Question

    It was a very cold evening．The old man’s beard was almost frozen．He was waiting for a ride across the river．The wait seemed endless．The old man sat on the ground waiting．

Finally，he saw several horsemen coming．He watched them．He 1et the first one．pass by without even asking．Another passed by，and then another．Finally，tile 1ast rider came near the old man．The old man caught the rider’s eye and said，“Sir，would you mind giving me a ride

To the other side?”

    Stopping his horse，the rider replied，“Of course．”But the old man’s body was half-frozen．He could not get off the ground．The horseman helped the old man onto his horse．He took the o1d man not just across the river，but to the old man′s home．

    As they neared the old man’s house，the horseman asked，“Sir，you let several other riders pass by without even asking．Then I came up and you asked me for a ride at once．Why? What if 1 had said‘no’and 1eft you there?”

    The old man looked at the rider straight in the eyes，and said?“1 looked into the eyes of the other riders．I quickly saw that they did n’t care．It would be useless even to ask them for a ride．But when I looked into your eyes，I saw kindness．I knew that you would help me．”

The words touched the rider deeply．“Thank you for what you’ve said，”he told the man．“I hope 1 will never be too busy to help others．”  

With that，Thomas Jefferson，the third president of the US，turned his horse around and made his way back to the White House．

1.What does the underlined sentence mean?

    A．Though 1 will be busy，I’ll sti1l help others．

    B．1’ll not be busy forever，so I can help others．

    C．1 will always be ready to help others．

    D．To help others，1 will not be busy．

2.The writer used the first paragraph；in order to          ．

    A．describe the cold weather                    B．describe the old man’s difficulty

C．stress the 1ast horsemen’s kindness        

D．describe the length of the old man’s beard

3.What did the old man ask the last driver to do?

    A．To take him home．                       B．To take him across the river．

    C．To take him to the capital．             D．To take him to the White House．

4.Who is the last horseman?

    A．The third president of America．         B．The passage does n’t tell us．

    C．A man sent by God．                  D．A unknown fighter of the U．S．army．

Answer

1.C 考查学生的推断能力。认真阅读分析该节内容可知，这句话是最后一个骑马者在老人讲话的感动下讲的话，可见其决心一辈子都要尽力帮助别人。

2.C 考查学生的简单推断能力。认真阅读分析原文可知，在这么寒冷的天气里，只有最后一个骑马者带老人过河，可见第一节对寒冷气候的描绘是为了体现最后一个骑马者带老人过河的难能可贵。

3.B 考查考生对具体信息的理解能力。原文第二节Sir，would you mind giving me a ride to the other side?体现答案。

4.A 考查逻辑推理能力。由原文最后一节可以推出带老人过河的最后一个骑马者是美国第三任总统，