Question

【题目】 There was a kingdom long, long ago. It was ruled by king who loved riddles. Once a year the king made a new riddle. He gave a prize to the person who could solve the riddle.

There was a baker who also lived in this kingdom. Everyone agreed that he baked the finest breads. The baker had almost everything he needed except for a horse. If the baker had a horse, he could sell his fine breads from one end of the kingdom to the other.

One year the king made a new riddle that puzzled everyone. "I will give a prize to the person

who can solve my riddle, " the king said. Whoever wins will have the pick of one of my strongest

horses." He then drew a line down the middle of the courtyard "Make this line shorter without erasing(清除) any part of it,” the king challenged.

People came from far and wide. They looked at the line and squinted at it. They even put their

noses to the ground and scratched their heads.

How can you make a line shorter without erasing any part of it?” the people in the crowd asked each other. Some of them tried. The dressmaker kicked dirt(泥土)over the line to hide it. The farmer poured water over the line to make it disappear. None of these efforts worked, and the people went home disappointed. Everyone was puzzled about how to solve this new riddle.

A week passed, and nobody had any new ideas. Then one day the baker came into the courtyard with a bag of flour(面粉).

Your Majesty, "the baker said to the king, I can make your line shorter without erasing any part of it. "Then the baker opened his bag of flour. He poured out a line of flour right next to the king’s line. The line the baker made was longer than the king’s line.

Now, good king, "the baker smiled, "your line is shorter.

The people were amazed. The king laughed and clapped his hands. "You have won the prize. I will give you a horse of your choice.

The baker was excited. Now he could sell his breads from one end of the kingdom to the other.

【1】What was the baker's problem at the beginning of the story?

A. He couldn't make fine breads

B. He needed money to open more stores

C. He didn’t have enough flour to make more breads

D. He had difficulty selling breads all over the kingdom

【2】The dressmaker and the farmer failed because they both__________.

A. tried to erase the line B. poured water over the line

C. kicked dirt over the line D. put their noses to the ground

【3】The baker smiled because _______.

A. he was glad to see he king B. he wanted to make the king happy

C. he felt sure that he solved the riddle D. he sold a lot of breads to the villagers

【4】This story shows that the king liked _______.

A. to be rich B. to train horses C. to eat breads D. to have fun

【5】Who tells this story?

A. The king B. The farmer and the dressmaker

C. The baker D. Someone who is not a character in the story

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】D

【2】A

【3】C

【4】D

【5】D

【解析】

考点本文是一则故事，讲述了国王喜欢给人出难题，而烘烤师希望得到一匹马，在一次国王要奖励解决难题的人一批强壮的马时，烘烤师通过自己的智慧战胜众多对手的故事。

【1】细节理解题。故事开始时，烘烤师的难题是什么？根据第二段内容：The baker had almost everything he needed except for a horse. If the baker had a horse, he could sell his fine breads from one end of the kingdom to the other.（烘烤师除了一匹马几乎什么东西都不缺，如果他有一匹马他就能够把他的上乘面包从王国的一端卖到另一端）可知应选D。

【2】细节理解题。裁缝和农民失败了，因为他们都 。根据文章第五段内容：The dressmaker kicked dirt(泥土)over the line to hide it. The farmer poured water over the line to make it disappear.（裁缝挖线上的土去隐藏这条线，农民向线上泼水试图使它消失）可知，他们都违反了国王事先的规定：Make this line shorter without erasing(清除) any part of it,（不清除线的部分而使线变短）。故选A。

【3】细节理解题。烘烤师笑了，因为__________ 。根据文章倒数第三段内容：Now, good king, "the baker smiled, "your line is shorter.（现在，尊敬的国王，你的线变短了），上下文透露出烘烤师对自己的方法很自信。故选C。

【4】推理判断题。这个故事显示出国王喜欢 _________ 。整篇文章叙述国王喜欢为别人出难题，并且会给那些能够解决难题的人以奖励，可见国王是一个搞笑的人。选项A 和C选项不符合题意。B喜欢驯马，文中没有提到，只讲到了Whoever wins will have the pick of one of my strongest horses.（无论谁解决了难题都可以在我最强壮的马中挑选一匹），不足以表达国王的爱好，故选D。

【5】推理判断题。谁讲的这个故事？根据文章叙述的口气可知，故事出自一个与故事背景无关的第三者讲述，故选D。