一副皮手套

蔣明

Leading：

平日里一分錢恨不得掰成兩半花，買點小東西都要精打細算的喬治卻不小心把打折時買的珍愛的皮手套給丟了，這可著實把他急壞了……

Seventy-three-year-old George selected his food in Value Mart more carefully than NASA chose its candidates for the space shuttle. Leaving the cashier，he estimated① that he had saved 80 cents today. He was pleased that he had got good value for his money again.

At the exit，the cold wind reminded him of his gloves. “Now where are they？” He made a thorough search of all his pockets，but nowhere could he find them. He was sure he was wearing them when he entered the store. He clearly remembered putting them into the pocket of his coat. The worried man made a second thorough search，again including the grocery bag. Now he was sure they must have been dropped somewhere inside the store.

Old George had bought the black gloves at a 25% discount，for just $30，ten years ago. They were genuine lamb skin，soft and warm and very durable. Until then，he had worn cheaper man-made material that never lasted longer than three years. He had taken care not to let a drop of water or rain touch his expensive gloves，so they looked like new. Losing this favorite possession was almost like losing a child to him.

Bad luck，he thought，to lose his expensive gloves on New Years Eve.

George，calm on the outside but wild on the inside，reentered the store with long steps. He followed the same route he had walked before，but it did not take long to be convinced that the gloves were not in sight. Several minutes of anxious searching turned out to be in vain. His heart grew heavier and he started to sweat as he entered the last aisle. The salt and sugar were packed in white bags，and anything black could be spotted easily. __________.

“Society has changed，and people have changed，” he murmured to himself. “Years ago，if somebody picked up something lost，they would give it back. Not any more！”

Yet he did not give up. This time he focused on the baskets and gloves in other shoppers hands. He would stare at anybody wearing black gloves to see if they looked like his. The first two ladies he met were gloveless. The third person he saw was a man who did wear gloves，but they were working gloves covered with paint stains. On his way to the dairy section，there was a glimmer② of hope：he noticed a lady fifteen feet away wearing a pair of gloves as dark and expensive as his. He sped up and in three seconds was in front of her. He even said“Hi！”. But when the surprised lady returned his greetings，his eyes dropped to the floor again，for the fingers of her gloves were just far too small for him.

Steps further on，he encountered a man who looked like a lawyer or a doctor，who was definitely wearing a pair of black leather gloves，but wouldnt it be embarrassing to ask，“Are you wearing my gloves？”On second thought，George decided that anybody who wanted to keep his gloves wouldnt be so foolish as to wear them right inside the store. So he started to look at peoples bulging pockets instead，but before long，he found bulging pockets were too hard to detect. Most of them were stuffed with scarves，books，hats and caps，not necessarily gloves. “I am no detective，”he admitted to himself，and headed dejectedly③ towards the exit.

It was freezing cold. Without his warm gloves，he had to shrink his hands into his sleeves. It was only a seven-minute walk home，and when he was one house before his own door，he trembled so badly that a bus driver passing by made a special stop and offered to let him get on. Old George was too cold to say anything，and could only raise his trembling hand to make a gesture of thanks and refusal.

Back home，George was at a loss. In deep winter，he could not do without a pair of gloves. He was very upset that people no longer returned things they found on the road.

After the holiday，poor George decided to buy another leather pair. Before boarding the subway，he stepped into Value Mart again to see if by any chance his gloves had been returned to the lost and found office.“What color are they？”the woman in the office asked. “Black，”he replied. She looked into her drawer and drew out a pair of mens leather gloves. “Are they？”

“Yes！Those are mine！”George cried，his eyes glowing with joy.

Notes：

①estimate v. 估計，判斷

②glimmer n. 微光，一絲光線

③dejectedly adv. 沮喪地，灰心地

1.The underlined word“durable”in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to ______.

A. lasting a long time

B. remaining unchanged

C. staying the same

D. having a short lifespan

2.What did old George probably shop for？

A. To get some real bargains in the store.

B. To prove how wise he is with money.

C. To prepare for the coming New Year.

D. To fill in his free time by shopping.

3.The missing sentence in paragraph 5 should be“_______”.

A. His careful search for them neednt have begun

B. His sharp eyes could not have missed them

C. His efforts might have turned out to be in vain

D. His hope to find them must have worn thin

4.What do we know about old George？

A. He leads a simple and poor life.

B. He sounds good at bargaining.

C. He is always wise with his money.

D. He often makes complaints.

5.What moral lesson can we learn from the text？

A. Penny wise and pound foolish.

B. Look before you leap.

C. A burnt child dreads the fire.

D. Never jump to conclusions.

答案與解析

1.答案為A。詞義猜測題。根據第三段的第三句可知，直到那時為止，喬治戴的手套都是便宜的，不耐用的。此句與前面形成對比，因此，durable意為“耐用的”。

2.答案為C。推理判斷題。根據第四段可知，喬治是在新年前夜去商店購物，由此可以推斷，其購物的目的可能是為新年作準備。

3.答案為B。細節理解題。根據第五段的內容可知，喬治搜尋得十分仔細，因此他敏銳的眼睛不可能錯過他的那副手套。

4.答案為C。推理判斷題。通讀全文可知，喬治平日里一分錢恨不得掰成兩半花，買點小東西都要精打細算，由此可以推斷，他在用錢方面是一個明智的人。

5.答案為D。推理判斷題。在喬治看來，社會和人都變了，變得自私自利，但文末作者筆鋒一轉，喬治丟失的手套最終失而復得。由此可以推斷，任何事情都不能妄加推斷，草率得出結論。D項符合文章的主旨。（責任編校？筑彭益）