16．The city of Vienna has always been popular for its famous physicians．Around the year 1482 one such well-known physician was Dr．Paul Urssenbeck．His fame came from his ability to predict with certainty whether a patient would recover his or her health or would die．He thus became known as the doctor of death．
In his earlier years，he followed the trade of a poor but honest weaver in the town of Deckendorf near Straudigen in Bavaria．It was a time of famine（饥荒），and he，his wife，and their eleven children were in great need．Then a twelfth child was born，and they could find no one to serve as its godparent．As a last chance，the poor weaver walked to a nearby village and asked an old friend to serve as godfather，but met only rejection．Disappointed and frustrated，the poor man made his way back to his family．While walking sorrowfully through the dense forest toward his home，he said，"If only I could die．"Suddenly a tall figure dressed in a dark cloak（斗篷） appeared before him，saying，"You called me．I am Death．What can I do for you？"As much as the man had previously wanted to die，he now wanted to live．"I am seeking a godfather for my youngest child．But I cannot find anyone who will serve as his godparent，"answered the weaver sadly．"I will accept this responsibility，"said Death．And thus it happened．
Following the baptism（洗礼），the mysterious godfather took the father aside and said，"Since I own neither gold nor silver to give to your child as a baptism present，I will make you into the most famous doctor of all times．Whenever you are called to a sick person，I-invisible to others-will seat myself either to the head or to the feet of the patient．If I am seated at the head，then this will show you that hope for recovery exists．If I am seated at the feet，then the patient will die．"Through this gift，the weaver was able to cure many illnesses，for he knew whether the patient who had sought his treatment would be helped by medications，or whether he would die．Soon the previously poor weaver became a wealthy and respected physician．However，his increased wealth made him ever-more greedy．
One day，a very wealthy man fell seriously ill，but when Dr．Urssenbeck was called in，and he saw that Death was already seated at the patient's feet．Upon hearing the diagnosis，the relatives could not be comforted，and they offered the physician a fortune if he could heal the man．Then Urssenbeck resorted to trickery．He quickly had the patient's bed turned around，so that Death was now seated at his head．Thus the man was rescued from Death，and he regained his health．On the physician's way home，Death suddenly appeared before him．"You unfortunate one，why have you deceived me？In return for the life that you have given back to the rich man，you yourself must now die．"Death spoke with a threatening voice，and disappeared．
Dr．Urssenbeck suddenly found himself in a large room where thousands of candles were burning．Death said to him，"Each of these candles represents someone's life．This tiny stump that is about to go out is yours．"Terrified，Dr．Urssenbeck reached for a taller candle，wanting to take some wax（蜡） from it to fill his stump，but in doing so he touched his own candle，and it went out，and he fell to the floor dead．That evening his body was found in a valley．He was buried in the graveyard of Saint Stephen's Cathedral．
55．Why did Death make the weaver a famous doctor？B
A．Because he wanted to play a trick on him．
B．Because he didn't have any baptism gift for his child．
C．Because he wanted to give him something as a reward．
D．Because he wanted to show his sympathy to the weaver．
56．What does the underlined phrase"resort to"mean in paragraph 4？D
A．to ask someone for help
B．to visit a place of interest
C．to consult information in the dictionary
D．to make use of something bad to achieve something
57．Choose the right time order of the following events in the story．C
a．Dr．Urssenbeck became more and more greedy for wealth．
b．Dr．Urssenbeck died and was buried．
c．Death made the weaver the most famous doctor in Vienna．
d．The poor weaver wanted to find a godfather for his 12th child．
e．Dr．Urssenbeck resorted to trickery to heal the patient．
A．dceab B．cdaeb
C．dcaeb D．cadeb
58．Which of the following is NOT true？D
A．The weaver had a dozen children altogether．
B．A new-born baby had to receive baptism after he/she was born．
C．The weaver's old friend refused to be the godfather of his child．
D．If Death seated himself at the head，the patient could never be saved．
59．Which of the following CANNOT be used to describe Dr．Urssenbeck？A
A．Grateful B．Greedy
C．Dishonest D．Unfaithful
60．What's the best title of this passage？A
A．Dr．Urssenbeck，the Physician of Death
B．The Death Game
C．A Famous Physician in Vienna
D．A Poor Weaver．
分析 本文主要讲述了维也纳的一名会判断病人生死的名医Paul Urssenbeck的故事．Urssenbeck原本是一名贫穷但是诚实的纺织工，由于没有人（包括他的朋友）愿意作他第12个孩子的神父并为其洗礼，所以Urssenbeck感到非常的失望和沮丧，就在这时，死神帮了他，使他成了一名在当时最著名的会判断病人生死的医生．但是，最后由于他的贪婪，他不惜违背死神的愿望，使出诡计来治愈病人，最终导致了自己的死亡．
解答 答案：55-60 BDCDAA
55．B 细节理解题 根据第三段：Following the baptism（洗礼），…said，"Since I own neither gold nor silver to give to your child as a baptism present，I will make you into the most famous doctor of all times．接下来洗礼完毕后，神秘的教父把这位父亲拉到一边说，"因为我没有黄金和白银给你的孩子作为洗礼的礼物，我会让你成为历史上最著名的医生．"可知，死神让织布工成为名医的原因是：他没有金银给孩子作为洗礼的礼物；故选B
56．D 词义猜测题 根据第三段最后一句"However，his increased wealth made him ever-more greedy．然而，他不断增加的财富使他变得更加贪婪．"以及第四段的细节描述可知，Urssenbeck 为了得到一笔财富，使用了诡计，在违背死神意愿的情况下，故意把一个将死之人变成可以医治得好的人；所以"resort to动用，付诸于"的意思是：为达到某种目的而利用不好的手段．故选D
57．C 逻辑推理题 通读全文可知，"c．Death made the weaver the most famous doctor in Vienna．死神使得纺织工成为维也纳最有名的医生．"发生在"d．The poor weaver wanted to find a godfather for his 12th child．这位贫穷的纺织工想为他的第12个孩子找一位神父"之后，即：d．应该排在c．的前面；故排除掉B．D；"a．Dr．Urssenbeck became more and more greedy for wealth． Urssenbeck医生对财富变得越来越贪婪．"应发生在"e．Dr．Urssenbeck resorted to trickery to heal the patient．Urssenbeck使出诡计来治愈病人．"之前，即：a．在e．的前面；故选C
58．D 细节理解题 根据第三段"If I am seated at the head，then this will show you that hope for recovery exists．如果我坐在头部，那么这将告诉你，他有康复的希望"可知，D表达意思与此处的意义相反；故选D
59．A 细节推理题 根据第三、四段可知，Urssenbeck医生变得非常的贪婪，为了获得更多的财富，不惜违背死神的愿望，使出诡计来治愈病得很严重的人，所以Urssenbeck不但不懂得感恩，而且贪婪，不诚实，对死神也不忠诚；故选A
60．A 主旨大意题 通读全文可知，本文主要讲述了一位会判断病人生死的医生Urssenbeck的故事；故选A
点评 本文是人物故事类的文章，做类似的阅读题时，首先应通读全文，把握故事的大体内容（其中包括：故事发生的先后顺序；故事中人物的特点；文章的主旨大意等）；其次通过细节阅读，并结合文章后面的问题，在文中相应的位置直接找出或概括出答案．
