四、閱讀理解
This story happened in the Warring States Period (475 - 221 B.C.). At this time, different states fought with each other, trying to become the ruler. In 260 B.C., the State of Qin beat the State of Zhao. However, Zhao refused to give in (投降). So in 259 B.C., the King of Zhao sent Pingyuan Jun to ask Chu for help. He was also allowed to take twenty advisors with him. But Pingyuan could only choose nineteen.
“Who could be the last?” he thought. “That’s fine. Nineteen is no different from twenty.”
A man named Mao Sui came to Pingyuan Jun. “My lord, I’ve heard you’re short of one advisor. I can go with you.”
“Sir, how long have you been with me?” Pingyuan Jun asked.
“Three years.”
“A wise person gets noticed quickly. You’ve been here for three years, but I don’t even know you. That means you are not good at anything. I’m afraid you’ll have to stay.”
“That’s because I’ve been waiting for my time, like today,” Mao Sui said.
Pingyuan Jun only half - believed him but allowed him to join. When they arrived in Chu, Pingyuan Jun wasted no time in meeting its king. They talked all morning but nothing was decided. The nineteen advisors were at their wits’ end.
Suddenly, Mao Sui stepped forward from the back of the room, one hand on his sword (劍).
“Assassin (刺客), assassin!” the King of Chu shouted and reached for his own sword.
“My lord, he’s one of us,” Pingyuan Jun said calmly.
“The room is too dark. I didn’t think anyone was sitting there,” the King said. He picked up his cup to hide his sudden movement towards his sword.
“My lord, you keep refusing our offer because Chu is a big state,” Mao Sui said. “But how can such a great state forget its history? Qin has beaten you many times and burned your cities. Even we Zhao people feel ashamed of this. It’s not wise for us to turn against each other.”
The King of Chu agreed, “You’re right. We should fight against Qin together.”
After Pingyuan Jun returned home, he treated Mao Sui as a respected guest.
( ) 1. What does the underlined phrase “at their wits’ end” mean in Paragraph 8?
A. Being very angry.
B. Becoming excited.
C. Having good ideas.
D. Being unable to do anything.
( ) 2. Pingyuan Jun doubted (懷疑) Mao Sui at first because ________.
A. Mao Sui looked strange
B. he had never seen Mao Sui’s achievements (成就)
C. Mao Sui was not strong enough
D. he had already decided to take another person
( ) 3. What can we infer (推斷) about Mao Sui’s personality from the story?
A. He is generous and modest.
B. He is brave and confident.
C. He is serious and careful.
D. He is patient and curious.
( ) 4. What does the story tell us?
A. Success is just a matter of time.
B. No matter (不論) how hard our life is, we should learn to smile.
C. We can all become heroes as long as we do not fear failure.
D. We should be brave and confident when chances come up.
答案：1. D。根據前文“They talked all morning but nothing was decided.”可知談了一上午也沒結果，所以十九個謀士無計可施，“at their wits’ end”意思是“束手無策，無能為力”，與D選項“Being unable to do anything.”相符。
2. B。根據“A wise person gets noticed quickly. You’ve been here for three years, but I don’t even know you. That means you are not good at anything.”可知平原君覺得毛遂在他身邊三年都沒被他注意到，也就是沒看到毛遂有什么成就，所以懷疑他。
3. B。毛遂主動自薦，在與楚王談判陷入僵局時勇敢站出來，并且有理有據地說服楚王，可看出他勇敢且自信。
4. D。故事主要講毛遂在機會來臨時勇敢自信地展現自己并成功說服楚王，告訴我們當機會來臨時要勇敢自信，D選項符合。
