There was a little boy named Li Bai. He was very smart, but he liked playing around and didn’t study hard. One day, when Li Bai was playing in the mountain, he saw an old woman grinding a very thick iron pestle by the river. Li Bai was very curious. So he went up to the old woman and asked, “Grandma, what are you doing?” The old woman answered, “I’m grinding a needle.” Li Bai was very surprised. Then he asked again, “When can such a thick iron pestle become a needle?” The old woman smiled and said, “As long as I keep grinding it, this iron pestle will get thinner and thinner and finally it will become a needle.” Li Bai was deeply touched by the old woman’s words. He thought that he was always half-hearted when he studied. From then on, Li Bai made up his mind (下决心)to study hard just like the old woman grinding the iron pestle. He began to study hard and never played around again. As time went by, Li Bai read a lot of books and got a lot of knowledge. His talent showed more and more. Finally, he became a great poet in Chinese history.
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任何伟大的成就都是由无数个小的进步积累而成的。你还能想到类似的故事吗？
Word Bank
grind v. 磨
curious adj. 好奇的
as long as 只要
half-hearted adj. 三心二意的
knowledge n. 知识
thick iron pestle 粗铁杵
needle n. 针
touched adj. 受感动的
As time went by 随着时间的流逝
talent n. 才能
Ⅰ. Read and choose（阅读短文，选出正确的答案）
() 1. Where did Li Bai see the old woman?
A. In the forest. B. By the river. C. By the sea.
() 2. How did Li Bai feel when he saw an old woman grinding the iron?
A. Curious. B. Happy. C. Surprised.
() 3. What did Li Bai do after being touched by the old woman’s words?
A. He started to help the old woman grind the pestle.
B. He made up his mind to study hard and gave up playing.
C. He told his friends about the old woman and asked them to study hard, too.
() 4. This story is about “” in Chinese.
A. 铁杵磨成针 B. 滴水穿石 C. 愚公移山

1. B 2. A 3. B 4. A
重点详解
2. 原文中李白见一位老妇人在河边磨铁,因其行为少见而好奇。他在得知老妇人要把铁磨成针,又因目标难达成时感到惊讶。题干问李白初见老妇人磨铁时的心情,综合来看应选"curious(好奇的)",由句子"Li Bai was very curious."可知他初见老妇人磨铁时的主要情绪是好奇。他感到惊讶是后续得知老妇人磨铁的目的后的转变。因此答案选A。