Question

He's an old cobbler with a shop in the Marais, a historic area in Paris. When I took him my shoes, he at first told me: “I haven't time. Take them to the other fellow on the main street; he'll fix them for you right away.”

But I'd had my eye on his shop for a long time. Just looking at his bench loaded with tools and pieces of leather, I knew he was a skilled craftsman. “No,” I replied, “the other fellow can't do it well.”

“The other fellow” was one of those shopkeepers who fix shoes and make keys “while-U-wait” -- without knowing much about mending shoes or making keys. They work carelessly, and when they have finished sewing back a sandal strap you might as well just throw away the pair.

My man saw I wouldn't give in, and he smiled. He wiped his hands on his blue apron, looked at my shoes, had me write my name on one shoe with a piece of chalk and said, “Come back in a week.”

I was about to leave when he took a pair of soft leather boots off a shelf.

“See what I can do?” he said with pride. “Only three of us in Paris can do this kind of work.”

When I got back out into the street, the world seemed brand-new to me. He was something out of an ancient legend, this old craftsman with his way of speaking familiarly, his very strange, dusty felt hat, his funny accent from who-knows-where and, above all, his pride in his craft.

These are times when nothing is important but the bottom line, when you can do things any old way as long as it “pays”, when, in short, people look on work as a path to ever-increasing consumption (消费) rather than a way to realize their own abilities. In such a period it is a rare comfort to find a cobbler who gets his greatest satisfaction from pride in a job well done.

1.Which of the following is true about the old cobbler?

A. He was equipped with the best repairing tools.

B. He was the only cobbler in the Marais.

C. He was proud of his skills.

D. He was a native Parisian.

2.The sentence “He was something out of an ancient legend.” (paragraph 7) implies that__________.

A. nowadays you can hardly find anyone like him

B. it was difficult to communicate with this man

C. the man was very strange

D. the man was too old

3.According to the author, many people work just to__________________.

A. realize their abilities    B. gain happiness

C. make money    D. gain respect

4.This story wants to tell us that_____________________.

A. craftsmen make a lot of money    B. whatever you do, do it well

C. craftsmen need self-respect    D. people are born equal

Answer

1. C

2. A

3. C

4. B

【解析】

本文为记叙文。文章主要讲述了一个老鞋匠几十年如一日兢兢业业的工作，让自己的补鞋手艺变得更好，由此告诫世人，做任何事情都要认真负责的对待。

1.细节理解题。根据第六段中的he said with pride. “Only three of us in Paris can do this kind of work.”可知，他说在巴黎只有三个鞋匠能做这项工作，因此他对于自己的手艺很自豪。故C选项正确。

2.词义猜测题。划线句子的意思是“他好像是从远古时代出来的一样”，作者在说这句话的时候一点贬义也没有，作者很尊重他，这句话只是表明他跟现在的人不一样，现在很难找到像他这样的人了。故A选项正确。

3.细节理解题。根据最后一段中的people look on work as a path to ever-increasing consumption可知，人们工作的原因是为了增加消费，挣钱才能消费，因此，人们工作的原因是挣钱。故C选项正确。

4.主旨大意题。最后一段讲到现在的人不认真工作，只是为了挣钱。最后一句话In such a period it is a rare comfort to find a cobbler who gets his greatest satisfaction from pride in a job well done.作者认为，看见一个鞋匠从做好一个工作中得到最大的满足是一种安慰。由此可得，作者希望人们应该认真工作。故B选项正确。