In 1883, an imaginative engineer named John Roebling decided to build a spectacu

In 1883, animaginative engineer named John Roebling decided to build a spectacular bridgeconnecting New York with Long Island. However, bridge building expertsthroughout the world thought that this was a pipe dream. It was not practical.It had never been done before.

But Roebling refusedto listen to them. He thought about the bridge day and night and he knew deepin his heart that it could be done. After much discussion and persuasion heconvinced his son Washington, who was a promising engineer himself, that thebridge in fact could be built.

Workingtogether for the first time, the father and son developed concepts of how itcould be accomplished. With great excitement, they hired their crew and beganto build their dream bridge.

The project startedwell, but several months after it began, a tragic accident on the site took thelife of John Roebling. Washington was so seriously injured that he was neverable to walk, talk or even move again.

"We told themso", "Crazy men and their crazy dreams", "It's foolish tochase wild visions", the critics said and most thought the project shouldbe scrapped since the Roeblings were the only ones who knew how the bridge couldbe built. In spite of his handicap Washingtonstill had a burning desire to complete the bridge and his mind was still assharp as ever.

Washington's wifetried to inspire and pass on her husband's enthusiasm to some of his friends,but they were too daunted by the task. As he lay in his hospital room,an idea suddenly hit him. All he could do was move one finger and he decided tomake the best use of it. By moving this finger and tapping it on his wife'sarm, he slowly developed a code to communicate with her. Then he used thismethod to tell his wife what the engineers should do. It seemed crazy but theproject was under way again. For 13 years Washington tapped out hisinstructions with his finger on his wife's arm, until the bridge was finallycompleted.

Today the spectacularBrooklyn Bridge stands in all its glory as a tribute to the triumph of oneman's spirit and his determination not to be defeated by circumstances.

1._ What did most people think about Roebling'sidea to build the bridge?

A. It would neverbecome a reality.          B.Washington was not experienced enough.

C. It would take a lotof time.              D.Finding the money would be impossible. 

2._The underlined word `daunted' (para. 6) isclosest in meaning to '______'.

  A.unpleasant    B. scared    C.amazed    D. determined

3._ Which of the following shows the correct orderof the events that happened in the story?

   a.Roebling convinced his son.

   b. Washingtonfound a new way to communicate.

   c. Theyhired the crew.

d. The bridge wascompleted.

   e.Roebling wanted to build a bridge.

   f. Therewas a tragic accident.

A. e, a, c, f, d,b     B. e, a, f, b, c, d    C. e, f, a, b,c, d    D. e, a, c, f, b, d

4._ What can we learn about Washington's wife?

A. She knew signlanguage very well.

B. She was devoted toher husband.

C. She developed acode to communicate with her husband.

D. She helped herhusband design the plan.

5._ What does the story tell us?

  A. Success willcome with the passing of time.

  B. Strugglesare exactly what we need in our lives.

  C. Even themost distant dream can be realised with a never-say-die attitude.

  D. The peoplewho make a difference in our life should be remembered forever.

试题答案

【答案】

1.A2.B3.D4.B5.C

【解析】略