the young man arrived on the

題目

The young man arrived on the Massachusetts beach early carrying a radio, a shovel(鐵鍬), and a strange set of tools: a brick layer’s trowel, a palette knife, spatulas, spoons, and a spray bottle.

He walked down near the water — the tide(潮水) was out — and switched on the radio to listen to soft rock. Then he shoveled wet sand into a pile nearly four feet high and as many feet across. Then he created a square shape.

After that, he set to work with palette knife, spatulas, and spoons. He shaped a splendid tower, topped walls, fashioned beautiful bay windows, and carved (雕刻)out a big front gate.

The man knew his sand. He smoothly finished some surfaces and carved artistic designs on others. As the shapes began to dry, he gently kept them slightly wet with water from the spray bottle, in case they might break in the wind.

All this took hours. People gathered. At last he stood back, obviously satisfied with a castle worthy of the Austrian countryside or Disneyland.

Then he gathered his tools and radio and moved them up to drier sand. He had known for a while what many in the crowd still ignored: the tide was coming in. Not only had he practiced his art with confidence and style, he also had done so against a powerful, irresistible(不可抵抗的) deadline.

As the crowd looked on, water came at the base of the castle. In minutes it was surrounded. Then the rising flood began to eat into the base, walls fell, the tower fell, and finally the gate fell. More minutes passed, and small waves erased bay windows — soon no more than a small part was left.

Many in the crowd looked terribly sad; some voiced fear and discouragement. But the man remained calm. He had, after all, had a wonderful day, making beauty out of nothing, and watching it return to nothing as time and tide moved on.

小題1:In this passage, why did the young man start early in the day?A.He needed the sun to help dry the sand.

B.It gave plenty of time for the crowd to gather.

C.He knew the tide was out on this particular morning.

D.It was easier to begin his work with only a few people around.

小題2:In this passage, what does the incoming tide signal?A.It is time to begin working.

B.It is the end of a day’s work.

C.It is the busiest time of the day.

D.It is time for lookers-on to leave.

小題3:How did the lookers-on react when the tide began to come in?A.They were disappointed to see the art ruined.

B.They tried their best to save the sand castle.

C.They were nervous about their own belongings.

D.They helped the artist finish the castle.

小題4:We can tell that the young man’s reward for his work is ___________.A.payment for his work

B.personal satisfaction

C.popularity as an artist

D.attention from the crowd

小題1:C

小題2:B

小題3:A

小題4:B

試題分析：文章大意：一位年輕人來到沙灘上做沙雕，潮水襲來，美麗的沙雕被沖吞噬。人們感嘆沙雕就這樣沒了，但年輕人并不悲觀，因為他見證了沙雕從無到有，從有到無的過程。

小題1:C 細節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)第二段句子… the tide(潮水) was out — and switched on the radio…Then he shoveled wet sand into…可知，年輕人等到潮水退去才開始聽著輕音樂干起活來。所以答案選C、年輕人早來的原因是他知道這天早上潮水會退去。

小題2:B 細節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)倒數(shù)第三段句子He had known for a while… the tide was coming in…h(huán)e also had done so against a powerful, irresistible(不可抵抗的) deadline.可知，雖然眾人不知道但年輕人很清楚潮水正在襲來，所以他不僅用他的藝術(shù)作品體現(xiàn)了自己的自信與風(fēng)格，而且戰(zhàn)勝了潮水襲來之前的有限時間。所以答案選B、年輕人創(chuàng)作完沙雕，結(jié)束了一天的工作，潮水也正在襲來。

小題3:A 細節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)文章最后一段開頭句子Many in the crowd looked terribly sad…可知，旁觀者在看到潮水吞噬沙雕的時候都很傷心，失望。所以答案選A。

小題4:B 細節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)最后一段句子But the man remained calm… had a wonderful day, making beauty out of nothing, and watching it return to nothing …可知，年輕人很鎮(zhèn)靜，很滿足，因為他見證了沙雕從無到有，從有到無的整個過程。所以他從自己的作品中得到的回報就是自我滿足感。因此答案選B。