Question

R.U.Darby and his uncle were digging for gold in the West. After weeks of labor, he was rewarded when he discovered shining ore(矿石). He needed machinery to bring the ore to the surface. So he borrowed money from his relatives and neighbors and went back to work on the mine.

The first car of ore was mined and sent to a smelter. The gold that they got in return proved they had one of the richest mines in Colorado! A few more cars of that ore would clear the debts. Then would come the big profits.

Down went the drills! Up went the hopes of Darby and Uncle! Then something happened! The vein of gold ore disappeared! The pot of gold was no longer there! They drilled on, desperately trying to pick up the vein again, but they found nothing.

Finally, they decided to quit. They sold the machinery to a man for a few hundred dollars, and took the train back home. That man asked a mining engineer to look at the mine and do a little calculating. The engineer said that the project had failed because the owners were not familiar with “fault lines(裂纹线)”. His calculations showed that the vein would be found just three feet from where it was found.

The man took millions of dollars in ore from the mine, because he knew enough to ask for expert advice before giving up.

R.U. Darby was struggling for years to pay back the money from his relatives and neighbors. He went into the business of selling life insurance.

Remembering that he lost a huge fortune because he stopped three feet from gold, Darby profited from the experience in his chosen work, by the simple method of saying to himself , “I stopped three feet from gold, but I will never stop because men say 'no' when I ask them to buy insurance.”

Darby is part of a small group of fewer than 50 men who sell more than a million dollars in life insurance every year. His “stick-ability” comes from the lesson he learned from his “quit-ability” in the gold mining business.

1.Darby and his uncle stopped digging for gold because___

A. They didn’t have the machinery to dig for the ore

B. They didn’t have enough money to manage the mine

C. They had already had enough gold and made big profits

D. They had tried to find the vein of gold again, but it was in vain.

2.What was a good quality of the man who worked on the mine after Darby and his uncle?

A. He knew the machinery better than the Darbys.

B. He knew the importance of seeking expert advice.

C. He had very strong stick-ability and never gave up.

D. He was good at calculations and familiar with fault lines.

3.What happened to Darby in the end?

A. He became a very successful businessman.

B. He worked as an ordinary salesman selling life insurance.

C. He struggled for the rest of his life to pay back the money he had borrowed.

D. He lived an easy life with all the money he had earned from the gold.

4.What is the main message that the author intends to convey with the story?

A. One is never too late to start a new career.

B. Don’t hesitate to ask for help when you are in need.

C. Never give up and you will succeed eventually.

D. It is important to have knowledge about everything.

Answer 1