A
In the 1950s，a family who owned a farm near Beulah，Michigan kept a bull chained to an elm(榆树)．The bull paced around the tree，dragging the heavy iron chain，which led to a groove(槽)in the bark.The groove deepened over the years，though for whatever reason，it did not kill the tree.
After some years，the family took their bull away.They cut the chain，leaving the loop(圈)around the tree and one link hanging down.
Then one year，agricultural disaster struck Michigan in the form of Dutch Elm Disease.All of the elms lining the road leading to the farm became infected and died.Everyone thought that the old elm would be next.
The farm's owners considered doing the safe thing：pulling it out and cutting it up into firewood before it died.But they simply could not bring themselves to do it.It was as if the old tree had become a family friend.So they decided to let nature take its course．
Amazingly，the tree did not die.Nobody could understand why it was the only elm that was still standing in the country!
Plant pathologists(病理学家)from Michigan State University came out to observe the tree.They observed the scar left by the iron chain，now almost completely covered by bark.The plant experts decided that it was the chain that saved the elm's life.They reasoned that the tree must have absorbed so much iron from the chain that it became immune to the fungus(真菌)．
It's said that what doesn't kill you will make you stronger.Or，as Ernest Hemingway put it，“Life breaks us all，but afterwards，many of us are strongest at the broken places.”
【语篇解读】 “祸兮福之所倚”，在自然灾难面前，有些人或物被打倒；而有些却幸免于难。原因竟然是这样的：在遭受磨难的过程中，他/它获得了意外的收获。本文就密歇根州的榆树的遭遇说明了这一事实。
1．What happened to the elms in Michigan during the agricultural disaster?
A．Nearly all of the elms died of a disease.
B．Some of the elms were cut up into firewood.
C．All the elms were infected by a disease and died.
D．The elms were tied by iron chains.
A [细节理解题。根据第三段中“All of the elms lining the road leading to the farm became infected and died.”可知答案为A。 ]
2．From the passage we can learn that the old elm was saved by ．
A．the iron remaining in it
B．the fungus in the tree
C．the groove in the bark
D．its own immune system
A [推理判断题。根据倒数第二段中“The plant experts decided that it was the chain that saved the elm's life.They reasoned that the tree must have absorbed so much iron from the chain that it became immune to the fungus(真菌)．”可知，老榆树活下来是因为它吸收了大量的铁元素从而对真菌具有了免疫力，故答案为A。]
3．The underlined sentence“let nature take its course”means “ ”．
A．have nature give a lesson to the elm
B．help the elm grow normally
C．let nature take the elm away
D．leave the elm at the mercy of nature
D [词义猜测题。从上下文可知，此处是让老榆树听从大自然的摆布，故答案为D。]
4．What is the best title for the text?
A．Never Lose Heart in Trouble
B．Strike While the Iron Is Hot
C．Stronger after Suffering
D．Brave to Face Failure
C [标题归纳题。通读全文可知，文章主要讲了老榆树在遭遇磨难后，当自然灾难来临时，反而变得更坚强的故事。故答案为C。]
