16．Back in the fifteenth century，in a tiny village near Nuremberg，lived a family with eighteen children．Eighteen!In order merely to keep food on the table for this mob，the father worked almost eighteen hours a day at his trade and any other paying chore（零工） he could find in the neighborhood．Despite their seemingly hopeless condition，two of the children had a dream that they both wanted to pursue their talent for art，but they knew full well that their father would never be financially able to send either of them to Nuremberg to study at the Academy．
The two boys finally decided to toss a coin．The loser would go down into the nearby mines and，with his earnings，support his brother while he attended the academy．Albrecht Durer won the toss and went off to Nuremberg．Albert went down into the dangerous mines and，for the next four years，financed his brother，whose work at the academy was almost an immediate sensation（引起轰动的人）．Albrecht's oils were far better than those of most of his professors．
Returning to his village，Albrecht said，"Now it is your turn to pursue your dream，and I will take care of you．"Tears streaming down his pale face，Albert said softly"No!It is too late for me．Look what four years in the mines has done to my hands!The bones in every finger have been smashed at least once，and lately I have been suffering from arthritis（关节炎） so badly in my right hand that I cannot even hold a glass．"
To thank Albert for all that he had sacrificed，Albrecht Durer painstakingly drew his brother's hands with palms together and thin fingers stretched skyward．He called it"Hands，"but the entire world almost immediately opened their hearts to his great masterpiece and renamed it"The Praying Hands．"
41．The father of the Durer familyA．
A．struggled hard to support the big family
B．worked so hard as to send the boys to the Academy to develop their talent for art
C．worked almost eighteen hours a day as an artist at the Academy
D．had no hope for life
42．While studying at the Academy Albrecht DurerA．
A．was supported financially by his brother Albert
B．earned a lot of money to help his brother Albert by selling his good oil paintings
C．wanted to work in the mines to support himself
D．was not willing to repay his brother Albert
43．People renamed the masterpiece becauseB．
A．they wanted to reproduce it more legally
B．they thought the new name would better show the love and the sacrifice between the brothers
C．they meant to encourage Albrecht Durer to produce more masterpieces
D．they held that the piece was the best one among all Albrecht's works
44．The two brothers'story can easily make us think of a saying"D．"
A．Do well and have well B．Interest is the best teacher
C．Easier said than done D．Union is power．
