Once upon a time a king, in the company of his ministers, went to the imperial garden for a walk. When he was walking around a pond, a strange idea 26 upon him and he asked, “How many buckets(桶) of water are there in the pond?” The ministers looked at each other, 27 to give an answer.
Rather 28 , the king ordered, “You have three days’ grace. Any one who offers an answer will be handsomely awarded. Those who fail will be 29 .”
The time limit was due in the twinkling（闪烁）of an eye, yet the ministers were still at their wit’s end. At this time a child appeared who declared that he knew the answer. The king told his 30 ministers to go with the child for the measurement. To their 31 , the child refused the suggestion with a smile, “It is very easy. No 32 to go to the pond.” This made the king laugh 33 , “Alright, let us know what it is.” The child winked (眨眼) and said, “That 34 on the size of the bucket. If it is as big as the pond, there is one bucket of water; if it is half as big, two buckets; if one third as big, three buckets; if...” “Stop! That’s it. You’ve got the 35 .” The king was satisfied and the child was duly rewarded.
Why did the ministers feel it so different to settle the problem? Because they fell in a pitfall (陷阱), following a wrong way of thinking. People’s thinking often goes a habitual way — the beaten track of straightforwardness. 36 is a static (静态的) way presupposing every object definite and certain, i.e. the size of the pond and the bucket should be clearly 37 . If one of them is unknown, it will be difficult to do the measurement, let alone 38 . Why not change your mode of thought — from static to dynamic（动态的）, from concrete to 39 ? If you adopt an indirect way and try to find out the proportional relation between the pond and the bucket, you’ll get an answer — flexible yet 40 to solve the problem.
Sometimes to get out of the difficulty one must change one’s way of thinking, or simply change one’s approach towards a problem.
1. A. fixed B. focused C. came D. looked
2.A. struggling B. thinking C. falling D. failing
3.A. disappointed B. excited C. pleased D. contented
4.A. killed B. punished C. blamed D. scolded
5.A. exciting B. amazing C. surprising D. trembling
6.A. doubt B. surprise C. envy D. delight
7.A. good B. use C. need D. wonder
8.A. wonderfully B. joyfully C. cheerfully D. doubtfully
9. A. decides B. depends C. calls D. looks
10.A. award B. reward C. answer D. number
11.A. This B. That C. It D. Such
12.A. marked B. measured C. signed D. known
13.A. another B. other C. one D. both
14.A. detailed B. easy C. simple D. abstract
15.A. acceptable B. available C. adequate D. proper
He talks about Rome as if he _________there before.
A. were B. had been C. has been D. was
I was on the highway when this car went past followed by a police car. They ______ at least 150 kilometers an hour.
A. should have been doing B. must have been doing
C. could have done D. would have done
All the teachers discussed the plan that they would like to see __________ in the next school year.
A. carry out B. carried out C. to carry out D. be carrying out
I still remember __________ chess in class by my teacher about twenty years ago.
A. to be caught to play B. being caught playing
C. catching play D. having caught playing
The shopkeeper did not want to sell for ______ he thought was not enough.
A. where B. how C. what D. which
