Passage Four
I will never forget what my old headmaster had taught me. Normally when you are only 15 years of age you don’t remember most of the things that are preached by your teachers. But, this particular story is one such lesson I will never forget. Every time I drift off course, I get reminded of the story.
It was a normal Monday morning at an assembly, and he was addressing the students on important things in life and about committing ourselves to what was important to us. This is how the story went:
An old man lived in a certain part of London, and he would wake up every morning and go to the subway. He would take the train right to Central London, and then sit at the street corner and beg. He did this for almost 20 years.
His house was filthy, and a horrible smell came out of it. The neighbors could not stand the smell any longer, so they summoned the police officers to clear the place. The officers knocked down the door, cleaned the house and found small bags of money all over the house. When they counted the money, they realized that the old man was a millionaire.
They waited outside his house in anticipation to share the good news with him. When he arrived home that evening, the old man was met by one of the officers who told him that there was no need for him to beg any more as he was now a millionaire.
The old man said nothing at all. He went into his house and locked the door. The next morning he work up as usual, went to the subway, got into the train, and sat at the street corner and continued to beg. Obviously, this old man had no great plans, dreams or anything significant for his life. We learn nothing from this story other than staying focused on the things we enjoy doing.
We should remain true to our course, which may mean committing ourselves to things that people around us would normally disapprove. Let nothing distract us from being happy; let nothing else determine our fate, but ourselves. What makes us happy is what matters in the end, not what we acquire.
1、According to the passage, the old man __________.
A、lived in Central London B、came from a poor family
C、began begging as a child D、begged in London every day
2、The sentence “I drift off course” might be replaced by _________.
A、I do not pass a course at school
B、I am determined to do something now
C、I fail to stick to what I have been doing
D、I come across difficulties in my studies
3、When they waited for the old man, the police expected he would be _________.
A、pleased to see the clean house B、glad to know that he was rich
C、angry with what they had done D、grateful for what they did for him
4、The old man is admired mainly because _________.
A、he stuck to what he did B、he had a splendid dream
C、he was confident in himself D、he had great plans for the future
5、The old headmaster told the story to remind his students of the importance of _________.
A、honesty B、commitment C、kindness D、patience