高二Reading Comprehension for Weekdays on Aug 31 ~ Sep. 4, 2015

There are three things in life of great value: Health, Wealth and Wisdom. Each of them is desired, but any one of them on their own can be worthless in the long run, except for wisdom.

Health is priceless. Being able to live a full, productive life free of any disabilities or sickness is true happiness. In today’s world full of health clubs, gyms and spas, being healthy and staying in good shape has become almost a religion for some people. Hundreds of billions of dollars are spent on exercise, diets and health care every year. As health care costs rise and if one is or becomes unhealthy, then health will become harder and harder to be maintained into one’s old age. In youth, one may unwittingly take risks or chances, such as taking drugs or racing cars, which may harm them or ruin their health for the rest of their lives. It is possible for such an injured person to still lead a successful career, but not without immense expense and difficulty along the way.

Wealth is also a universal goal. Our consumer culture breaks everything down into prices, and judges people by what they can afford to buy. The rich, with the approval of this culture, also consider themselves better than their poorer fellow men. They display their money and their expensive possessions, buying clothes, jewelry and cars which the common man couldn’t even dream of purchasing. People with money, especially when it is acquired through little effort on their part, tend to value it less. Those who inherit it from their relatives or win it by lottery and spend it freely and quickly will soon end up in misery.

Both health and wealth can be easily wasted away without wisdom. Wisdom can give one the perspective to pursue and maintain one’s health — to avoid reckless activities and harmful habits. As for wealth, if one is wise, money will not be spent on superficial possessions or unwise investments. Rather, the wise man will attempt to benefit both himself and others, through profitable, long term investments and donations to charity. He will enjoy the feeling of helping others and care less about personal vanity or material status. Even without health or wealth, a wise man can still be content by both knowing and valuing himself, and by caring for and helping others. Truly, wisdom is the greatest blessing of all.

(1)(   ) Which is most likely to be the topic of this passage?

(A) No Money, No Honey

(B) Wisdom is the Greatest Blessing

(C) Health, Wealth and Wisdom are all Priceless

(D) Health is the Wealthiest

(2)(   ) According to the passage, taking drugs in youth will _________.
(A) ruin health              (B) become healthier    (C) be wise                  (D) be rich

(3)(   ) What can be easily wasted away?
(A) Wisdom                                                     (B) Wisdom and health
(C) Health and wealth                                      (D) Wisdom and wealth

(4)(   ) If people acquire money through little effort, they tend to __________.
(A) value it more          (B) value it less             (C) give it up                (D) cherish it

(5)(   ) Which of the following is INCORRECT?

(A) The wise man will not spend money on superficial possessions or unwise investments.

(B) The wise man will attempt to benefit both himself and others.

(C) Even without health or wealth, a wise man can still be content by both knowing and valuing himself.

(D) The wise man knows nothing about helping and caring others.

Hans Christian Andersen, Danish writer, is one of the world’s best known and most translated authors whose stories have inspired plays, ballets, films, and works of sculpture and painting. He is mainly known for the fairy tales he wrote combining folk legends and his own imagination. Andersen’s fairy tales were not meant merely for children but for adults as well. He has also written plays, novels and travelogues. His rise from ambitious shoemaker’s son to adored, internationally renowned author was difficult. Being from a poor family, Andersen received little early education. As a child he was highly emotional, suffering humiliation because of his tallness and unattractive appearance.

Before achieving success as a playwright and novelist, Andersen tried to earn his living by acting, singing and dancing, but his career on stage was unsuccessful. His gift to create magical fairy tales, written in a new, original style, however, was soon recognized. His sense of fantasy, power of description, and acute sensitivity contributed to his writing skills. Among his many widely beloved stories are “The Little Match Girl,” “The Ugly Duckling,” “The Snow Queen,” “The Little Mermaid,” and “The Red Shoes.” Some of Andersen’s tales reveal an optimistic belief in the triumph of the good, some end unhappily, but most of them depict characters who gain happiness in life after suffering and conflicts.

Andersen also wrote numerous travel diaries, because he traveled a lot in Europe and outside of it. However, his fame today rests on his fairy tales and stories, written between 1835 and 1872.

In Copenhagen, a bronze statue of Hans Christian Andersen stands in Rosenborg Garden. The statue portrays a man in a cloak, sitting in a chair, arm outstretched, reading excitedly to an invisible audience.

(1)(   ) From first paragraph, which statement is NOT true?

(A) Anderson’s father was a shoemaker.

(B) Anderson didn’t receive much education.

(C) Anderson was from a rich family.

(D) Anderson was tall.

(2)(   ) What kind of job had Anderson ever done before a writer?
(A) Businessman.         (B) Travel agent.           (C) Book publisher.      (D) Actor on stage.

(3)(   ) Which story is NOT Anderson’s fairy tale?
(A) The Fox and the Grapes                            (B) The Snow Queen
(C) The Little Match Girl                                  (D) The Red Shoes

(4)(   ) Anderson wrote travel diaries because ____________.
(A) he didn’t like traveling                                (B) he traveled a lot in Europe
(C) he thought fairy tales were boring               (D) he imagined the trip

(5)(   ) Where can we see Anderson’s statue?
(A) In Copenhagen.     (B) In Paris.                 (C) In London.             (D) In Poland.