Question

Maybe you have seen this in schools: some students are studying hard all the time but they just pass their exams, while some others may spend much less time on their books but do much better in exams. How could this happen? People used to think that hard-work is the only way to success. But now they have understood that smart work can make them succeed, too.

Hard workers don’t mind working for long hours, while smart workers always think of several different answers to these questions, “ Why should I suffer(忍受) this? Isn’t there s better way to do this?”  Thanks to these people, we can use computers instead of the abacus(算盘) now. Progress in every field(领域) is the direct result of “ try a better way” by smart workers.

There was a large soap factory in Japan. Once it received an unusual letter, complaining(抱怨) that there was no soap in the soapbox he bought.  How could empty soapboxes go out of the factory? The engineers (工程师) checked the producing and packing(包装). The producing was fine, but in about one in ten thousand cases, the packing machine let an empty soapbox go. There was no need to spend a lot of money repairing the machine for such a small problem. The engineer soon work out a solution. He put a huge X-ray machine and two large computers to find out the empty soapboxes. After teaching the worker how to use it, he sat down in his seat, exhausted(筋疲力尽的).

“ Sir, we could have solved the problem in a much easier and cheaper way.” said one worker. “ Really? How?”  “ We can put a huge fan(风扇) near the packing machine. The wind will blow away the empty boxes. There would be no need for an X-ray machine and computers.”

See, this is smart work. In order to succeed, we should not work hard like the engineer, but also think smartly like this worker.

1.Some students spend much less time on the schoolwork but do much better in exams       .

A. Because of their hard work

B. Because of different education

C. Because they try to find a better way

D. Because they study for a much longer time

2.Someone wrote the soap factory and complained that             .

A. the soapbox he bought was empty

B. their soap was too expensive

C. the soap he bought was terrible

D. their service was very bad

3. The soap factory could only           near the packing machine to solve the problem in a much easier and cheaper way.

A. set some soapboxes

B. set an X-ray machine

C. put two large computers

D. put a huge fan

4.The phrase “ blow away” here in Chinese means?

A. 停止         B. 吹走       C. 搬动       D. 逃脱

5.The article mainly tell us that we should           in order to succeed.

A. think of different answers to our questions

B. spend much less time on our school work

C. work hard like the engineer and think smartly like the worker

D. spend enough money repairing the machine for any problem

Answer

1.C

2.A

3.D

4.B

5.C

【解析】

试题分析：这篇短文主要通过日本一个生产个人运用聪明才智解决生产中遇到的难题的事例，说明努力并非成功的唯一途径，智慧同样可以起到事半功倍的效果。

1. others may spend much less time on their books but do much better in exams. How could this happen? People used to think that hard-work is the only way to success. But now they have understood that smart work can make them succeed, too的描述可知，一些学生花很少的时间但是却取得很好的成绩，是因为他们设法找到一种更好的办法。故选C。

2. was a large soap factory in Japan. Once it received an unusual letter, complaining(抱怨) that there was no soap in the soapbox he bought的描述可知，有人写信抱怨他买的肥皂盒里没有肥皂。故选A。

3. Sir, we could have solved the problem in a much easier and cheaper way.” said one worker. “ Really? How?” “ We can put a huge fan(风扇) near the packing machine. The wind will blow away the empty boxes. There would be no need for an X-ray machine and computers.”的描述可知，在包装机旁边放一个大风扇就可以轻易解决这个难题。故选D。

4. producing was fine, but in about one in ten thousand cases, the packing machine let an empty soapbox go的描述可知，“ blow away”是指“吹走”的意思，故选B。

5. this is smart work. In order to succeed, we should not work hard like the engineer, but also think smartly like this worker.的描述可知，要想成功，不但要像工程师一样努力工作，而且要像工人一样聪明地思考。故选C。

考点：教育类短文阅读。