A (2019·天津卷·D)
Would you BET on the future of this man？He is 53 years old. Most of his adult life has been a losing struggle against debt and misfortune. A war injury has made his left hand stop functioning，and he has often been in prison. Driven by heavenknowswhat motives，he determines to write a book.
The book turns out to be one that has appealed to the world for more than 350 years. That former prisoner was Cervantes，and the book was Don Quixote(《堂吉诃德》). And the story poses an interesting question: why do some people discover new vitality and creativity to the end of their days，while others go to seed long before?
We've all known people who run out of steam before they reach life's halfway mark. I'm not talking about those who fail to get to the top. We can't all get there. I'm talking about people who have stopped learning on growing because they have adopted the fixed attitudes and opinions that all too often come with passing years.
Most of us，in fact，progressively narrow the variety of our lives. We succeed in our field of specialization and then become trapped in it. Nothing surprises us. We lose our sense of wonder. But，if we are willing to learn，the opportunities are everywhere.
The things we learn in maturity seldom involve information and skills.We learn to bear with the things we can't change. We learn to avoid selfpity. We learn that however much we try to please，some people are never going to love us—an idea that troubles at first but is eventually relaxing.
With high motivation and enthusiasm，we can keep on learning. Then we will know how important it is to have meaning in our life. However，we can achieve meaning only if we have made a commitment to something larger than our own little egos(自我)，whether to loved ones，to fellow humans，to work，or to some moral concept.
Many of us equate(视……等同于)“commitment” with such “caring” occupations as teaching and nursing. But doing any ordinary job as well as one can is in itself an admirable commitment. People who work toward such excellence— whether they are driving a truck，or running a store—make the world better just by being the kind of people they are. They've learned life's most valuable lesson.
【语篇解读】 本文是一篇议论文。讲述了要成功，就需要不断地学习，这样的生活才会有意义。
1．The passage starts with the story of Cervantes to show that ________.
A．loss of freedom stimulates one's creativity
B．age is not a barrier to achieving one's goal
C．misery inspires a man to fight against his fate
D．disability cannot stop a man's pursuit of success
B [推理判断题。第一段讲述塞万提斯一生不幸，负债累累，因为战争受伤左手残疾，同时还身陷囹圄，在53岁的时候决定写书，最终写出成名作《堂吉诃德》，根据后文可知，所有的困境都没有阻挡他的成功，年龄也是如此，故选B。]
2．What does the underlined part in Paragraph 3 probably mean?
A．End one's struggle for liberty.
B．Waste one's energy taking risks.
C．Miss the opportunity to succeed.
D．Lose the interest to continue learning.
D [词义猜测题。根据第三段“I'm not talking about those who fail to get to the top.We can't all get there.I'm talking about people who have stopped learning on growing because they have adopted the fixed attitudes and opinions that all too often come with passing years.”可知，作者谈论的不是那些没有到达巅峰的人，而是谈论那些不再学习成长的人，故可知run out of steam意为“没有兴趣继续学习”，故选D。]
3．What could be inferred from Paragraph 4?
A．Those who dare to try often get themselves trapped.
B．Those who tend to think back can hardly go ahead.
C．Opportunity favors those with a curious mind.
D．Opportunity awaits those with a cautious mind.
C [推理判断题。根据第四段“We lose our sense of wonder. But, if we are willing to learn, the opportunities are everywhere.”可知，我们失去了好奇感，但是如果我们愿意学习，机会无处不在，故可知，机会总是留给那些有好奇心的人，故选C。]
4．What does the author intend to tell us in Paragraph 5?
A．A tough man can tolerate suffering.
B．A wise man can live without selfpity.
C．A man should try to satisfy people around him.
D．A man should learn suitable ways to deal with life.
D [推理判断题。根据第五段“We learn to bear with the things we can't change. We learn to avoid selfpity. We learn that however much we try to please, some people are never going to love us—an idea that troubles at first but is eventually relaxing.”可知，我们学会承受那些无法改变的事情，学会避免自怜，也意识到无论我们怎么去取悦别人，有些人是无法喜欢我们的，这个观点起初让我们苦恼，但是之后会让我们释怀，故可知，本段作者告诉我们要学会使用恰当的方式来对待生活，故选D。]
5．What is the author's purpose in writing the passage?
A．To provide guidance on leading a meaningful adult life.
B．To stress the need of shouldering responsibilities at work.
C．To state the importance of generating motivation for learning.
D．To suggest a way of pursuing excellence in our lifelong career.
A [主旨大意题。本文讲述要成功，就需要不断地学习，这样的生活才会有价值，故本文作者的目的是为了指导我们过一个有价值的成年人生活，故选A。]
