Question

Paul was a rich young man. When his father died, he left Paul a beautiful forest manor (莊園). Unfortunately, before Paul could sell it for a lot of money, a lightning strike (雷擊) caused a fire that destroyed it. Watching the beautiful green trees turned into ash (灰燼) overnight, Paul felt his heart break.

In order to bring back the forest manor’s beauty, Paul tried to borrow money from a bank. But the bank refused him, for the bank didn’t believe he’d pay it back. Then he felt too frustrated to eat or drink. So he hid himself in his room for days. His wife was worried about him and suggested he take a break outside.

Paul went for a walk. When he turned the first corner, he saw a store with lots of people. They were lining up to buy charcoal (木炭) used for winter heating.?

Then Paul’s eyes lit up. He ran home and hired some charcoal workers to process the forest’s burnt trees into charcoal. As soon as his charcoal went on the market, it was sold out quickly. Soon, he sold more than 1,000 boxes of charcoal and made much money.

The following year in the spring, he used the money to buy a large number of little trees. After a few years, the forest manor that everyone thought had disappeared came to life again.

1.Paul wanted to borrow money from a bank because _________.

A. he wanted to buy some charcoal for winter heating

B. he wanted to use the money to make his manor beautiful again

C. he didn’t want to use the money his father left him

D. he didn’t want to borrow money from others

2.The word "frustrated" in Paragraph 2 probably means _______________.

A. 失意沮喪的 B. 斗志昂揚的 C. 神采奕奕的 D. 義憤填膺的

3.Which of the following is NOT true?

A. Paul got the forest manor from his grandfather.

B. Paul’s wife suggested he take a break and go outside.

C. Charcoal was highly needed for winter heating at the market.

D. Paul made some money by selling charcoal made from the burnt forest.

4.What does the writer mainly want to tell us through the passage?

A. Lots of things are unexpected in the business world.

B. Avoiding the facts doesn’t solve problems.

C. If you don’t help yourself, then nobody else will help you, either.

D. There is something good even in an unpleasant situation.

Answer 1