Question

I am a music store owner. One day, when I was cleaning the instruments in my store, I saw an old man come in. His short steps dragged on the carpet. “Is 77 too old to learn the banjo (班卓琴)?” he asked.

“You can learn to play it well,” I replied, holding back my doubts. My mind told me I was giving false encouragement. I reached the instructor’s schedule and gave the rates, the available time and the additional information that he would need. To my surprise and delight, the old man, Carl, began banjo lessons three days later with my most patient teacher.

With nothing to do at home but practice, Carl made surprising progress. After breakfast he practiced for his required half hour. While waiting for lunch he picked up his banjo again for just a couple of minutes. Since TV was difficult for him to see and hear, he often played the banjo in the evenings. Carl was always early for lessons so it was a surprise that he didn’t arrive one Tuesday.

The next morning I listened to the answering machine with sadness. “Carl’s in hospital,” the voice recorded.

Two months later, I shared the newspaper obituary with the banjo teacher. We both shed tears for a surprisingly clever banjo student.

Several months later, a woman came into the store carrying a plant. “This is for Carl’s banjo teacher,” she said. “I’m his wife, Mary.”

“Why did Carl want to play the banjo?” I asked. Mary took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Carl was at some show when he was 10 years old. He came close to the stage to watch the performers. When they were packing up their instruments, the banjo player said to Carl, ‘You want to see this up close?’ Carl climbed up on the stage and from then on he wanted to play the banjo.” Carl had waited 67 years to realize a dream! Mary gave the plant to Carl’s banjo teacher. “Thank you for the best six months of his life,” she said.

1.How did Carl learn to play the banjo well?

A. By working hard.

B. By taking short cuts.

C. By asking his wife to help him.

D. By finding the best teacher.

2.From Paragraph 2, we can know the author ______.

A. was unwilling to help Carl

B. was giving true encouragement

C. didn’t want to encourage Carl

D. encouraged Carl though he had doubts

3.The underlined word “obituary” in Para.5 means a notice that _______.

A. announces somebody has died

B. announces somebody is needed

C. announces a good piece of news

D. announces a gift for somebody

4.Why did Carl want to learn banjo?

A. He wanted to become a banjo performer.

B. He wanted to make his dream of his young age come true.

C. His wife encouraged him to learn it.

D. He wanted to spend the last best six months of his life.

Answer

1.A

2.D

3.A

4.B

【解析】

试题分析: 本文讲述carl在77岁的时候才开始学班卓琴，通过自己不断的努力，他却学得非常好，这说明世上无难事，只怕有心人

1.A 考查细节理解题。根据文章第三段作者对carl学班卓琴的描述可知，carl花了大量的时间来练习，这说明他非常刻苦，故选A项。

2.D 考查细节理解题。作者的话是来鼓励carl的，但是根据第二段第一句的“holding back my doubts”可知作者是持怀疑态度的，故选D项。

3.A 考查猜测词义题。前面一段提到作者打电话得知carl生病住院了，后面提到carl的妻子来感谢作者让他丈夫度高兴地度过了他最后的六个月时间，因此可知这里是指报纸上发讣告宣布carl死了，故选D项。

4.考查推理判断题。根据最后一段提到Carl had waited 67 years to realize a dream他等了67年实现他的梦想，故选B项。

考点 ：人生百味类阅读。