One stormy night many years ago, an elderly man and his wife entered the hall of a small hotel in Philadelphia. Trying to get out of the rain, they came to the front desk hoping to get some shelter for the night.
“Could you possibly give us a room here?” the husband asked.
The clerk, a friendly man with a winning smile, looked at the couple and explained that there were three conventions in town.“All of our rooms are taken,” the clerk said.“But I can’t send a nice couple like you out into the rain at one o’clock in the morning. Would you perhaps be willing to sleep in my room? It’s not exactly a suite, but it will be good enough to make you folks fortable for the night.”
When the couple declined, the young man pressed on.“Don’t worry about me; I’ll make out just fine.” the clerk told them. So the couple agreed.
As he paid his bill the next morning, the elderly man said to the clerk,“You are the kind of manager who should be the boss of the best hotel in the United States. Maybe someday I’ll build one for you.” The clerk looked at them and smiled. The three of them had a good laugh. As they drove away, the elderly couple agreed that the helpful clerk was indeed exceptional, as finding people who are both friendly and helpful isn’t easy.
Two years passed. The clerk had almost forgotten the incident when he received a letter from the old man. It recalled that stormy night and enclosed a round—trip ticket to New York, asking the young man to pay them a visit.
The old man met him in New York, and led him to the corner of Fifth Avenue and 34th street. He then pointed to a great new building there, a pale reddish stone, with turrets and watchtowers thrusting up to the sky.“That,” said the older man,“is the hotel I have just built for you to manage.”“You must be joking,” the young man said.“I can assure you I am not,” said the older man, a sly smile playing around his mouth.
The older man’s name was William Waldorf Astor, and that magnificent structure was the original Waldorf—Astoria Hotel. The young clerk who became its first manager was George C.Boldt. This young clerk never foresaw the turn of events that would lead him to bee the manager of one of the world’s most glamorous hotels.
【小题1】The purpose of the author writing this story is to .A．give people a good laughB．cover some factsC．promote the business of Waldorf—Astoria HotelD．deliver a lesson【小题2】Which of the statements about the story is NOT true?A．The story took place at about one a.m..B．The old couple was too poor to afford a luxurious room.C．The clerk was willing to help those in need.D．The clerk received an unexpected invitation from the old man.【小题3】The underlined word “conventions” in Para.3 can be replaced by ?A．roomsB．suitesC．meetingsD．hotels【小题4】Which of the following proverbs suits the story the best?A．Every little thing helps.B．Make hay while the sun shines.C．Man proposes； God disposes(处理,决定).D．One good turn deserves another.D
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(答案→)D
解析：本文通过一个善良的宾馆服务员善意的对待一对老人，后来这对老人为他建设了一个宾馆让他管理的故事，告诉我们要善意对待别人，好人自有好报。
【小题1】D 推理题。作者讲述这个故事是想告诉我们人生无常，我们无法预料未来的情况，在日常生活中我们要做好自己该做的，好人有好报，机会总会到来。故D正确。
【小题2】B 推理题。根据文章倒数第二段The old man met him in New York, and led him to the corner of Fifth Avenue and 34th street. He then pointed to a great new building there, a pale reddish stone, with turrets and watchtowers thrusting up to the sky.“That,” said the older man,“is the hotel I have just built for you to manage.”说明这个老人是一个非常富有的人，所以B项表述是错误的。
【小题3】C 推理题。根据本句The clerk, a friendly man with a winning smile, looked at the couple and explained that there were three conventions in town.“All of our rooms are taken,”可知因为城里有三个conventions所以房间都被住满了，说明这样的活动是有很多人参加的，选项中只有C项符合。
【小题4】D 推理题。作者通过这个故事告诉我们，要善意对待每一个人，好人自有好报。故D项内容正确。