学习的重要性。故选B。