He’s an old cobbler(修鞋匠) with a shop in the Marais, a historic area in Paris. When I took him my shoes, he at first told me, “I haven’t time. Take them to the other fellow on the main street. He’ll fix them for you right away.”

But I had my eyes on his shop for a long time. Just looking at his bench loaded with tools and pieces of leather, I knew he was a skilled craftsman(手艺人). “No.” I replied, “The other fellow can’t do it well.”

“The other fellow” was one of those shopkeepers who fix shoes and make keys — without knowing much about mending shoes or making keys. They work carelessly, and when they have finished sewing back a sandal strap(鞋带), you might as well just throw away the pair.

My man saw I wouldn't give in, and he smiled. He wiped hands on his blue apron(围裙), looked at my shoes, had me write my name on one shoe with a piece of chalk and said, “Come back in a week.”

I was about to leave when he took a pair of soft leather boots off a shelf.

“See what I can do?” he said with pride. “Only three of us in Paris can do this kind of work.”

When I got back out into the street, the world seemed brand-new to me. He was something out of an ancient legend, this old craftsman with his way of speaking familiarly, his very strange dusty felt hat, his funny accent and his pride in his craft.

These are times when nothing is important but the bottom line, when you can do things any old way as long as it “pays”, when, in short, people look on work as a path to ever-increasing consumption rather than a way to realize their abilities. In such a period it is a rare comfort to find a cobbler who gets his greatest satisfaction from pride in a job well done.

1.Which of the following is true about the old cobbler?

A．He was equipped with the best repairing tools.

B．He was the only cobbler in the Marais.

C．He was proud of his skills.

D．He was a native Parisian.

2.The sentence “He was something out of an ancient legend” implies that ______.

A．nowadays you can hardly find anyone like him

B．it was difficult to communicate with this man

C．the man was very strange

D．the man was too old

3.According to the author, many people work just to ______.

A．realize their abilities                     B．gain happiness

C．make money                           D．gain respect

4.This story wants to tell us that ______.

A．craftsmen make a lot of money             B．whatever you do, do it well

C．craftsmen need self-respect               D．people are born equal

 

     He's an old cobbler  (修鞋匠)  with a shop in the Marais, a historic area in Paris. When I took him my shoes, he at first told me: “I haven't time. Take them to the other fellow on the main  street ; he'll fix them for you right away.”

     But I'd had my eye on his shop for a long time. Just looking at his bench loaded with tools and pieces of leather, I knew he was a skilled craftsman  (手艺人).  “No,” I replied, “the other fellow can't do it well.”

      “The other fellow” was one of those shopkeepers who fix shoes and make keys “while-U-wait”— without knowing much about mending shoes or making keys. They work carelessly, andwhen they have finished sewing back a sandal strap (鞋带) you might as well just throw away thepair.

      My man saw I wouldn't give in, and he smiled. He wiped his hands on his blue apron ( 围裙), looked at my shoes, had me write my name on one shoe with a piece of chalk and said,“Come back in a week.”

      I was about to leave when he took a pair of soft leather boots off a shelf.

      “See what I can do?” he said with pride. “Only three of us in Paris can do this kind of work.. ”

      When I got back out into the street, the world seemed brand-new to me. He was something out of an ancient legend, this old craftsman with his way of speaking familiarly, his very strange,dusty felt hot, his funny accent from who-knows-where and, above all, his pride in his craft.

      These are times when nothing is important but the bottom line, when you can do things any old way as long as it “pays”, when, in short, people look on work as a path to ever-increasing consumption  (消费) rather than a way to realize their own abilities. In such a period it is a rare comfort to find a cobbler who gets his greatest satisfaction from pride in a job well done.

60. Which of the following is true about the old cobbler.'?

     A. He was equipped with the best repairing tools. B. He was the only cobbler in the Marais.

     C. He was proud of his skills.                             D. He was a native Parisian.

61. The sentence “He was something out of an ancient legend.” ( paragraph 7 ) implies that      

     A. nowadays you can hardly find anyone like him

     B. it was difficult to communicate with this man

     C. the man was very strange                               D. the man was too old

62. According to the author, many people work just to           .

     A. realize their abilities   B. gain happiness          C. make money             D. gain respect

63. This story wants to tell us that            .

     A. craftsmen make a lot of money                       B. whatever you do, do it well

     C. craftsmen need self-respect                             D. people are born equal

I try not to be biased（偏见）but I had my doubts about hiring Stevie. His social worker assured me that he would be a good, reliable busboy. But I had never had a mentally handicapped employee. He was short, a little fat, with the smooth facial features and thick-togued speech of Down’s Syndrome（唐氏综合症）. I thought most of my customers would be uncomfortable around Stevie, so I closely watched him for the first few weeks.
I shouldn’t have worried. After the first week, Stevie had my staff wrapped around his stubby little finger, and within a month my regular trucker customers had adopted him as their official truck stop mascot. After that, I really didn't care what the rest of the customers thought of him. He was like a 21-year-old in blue jeans and Nikes, eager to laugh and eager to please, but fierce in his attention to his duties. Every salt and pepper shaker was exactly in its place, not a bread crumb or coffee spill was visible when Stevie got done with the table. Our only problem was persuading him to wait to clean a table until after the customers were finished.
Over time, we learned that he lived with his mother, a widow who was disabled. Money was tight, and what I paid him was probably the difference between them being able to live together and Stevie being sent to a group home.
That's why the restaurant was a gloomy place that morning last August, the first morning in three years that Stevie missed work. He was at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester getting a heart surgery. His social worker said that people with Downs Syndrome often had heart problems at an early age and there was a good chance he would come through the surgery in good shape and be back at work in a few months.
A ripple of excitement ran through the staff later that morning when word came that he was out of surgery, in recovery, and doing fine. Frannie, my head waitress, did a little dance when she heard the good news. Belle Ringer, one of our regular trucker customers, stared at her and asked, “Okay, Frannie, what was that all about?”
"We just got word that Stevie is out of surgery and going to be okay."
"I was wondering where he was. I had a new joke to tell him. What was the surgery about?"
Frannie quickly told Belle Ringer and the other two drivers sitting at his booth about Stevie's surgery, then sighed: "Yeah, I'm glad he is going to be OK," she said. "But I don't know how he and his Mom are going to handle all the bills. From what I hear, they're barely getting by as it is."
Belle Ringer nodded thoughtfully, and Frannie hurried off to wait on the rest of her tables.
After the morning rush, Frannie walked into my office. She had a couple of paper napkins in her hand.
"What's up?" I asked.
“I cleared off that table where Belle Ringer and his friends were sitting after they left, and I found this. This was folded and tucked under a coffee cup."
She handed the napkin to me, and three $20 bills fell onto my desk when I opened it. On the outside, in big, bold letters, was printed "Something For Stevie".
That was three months ago. Today is New Year’s day , the first day Stevie is supposed to be back to work. His placement worker said he had been counting the days until the doctor said he could work, I arranged to have his mother bring him to work, met them in the parking lot and invited them both to celebrate his day back. I took him and his mother by their arms. “To celebrate you coming back, breakfast for you and your mother is on me.”
I led them toward a large corner booth. I could feel and hear truck customers and the rest of the staff following behind as we marched through the dining room. We stopped in front of the big table. Its surface was covered with coffee cups and dinner plates, all sitting slightly on dozens of folded paper napkins.
"First thing you have to do, Stevie, is clean up this mess," I said.
Stevie looked at me, and then pulled out one of the napkins. It had "Something for Stevie" printed on the outside. As he picked it up, two $10 bills fell onto the table. Stevie stared at the money, then at all the napkins peeking from beneath the tableware, each with his name printed on it.
I turned to his mother. “There's more than $10,000 in cash and checks on that table, all from truckers and trucking companies that heard about your problems. Happy Thanksgiving!”
While everybody else was busy shaking hands and hugging each other, Stevie, with a big, big smile on his face, was busy clearing all the cups and dishes from the table.
【小题1】Why did the author have doubts about hiring Stevie?

A．Stevie was not that reliable.	B．Stevie was mentally disabled
C．Stevie was too short and fat.	D．Stevie was bad-tempered

【小题2】What made the author not fully satisfied with Stevie’s work?

A．That he made customers uncomfortable.	B．That he couldn’t pay attention to his duties.
C．That he often spilled cups of coffee.	D．That he usually cleaned the table too early.

【小题3】By saying the underlined words in Paragaraph3, the author meant that the money she paid Stevie       .   

A．could help Stevie out of the trouble	B．could send Stevie to a group home
C．couldn’t thoroughly solve Stevie’s problem	D．could make a great difference to Stevie’s life

【小题4】Why did the author ask Stevie to clean up the mess on the table?

A．Stevie could pick up the money that was given to him.

B．The table was so dirty that it needed cleaning.

C．It was Stevie’s duty to clean the table.

D．She wanted to congratulate Stevie on his coming back.

【小题5】What made Stevie popular among the staff and customers in the restaurant?

A．His special appearance.	B．His hard work and optimism.
C．His funny speeches and actions.	D．His kind-hearted behaviour.

选择下列词语的适当形式填空 (每题1分,共10题, 满分10分)

as a matter of fact   turn to   think highly of   sep up   deal with   burst into laughter    as a result   come into being   in relief   in a way

1.Do you know when the earth ____________________.

2.After we heard his funny story, we all __________________________.

3.She says she is all right now, which makes me happy ______________.

4.I don’t know how to _____________ the problem .

5.___________, he is right in saying so.

6.He didn't work hard. _____________, he failed his exam.

7.The boss considers Mr Wang as the most able (能干的) member of the team and _____________ him.

8.When she was in difficulty, she didn't know whom to ___________for advice.

 

完成句子（每空1分，共5分）. 请根据中文句子含义，把对应的英语句子的空缺部分补充完整。

1. 毫无疑问，这幅画是属于张大千的。

_____________________________ this painting belongs to Zhang Daqian.

2. 随着时间的推移，我们学会了更多解决问题的方法。

_________________________, we have learned more ways to solve problems.

3. IOC 代表国际奥委会。但是老实说，我此前是不知道的。

IOC stands for International Olympic Committee. But _______________, I didn’t know it before.

4. 一见到他那张滑稽的脸，所有在场的人都大笑起来。 

At sight of his funny face, all people present__________________________.

5.农讲所是广州的一个著名的文物,值得去参观一下。

The Peasant Movement Institute is a famous cultural relic of Guangzhou, which  __________________.