A
(2020·泉州高三调研)
Rich as a King
WilliamⅠ， who conquered England some 950 years ago, had wealth, power and an army. Yet although William was very rich by the standard of his time, he had nothing like a flush toilet(抽水马桶), paper towels, or a riding lawn mower(割草机). How did he get__by?
History books are filled with wealthy people who were poor compared to me. I have storm windows, Croesus did not. Entire nations trembled before Alexander the Great, but he couldn’t buy cat food. Czar Nicholas lacked an electric saw.
Given how much better off I am than so many famous dead people, you’d think I’d be content. The trouble is that, like most people, I compare my wealth with that of living persons: neighbors, school classmates, and famous TV people. The greed I feel toward my friend Howard’s new kitchen is not reduced by the fact that no kings ever had a refrigerator with glass doors.
There is really no rising or falling standard of living. Over the centuries people simply find different things to feel sad about. You’d think that simply not having disease would put us in a good mood, but no, we want a hot bath too.
Of course, one way to achieve happiness would be to realize that even by today’s standards the things I own are pretty nice. My house is smaller than the houses of many investment bankers, but even so it has a lot more rooms that my wife and I can keep clean.
Besides, to people looking back at our era from a century or two in the future, these bankers’ fancy counter tops and my own worn Formica will seem equally shabby. I can’t keep up with my neighbors right now. But just wait.
【解题导语】 本文主要通过同富有的古人对比启迪读者：生活没有必要攀比，要知足常乐。
1．What does the underlined phrase “get by” in the first paragraph mean?
A．Succeed as a king.
B．Deal with complaints.
C．Live in a satisfactory way.
D．Get some extra money.
C 解析：词义猜测题。根据第三段第一句“Given how much better off I am than so many famous dead people, you’d think I’d be content.”，并结合对第一段第二句的理解：没有现代这些便利的生活设备，富有的威廉一世如何才能生活得称心如意呢？由此可推知，画线短语表示“以一种令人满意的方式生活”，故选C。
2．How many historical figures are mentioned to compare lives in the past and present?
A．3. B．4.
C．5. D．6.
B 解析：细节理解题。根据对第一段和第二段的理解可知，古今生活对比中作者列举了四个历史人物，他们分别是：William Ⅰ， Croesus, Alexander the Great和Czar Nicholas。
3．According to the passage, the author intends to ________．
A．tell us to be content with life
B．warn us to live in a simple way
C．teach us to learn lessons from life
D．encourage us to struggle for wealth
A 解析：写作意图题。根据文章的标题Rich as a King，并结合对全文的整体理解可推知，作者通过古今生活对比，告诉我们要知足常乐。
4．What’s the author’s attitude towards life?
A．Doubtful. B．Optimistic.
C．Uncaring. D．Cautious.
B 解析：观点态度题。根据最后两段，尤其是最后一段最后两句“I can’t keep up with my neighbors right now. But just wait.”可推知，作者对生活持乐观的态度。
