Abraham Lincoln was a typical self-made man. He got his license (执照) to practice law without ever having stopped foot inside a college. Everywhere he went, Lincoln carried a book with him. He looked through page after page while his horse rested at the end of a long row of planting. Whenever he could escape work, he would lie with his head against a tree and read.
Though the young Lincoln never left America, he traveled with Byron’s Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage to Spain and Portugal: accompanied Robert Burns to Edinburgh; and followed the English kings into battle with Shakespeare. As he explored the wonders of literature and the history of the country, the young Lincoln developed ambitions (志向) far beyond the expectations of his family and neighbors. It was through literature that he was able to go beyond his surroundings and reach his destination.
The books to feed Lincoln’s knowledge hunger did not come cheaply. The story is often recounted of the time he borrowed Parson Weems’s The Life of George Washington from Josiah Crawford, a well-to-do farmer. Touched by this story of the first president’s life, he took the book to his room at night, where he read as long as he could stay awake, placing the book on a shell between the logs (圆木) so he could fetch it at daybreak. During a heavy rainstorm one day, the book was badly soiled. Lincoln went to Crawford’s house, explained what had happened and offered to work off the value of the book. Crawford worked out the value of two full days’ work pulling corn, which Lincoln considered an unfair repayment. Nevertheless, he straightaway set to work and kept on until all work was done. Then, having paid his debt, Lincoln wrote poems and songs making fun of Crawford’s large nose. Thus Crawford won an everlasting place in Lincoln’s writings.
【小题1】What can we learn about Lincoln from the first paragraph?
| A．He failed to get a law license. | B．He preferred working to reading. |
| C．He was an excellent self-taught learner. | D．He read on horseback in order to escape work. |
【小题2】Which of the following contributed the most to Lincoln’s achievement?
| A．Reading widely. | B．Creating his own business. |
| C．Traveling around the world. | D．Being supported by his family. |
【小题3】What happened to the book Lincoln borrowed from Crawford?
| A．It was stolen by a farmer. | B．It was burned by a circle fire. |
| C．It was damaged in a rainstorm. | D．It was lost and never to be found. |
【小题4】Which of the following can best describe Lincoln according to the last paragraph?
| A．Proud and helpful. | B．Honest and determined. |
| C．Creative and curious. | D．Intelligent and competitive. |
