Question

 

The Touchstone

When the great library of Alexandria burned, the story goes, one book was saved. But it was not a valuable book; and so a poor man, who could read a little, bought it for a few coppers.

The book wasn’t very interesting, but between its pages there was something very interesting indeed. It was a thin strip of vellum（牛皮紙） on which was written the secret of the “Touchstone”!

The touchstone was a small pebble that could turn any common metal into pure gold. The writing explained that it was lying among thousands and thousands of other pebbles that looked exactly like it. But the secret was this: The real stone would feel warm, while ordinary pebbles are cold.

So the man sold his few belongs, bought some simple supplies, camped on the seashore, and began testing pebbles.

He knew that if he picked up ordinary pebbles and threw them down again because they were cold, he might pick up the same pebble hundreds of times. So, when he felt one that was cold, he threw it into the sea. He spent a whole day doing this but none of them was the touchstone. Yet he went on and on this way. Pick up a pebble. Cold--throw it into the sea. Pick up another. Throw it into the sea.

The days stretched into weeks and the weeks into months and months into years. One day, however, about mid-afternoon, he picked up a pebble and it was warm .He threw it into the sea before he realized what he had done. He had formed such a strong habit of throwing each pebble into the sea that when the one he wanted came along, he still threw it away.

So it is with opportunity. Unless we are vigilant(警惕的)，it is easy to fail to recognize an opportunity when it is in hand and it’s just as easy to throw it away.  

1.What’s unusual about the book mentioned in the passage ?

  A. It is saved from a fire           

 B. It is from the library of Alexandria

  C. It has a page with the secret of the “Touchstone”    

D. It is worth only a few coppers

2.Which of the following is NOT true about the “Touchstone”?

  A. It is a small pebble that could be made into gold.

  B. It is a small pebble that looks as ordinary as others.

C. It looks like an ordinary pebble but it feels warm.

D. It is like a small pebble but it could turn any common metal into pure gold.

3.Why did he throw the Touchstone he wanted very much into the sea?

  A. He hated it because it came along too late.    

B. It didn’t feel warm at first.

  C. He did it out of habitual behavior.        

D. It hurt his hand so badly.

4.What lesson shall we draw from the story?

  A. Be vigilant to an opportunity.      

B. Practice makes perfect.

  C. Don’t throw cold stone into the sea.  

D. Don’t repeat the same action too often.

 

Answer 1

【答案】

1.C

2.A

3.C

4.A