Question

    Compassion（同情）is a desire within us to help others. With effort, we can translate compassion into action. An experience last weekend showed me this is true. I work part-time in supermarket across from a building for the elderly. These old people are our main customers, and it’s not hard to lose patience over their slowness. But last Sunday, one aged gentleman appeared to teach me a valuable lesson. This untidy man walked up to my register（收款机）with a box of biscuits. He said he was out of cash, had just moved into his room, and had nothing in his cupboards. He asked if we could let him have the food on trust. He promised to repay me the next day.

I couldn’t help staring at him. I wondered what kind of person he had been ten or twenty years before, and what he would be like if fortune had gone his way. I had a hurt in my heart for this kind of human soul, all alone in the world. I told him that I was sorry, but store rules didn’t allow me to do so. I felt stupid and unkind saying this, but I valued my job.

Just then, another man, standing behind the first, spoke up. If anything, he looked more pitiable, “Charge it to me,” was all he said.

What I had been feeling was pity. Pity is soft and safe and easy. Compassion, on the other hand, is caring in action. I thanked the second man but told him that was not allowed either. Then I reached into my pocket and paid for the biscuits myself. I reached into my pocket because these two men had reached into my heart and taught me compassion.

1.The aged gentleman who wanted to buy the biscuits______.

A. promised to obey the store rules

B. hoped to have the food first and pay later

C. forgot to take his credit card with him

D. could not afford anything more expensive

2.Which of the following best describes the old gentleman?

A. Kind and lucky. B. Friendly and helpful.

C. Poor and lonely. D. Hurt and disappointed.

3.Why did the author refuse the old gentle man’s request first?

A. He considered the old man dishonest.

B. He felt no pity for the old gentleman.

C. He wanted to keep his present job.

D. He expected someone else to pay for the old man.

4.What lesson did the author learn from this experience?

A. Obeying the rules means more than compassion.

B. Wealth is most important in older age.

C. Experience is better gained through practice.

D. Compassion means helping in some way.

Answer

1.B

2.C

3.C

4.D

【解析】

本文是一篇夹叙夹议文，作者通过一位老人买饼干而没钱付账的经历告诉我们可以把同情的愿望转化为行动。

1.细节理解题。根据第一段中的“He said he was out of cash, had just moved into his room, and had nothing in his cupboards. He asked if we could let him have the food on trust. He promised to repay me the next day.”可知，结账时这个老人说自己没有钱了，问我他可不可以先把饼干拿走，第二天再把钱送来，故B项正确。

2.推理判断题。根据第一段老人身上连买饼干的钱都没有及第二段中的“all alone in the world.”可知，他又穷又孤独，故C项正确。

3.细节理解题。根据第二段中的“but store rules didn’t allow me to do so. I felt stupid and unkind saying this, but I valued my job.”可知，商店的规定不允许先拿货后付钱，作者想保住这份工作所以不敢违反规定，故C项正确。

4.推理判断题。根据第一段中的“Compassion（同情）is a desire within us to help others. With effort, we can translate compassion into action. ”可知，同情是我们内心帮助别人的愿望，通过努力，我们可以把它转化为行动，也就是说作者从这个经历中学到了同情意味着以某种方式帮助别人，故D项正确。