A
There once was a master who went to India. In those times, people didn’t have the communications or airplanes or many kinds of transportation that we do now. So the master went to India on foot. He had never been to India before; perhaps he came from Persia. And when he got there, he saw a lot of fruit. In India they have plenty of fruit to sell, but much of it is expensive because they can’t grow much due to the water situation. So he saw one basket, a big basket of some very red, long fruit. And it was the cheapest in the shop, not expensive at all.
So he went up and asked, "How much per kilo?" And the shopkeeper said, "Two rupees." Two rupees in India is nothing; it’s like dirt. So he bought a whole kilogram of the fruit and started eating it. But after he ate some of it: Oh, my God! His eyes watered, his mouth watered and burned, his eyes were burning, his head was burning and his face became red. As he coughed and choked and gasped for breath, he jumped up and down, saying, "Ah! Ah! Ah!"
But he still continued to eat the fruit! Some people who were looking at him shook their heads and said, "You’re crazy, man. Those are chilies! You can’t eat so many; they’re not good for you! People use them as a condiment, but only a little bit to put into food for taste. You can’t just eat them by the handful like that; they’re not fruit!"
So the stupid master said: "No, I can’t stop! I paid money for them, and now I’ll eat them. It’s my money!"
And you think that master was stupid, right? Similarly, we sometimes do a lot of things like that. We invest money, time or effort in a relationship, business or job. And even though it’s been a long time, bitter experience tells us it won’t work, and we know there’s no more hope that things will change in the future —this we definitely know by intuition—we still continue just because we’ve invested money, time, effort and love into it. If so, we’re kaput in the brain. Just like the man who ate the chilies and suffered so much but couldn’t stop because he didn’t want to waste the money he’d paid.
So even if you’ve lost something, let it go and move on. That’s better than continuing to lose.
1. Which of the following is NOT the master’s reaction to eating the very red, long fruit?
A. His eyes and mouth watered and were burning.
B. His eyes, face and head caught a burning fire.
C. He coughed, choked and gaped for breath.
D. He jumped up and down, making loud noise.
2. Some passers-by’s attitude towards the master’s eating chilies is ______.
A. negative B. supportive C. enthusiastic D. favorable
3. What is the writer’s aim of writing this passage?
A. To amuse us with a funny story of a stubborn master.
B. To warn us not to eat too much chilli at one time.
C. To encourage us to cherish what we already have.
D. To teach us to let go of losses and be positive.
【答案】1. B 2. A 3. D
【解析】
【分析】本文是夹叙夹议文。这篇短文说的是一位大师来到印度，他看到那里有很多水果，但是大多数都很贵。他找最便宜的买了一些，吃了起来。吃了这种水果，大师被辣的流泪，但是他还是继续吃。通过这个故事作者告诉我们有时候我们会坚持一些愚蠢的事，仅仅是因为我们为此付出了钱、时间或精力，但是这样是不值得的，我们要学会适时放手。
【1题详解】
细节理解题。根据第二段“His eyes watered, his mouth watered and burned, his eyes were burning, his head was burning and his face became red. As he coughed and choked and gasped for breath, he jumped up and down, saying," Ah! Ah! Ah!”（他的眼睛湿润了，他的嘴湿润了，他的眼睛灼热，他的头灼热，他的脸通红。他又咳又呛，喘不过气来，一边跳上跳下，一边说：“啊！啊！啊！”）可知，A、C、D是正确的，他的眼睛、脸和头并没有都着了火。故选B项。
【2题详解】
细节理解题。根据文章第三段“Some people who were looking at him shook their heads and said, "You’re crazy, man. Those are chilies! You can’t eat so many; they’re not good for you! ”（有些人看着他，摇着头说:老兄，你疯了!这些都是辣椒!你不能吃那么多；它们对你没有好处）可知，一些路人对师傅吃辣椒
态度是否定的。故选A项。
【3题详解】
推理判断题，根据最后一段“So even if you've lost something, let it go and move on. That's better than continuing to lose”（所以，即使你失去了什么，也要放手，继续前进，这总比继续输好）可知，作者写这篇文章的目的是教我们放下失落，保持积极的心态。故选D项。
