In the late 1860s, a creative engineer named John Roebling was inspired by an idea to build a bridge connecting New York with the Long Island. However, bridge building experts throughout the world thought that this was impossible.
Roebling could not ignore the vision of this bridge. He though about it all the time and he knew deep in his heart that it could be done. He just had to share the dream with someone else. After much discussion and persuasion he managed to convince his son Washington, an up and coming engineer, that the bridge in fact could be built.
The father and son developed concepts of how it could be accomplished and how the obstacles could be overcome. With great excitement and inspiration, and the determination of meeting wild challenges, they hired their crew and began to build their dream bridge.
The project started well, but when it was only a few months underway a tragic accident on the site took the life of John Roebling. Washington was injured and left with a certain amount of brain damage, which resulted in him not being able to walk or talk or even move.
“We told them so.”
“Crazy men with crazy dreams.”
“It’s foolish to chase wild visions.”
Everyone had a negative comment and felt that the project should be abandoned. In spite of his disability Washington was never discouraged and still had a burning desire to complete the bridge and his mind was still as sharp as ever.
He tried to inspire and pass on his enthusiasm to some of his friends, but they were too daunted by the task. As he lay on his bed in hospital, an idea suddenly hit him. All he could do was move one finger and he decided to make the best use of it. Slowly, he developed a code of communication with his wife.
He touched his wife’s arm with that finger, indicating to her that he wanted her to call the engineer again. Then he used the same method of tapping her arm to tell the engineers what to do. It seemed foolish but the project was under way again.
For 13 years Washington tapped out his instructions with his finger on his wife’s arm, until the bridge was finally completed in 1883.
Today she spectacular Brooklyn Bridge stands in all its glory as a proof to the great success of one mans spirit and his determination. It stands too as a monument to the love and devotion of his wife.
1. Which of the following shows the right order of building the bridge?
a. some negative comments
b. the instructions tapped out on the arm of Washington’s wife
c. the idea to build Brooklyn Bridge
d. the determination to complete the bridge
e. the hiring of the crew
A. c, a, d, e, b B. e, c, b, a, d C. e, c, d, b, a D. c, e, a, d, b
2. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in this passage?
A. Washington’s spirit B. Construction of Brooklyn Bridge
C. Love between Washington and his wife D. Design of Brooklyn Bridge.
3. Which of the following was the key factor to Washington’s success?
A. his strong confidence B. Good team-work
C. His never-say-die attitude D. His enthusiasm
4. Which of the following sentences has the closet meaning of the underlined sentence in Paragraph 9?
A. they became interested in the task. B. They lost confidence in the task.
C. They were attracted by the task. D. They were unsure of the task.
答案是：
1 D
2 D
3 C
4 B