18．"Why do we have to learn all this dumb stuff？"
Of all the complaints and questions I have heard from my students during my years in the classroom，this was the one most frequently asked．I would answer it by telling the following legend．
One night a group of nomads （游牧民） were preparing to retire for the evening when suddenly they were surrounded by a great light．They knew they were in the presence of a godly being．With great expectation，they awaited a heavenly message of great importance that they knew must be especially for them．
Finally，the voice spoke，"Gather as many pebbles （鵝卵石） as you can．Put them in your bags．Travel a day's journey and tomorrow night will find you glad and it will find you sad．"
The nomads shared their disappointment and anger with each other．They had expected the inspiration of a great universal truth that would enable them to create wealth，health and purpose for the world．But instead they were given a silly task that made no sense to them at all．However，the memory of the brilliance of their visitor caused each one to pick up a few pebbles and store them in their bags while voicing their displeasure．
They traveled a day's journey and that night while making camp，they reached into their bags and discovered every pebble they had gathered had become a diamond．They were glad they had diamonds．They were sad they had not gathered more pebbles．
It was an experience I had with a student，whom I shall call Alan，early in my teaching career that illustrated the truth of that legend to me．
When Alan was in the eighth grade，he majored in"trouble"with a minor in"suspensions （停學）"．He had studied how to be a bully and was getting his master's degree in"thievery"．
Every day I had my students memorize a quotation from a great thinker．As I called the roll （點名），I would begin a quotation．To be counted present，the student would be expected to finish the thought．
"Alice Adams-‘There is no failure except…'"
"‘In no longer trying．'I'm present，Mr．Schlatter．"
So，by the end of the year，my young pupils would have memorized 150great thoughts．
"People nowadays know the price of everything and the value of nothing．"
"No pains，no gains．"
"If you can conceive it，and believe it，you can achieve it．"
No one complained about this daily routine other than Alan-right up to the day he was expelled （開除） and I lost touch with him for five years．Then one day，he called．He was in a special program at one of the neighboring colleges and had just finished parole（假釋）．
He told me that after being sent to juvenile hall （少管所） and finally being shipped off to the California Youth Authority for his wrong doings，he had become so disgusted with himself that he had taken a razor blade and cut his wrists．
He said，"You know what，Mr．Schlatter，as I lay there with my life running out of my body，I suddenly remembered that quote you made me write 20times one day．"There is no failure except in no longer trying．"Then it suddenly made sense to me．As long as I was alive，I wasn't a failure，but if I allowed myself to die，I would most certainly die a failure．So with my remaining strength，I called for help and started a new life．"
At the time he had heard the quotation，it was a pebble．When he needed guidance in a moment of crisis，it had become a diamond．And so it is to you，I say，gather all the pebbles you can，and you can count on a future filled with diamonds．
55．What does the underlined sentence"it will find you sad"（Para.4）mean？D
A．The God told the nomads to gather pebbles that made no sense to them．
B．The pebbles won't enable the nomads to create fortune．
C．The God didn't give the nomads the message they expected．
D．The nomads regretted not having gathered as many pebbles as possible．
56．Which of following sentences from the passage brings out the author's sense of humor？B
A．They were given a silly task that made no sense to them at all．（Para.5）
B．He majored in"trouble"with a minor in"suspensions"．（Para.8）
C．People nowadays know the price of everything and the value of nothing．（Para.13）
D．You can count on a future filled with diamonds．（Para.19）
57．Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage？A
A．Not all the nomads gathered and stored some pebbles in their bags．
B．Students who finished the half-sentence quotation were counted present．
C．All students don't like the daily routine of finishing the half-sentence quotation．
D．It was the strong faith of never dying a failure that saved Alan's life．
58．Why did Alan want to kill himself after being shipped off to the California Youth Authority？D
A．He hated the hard life in the juvenile hall．
B．He was expelled by the school in the end．
C．He was badly treated at the California Youth Authority．
D．He felt so disappointed and hopeless about himself and his future．
59．According to the passage，we can conclude that Mr．Schlatter is an educator ofB．
A．sympathy and kindness
B．wisdom and patience
C．generosity and creativity
D．faith and devotion
60．Which of the following may probably be the best title？C
A．A Naughty Trouble-marker
B．Pebbles and Nomads
C．The Magic Pebble
D．A Quotation that Saved Life．
分析 本文通過一個關(guān)于鵝卵石的神話故事，告訴我們平時的艱苦付出是值得的，并且用自己的親身經(jīng)歷來告訴我們這個道理．
解答 55-60 DBADBC
55．D 根據(jù)下文They were glad they had diamonds．They were sad they had not gathered more pebbles．可知，游牧民后悔沒有拿盡可能多的鵝卵石，故答案為D
56．B 根據(jù)When Alan was in the eighth grade，he majored in"trouble"with a minor in"suspensions （停學）"．可知，Alan是一名問題學生，整天讓老師頭疼，此處的表達帶有幽默之感，故答案為B
57．A 根據(jù)However，the memory of the brilliance of their visitor caused each one to pick up a few pebbles and store them in their bags while voicing their displeasure．
可知每個人都撿了鵝卵石帶在身上，故答案A表述不對，答案為A
58．D 根據(jù)he had become so disgusted with himself that he had taken a razor blade and cut his wrists．可知，他非常痛恨自己認為自己沒有了希望，所以想自殺，故答案為D
59．B 根據(jù)Mr．Schlatter 在處理犯錯的學生問題上，沒有采用極端方式，而是讓他背誦默寫名言，班里一直堅持讓學生記憶名言，這都說明這位老師工作上聰明機智wisdom，并且做事堅持不懈，有耐心patience，故答案為B
60．C 本文通過一個關(guān)于鵝卵石的神話故事，告訴我們平時的艱苦付出是值得的，并且用自己的親身經(jīng)歷來告訴我們這個道理，本文題目用The Magic Pebble 顯得更準確和醒目，故答案為C
點評 本文講述了一個很有哲理的故事，以推理題的考查為主，測試考生在閱讀基礎(chǔ)上的邏輯推理能力，要求考生根據(jù)文章所述事件的邏輯關(guān)系，對未說明的趨勢或結(jié)局作出合理的推斷；或根據(jù)作者所闡述的觀點理論，對文章未涉及的現(xiàn)象、事例給以解釋．考生首先要仔細閱讀短文，完整了解信息，準確把握作者觀點．
