Question

An old man lived in a certain part of London, and he would wake up every morning and go to the subway. He would get the train right to Central London, and then sit at the street corner and beg. He would do this every single day of his life. He sat at the same street corner and begged for almost 20 years.

His house was dirty, and the bad smell coming out of the house was horrible. The neighbors could not stand the smell any more, so they asked the police officers to clear the place. The officers knocked down the door and cleaned the house. There were small bags of money all over the house that he had collected over the years.

The police counted the money, and they soon realized that the old man was a millionaire (百万富翁). They waited outside his house expecting to share the good news with him. When the old man arrived home that evening, one of the officers told him that there was no need for him to beg any more as he was a rich man now, a millionaire.

But the old man said nothing at all; he went into his house and locked the door. The next morning he woke up as usual, went to the subway, got into the train and sat at the street corner and continued to beg.

Clearly, this old man had no great plans, dreams or anything significant for his life. We learn nothing from this story other than staying focused on the things we enjoy doing. What makes us happy is what matters in the end, not what we acquire.

1. Why did the police officers clear the old man’s house?

A. Because the old man had no time to clear it himself.

B. Because the neighbors of the old man asked them to do.

C. Because they couldn’t stand the terrible smell.

D. Because the police officers were kind-hearted.

2. The police officers stood outside the old man’s house in order to __________.

A. Tell the old man that they knocked down his door

B. Ask the old man to clean his dirty house

C. Make the old man count the money in small bags.

D. Tell the old man that he was a millionaire.

3. What did the old man do after the police officer told him the news?

A. He did what he usually did the next day.

B. He stayed at home doing nothing.

C. He locked the door and went to the subway at once.

D. He sat in front of his house and continued to beg.

4. From the story we can infer that__________.

A. the old man cared about nothing but money

B. the old man wanted to do what he enjoyed doing

C. the policemen would take away all the money.

D. the old man would not beg any more

Answer 1