Charlie is twenty-three now. He1a university(大学) and found work in a factory last year. It’s2and there are no more than fifty workers in it. And only he3in a university. So he looks down upon his 4 . He always thinks he’s right and never agrees with5. He likes to say, “I’ve never made a mistake!”
But once the young man couldn’t6 a foreign instructions （说明书）. An old worker studied it for two days and7Mr. White, the boss of the factory,8it meant. The boss asked Charlie why. He made a few excuses to say for9. And he didn’t agree with the old man. The boss became angry and asked, “ Is it10 that you’ve never made a mistake?”
The young man wouldn’t make Mr. White11 and had to say, “No, it isn’t, sir.”
Having12 this, the workers were happy. One of them asked, “ It means that you also make some mistakes!”
Charlie13 his mind at once and said, “ I made only one mistake in my14 !”
“When?” the boss asked in surprise.
“ Just now, sir.” Answered the young man. “When Mr. White15 me acknowledge （承认）I was wrong!”

Charlie，a master carpenter(木匠)，was very well respected in his community．Everyone knew that if they wanted the best，they would call on him．Of course that meant that Charlie would never be rich．Other carpenters always told him that if he used inferior(劣质的)materials and cheap labor then he could make a lot of money．Charlie would not take their advice．
One day，John，the richest man in town came to Charlie．He said that he had just bought the best piece of land in town. He was going to Europe for 4 months and wanted Charlie to build him the best house in town．“Spare no expense and give me the best．”
Charlie thought about this and decided finally he would make some money．He did not get his usual great carpenters and fine materials from his normal suppliers．He built the house and covered up the flaws(瑕疵)．After 4 months he had spent about 50％of what he usually spends on a house．
John came back from Europe and immediately called Charlie and asked him to meet him at the house．When they met，John asked him if he had used the finest materials and spared no expense．Charlie said absolutely(绝对地)．John said that he was glad．He paid Charlie，then told him that he wanted to reward Charlie for all of his years of service to the community by giving Charlie this house．
There are many times in our lives where we let down a little bit. When you do，you never know what is going to happen．
【小题1】What is the main idea of the first paragraph?

Charlie is twenty-three now. He1a university(大学) and found work in a factory last year. It’s2and there are no more than fifty workers in it. And only he3in a university. So he looks down upon his 4 . He always thinks he’s right and never agrees with5. He likes to say, “I’ve never made a mistake!”

But once the young man couldn’t6 a foreign instructions （说明书）. An old worker studied it for two days and7Mr. White, the boss of the factory,8it meant. The boss asked Charlie why. He made a few excuses to say for9. And he didn’t agree with the old man. The boss became angry and asked, “ Is it10 that you’ve never made a mistake?”

The young man wouldn’t make Mr. White11 and had to say, “No, it isn’t, sir.”

Having12 this, the workers were happy. One of them asked, “ It means that you also make some mistakes!”

Charlie13 his mind at once and said, “ I made only one mistake in my14 !”

“When?” the boss asked in surprise.

“ Just now, sir.” Answered the young man. “When Mr. White15 me acknowledge （承认）I was wrong!”

1.                A．visited          B．left            C．built D．reached

2.                A．small           B．big            C．new D．old

3.                A．lived           B．traveled        C．arrived   D．studied

4.                A．parents         B．teacher         C．workmates    D．classmates

5.                A．another        B．other           C．the other D．others

6.                A．see            B．write           C．understand    D．read

7.                A．told            B．asked          C．teached D．laughed at

8.                A．when          B．what           C．how D．where

9.                A．him            B．himself         C．them D．themselves

10.               A．clever          B．sure           C．true  D．able

11.               A．sad            B．sadder         C．angry D．angrier

12.               A．heard          B．listened        C．guessed   D．reported

13.               A．lost            B．hated          C．changed   D．thought

14.               A．life            B．office          C．family D．bedroom

15.               A．helped         B．made          C．watched   D．asked

Charlie，a master carpenter(木匠)，was very well respected in his community．Everyone knew that if they wanted the best，they would call on him．Of course that meant that Charlie would never be rich．Other carpenters always told him that if he used inferior(劣质的)materials and cheap labor then he could make a lot of money．Charlie would not take their advice．

One day，John，the richest man in town came to Charlie．He said that he had just bought the best piece of land in town. He was going to Europe for 4 months and wanted Charlie to build him the best house in town．“Spare no expense and give me the best．”

Charlie thought about this and decided finally he would make some money．He did not get his usual great carpenters and fine materials from his normal suppliers．He built the house and covered up the flaws(瑕疵)．After 4 months he had spent about 50％of what he usually spends on a house．

John came back from Europe and immediately called Charlie and asked him to meet him at the house．When they met，John asked him if he had used the finest materials and spared no expense．Charlie said absolutely(绝对地)．John said that he was glad．He paid Charlie，then told him that he wanted to reward Charlie for all of his years of service to the community by giving Charlie this house．

There are many times in our lives where we let down a little bit. When you do，you never know what is going to happen．

1.What is the main idea of the first paragraph?

A．Charlie was an honest and respected master carpenter．

B．Charlie was a very foolish master carpenter．

C．Charlie was a good but stubborn master carpenter．

D．Charlie was a carpenter who would never be rich．

2.What does the underlined phrase “spare no expense” in the second paragraph mean?

A．to spend no money

B．to spend all the money necessary

C．to give not enough money

D．to waste no money

3.From Paragraph 3 we can learn ___________________ .

A．Charlie did as the rich man told him

B．the house was well built

C．Charlie kept some of the money to himself

D．the house was only half finished after 4 months

4.When Charlie heard that he would be given the house, he must have felt _______ .

A．happy            B．sorry             C．1ucky            D．satisfied

5.What can we learn from the passage?

A．A good carpenter shouldn’t earn money from his labor．

B．A carpenter shouldn’t earn a rich man’s money．

C．The richest man often punished carpenters．

D．One should always be honest．