Question

    William I, who conquered England some 930 years ago, had wealth, power and an army. Yet although William was very rich by the standard of his time, he had nothing like a flush toilet(抽水马桶)，or riding lawn mower(除草机). How did he get by ?

History books are filled with wealthy people who were poor compared to me. I have storm windows, Croesus did not. Entire nations trembled before Alexander the Great, but he couldn^,t buy cat food. Czar Nicholas lacked an electric saw.

Given how much better off I am than so many famous dead people, you^,d think I^,d be content. The trouble is that, like most people, I compare my wealth with that of living persons: neighbors, school classmates, famous TV people. The greed I feel toward my friend Howard^,s new kitchen is not reduced by the fact no kings ever had a refrigerator with glass doors.’

There is really no rising or falling standard of living. Over the centuries people simply find different things to feel sad about. You^,d think that simply not having disease would put us in a good mood, but no, we want a hot bath too.

Of course, one way to achieve happiness would be to realize that even by today^,s standards the things I own are pretty nice. My house is smaller than the houses of many investments bankers, but even so it has a lot more rooms than my wife and I can keep clean.

Besides, to people looking back at our era from a century or two in the future, these bankers^, fancy counter tops and my own worn Formica will seem equally shabby. I can^,t keep up with my neighbors right now. But just wait.

1.What does the underlined phrase “get by” in the first paragraph mean ?

A.Succeed as a king. B.Deal with complaints.

C.Live in s satisfactory way. D.Get some extra money.

2.How many historical figures are mentioned to compare lives in the past and present ?

A.3. B.4.

C.5 D.6

3.According to the passage, the author. intends to        .

A.tell us to be content with life

B.warn us to live in a simple way

C.teach us to learn lessons from life

D.encourage us to struggle for wealth

4.What^,s the author^,s attitude towards life ?

A.Doubtful. B.Optimistic.

C.Uncaring. D.Cautious.

Answer

1.C

2.B

3.A

4.B

【解析】

本文属于议论文，无论一个人多么的富有，但是用未来人的角度来看，其生活质量都不是很好的，因此作者建议大家要对未来充满信心，也要满足当下的生活。

1.词义猜测题。根据第一段Yet although William was very rich by the standard of his time, he had nothing like a flush toilet(抽水马桶)，or riding lawn mower(除草机).可知，尽管威廉一世在他那个时代很富有，但是他没有像抽水马桶、除草机这一类的东西，通过How did he可知，他是怎样生活的呢？可知推出get by的意思是通过，过得去，故选C。

2.细节理解题。本文提及了William I威廉一世，Croesus克罗伊斯，Alexander the Great亚历山大大帝，Czar Nicholas沙皇尼古拉斯共计4个历史人物，故选B。

3.推理判断题。根据倒数第二段Of course, one way to achieve happiness would be to realize that even by today,s standards the things I own are pretty nice.可知，获得幸福的一种方式就是意识到，即使按照今天的生活标准，我拥有的东西都很不错，作者认为获得幸福感在于对当前拥有的东西感到满意，故选A。

4.推理判断题。根据最后一段Besides, to people looking back at our era from a century or two in the future, these bankers, fancy counter tops and my own worn Formica will seem equally shabby.用未来一两个世纪的人的标准来看今天，不管是银行家绚丽的工作台面还是我家的装饰材料都相当寒碜，故可知，作者认为生活会随着时代的发展而进步，故选B。