Cao Pi and Cao Zhi were sons of Cao Cao. They both could write very well, and Cao Zhi was very smart.

    After Cao Cao died, Cao Pi became the king of Wei. He was jealous of Cao Zhi’s writing skills. He worried that Cao Zhi might cause him trouble. So he wanted to find a way to kill his brother.

    One day, Cao Pi asked Cao Zhi to write a poem in just seven steps. If he couldn’t do it, he would be in danger. Cao Zhi was sad, but he started walking and thinking. He finished his poem before he took seven steps. The meaning of his poem was: “Brothers are of the same family, so why should they hurt each other to death?”

    Cao Zhi was smart and liked to learn. He wrote many good articles. These articles showed that he was very creative. Many people liked him. A scholar said: “Heaven gave the world ten decalitres (公斗) of talent, and Cao Zhi alone has eight of them.”

    Now, when we say someone “has eight decalitres of talent”, we mean they are very talented.

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1.1. What does the underlined word “jealous” mean in Chinese?

A 敬佩的.

B 惊奇的.

C 妒忌的.

D 镇静的.

解析：选C。词义猜测题。根据划线单词后面的“He worried that Cao Zhi might cause him trouble. So he wanted to find a way to kill his brother.”可知，在曹操死后，曹丕继任大统，但曹植太有才，他怕曹植会篡位，所以一直在伺机杀害曹植，因此可推测他嫉妒曹植的才华。故选C。

2.2. What did Cao Pi ask Cao Zhi to do?

A Write a letter to their father.

B Write a poem in seven steps.

C Write a story about their family.

D Write a book in one day.

解析：选B。细节理解题。根据第三段中的“One day, Cao Pi asked Cao Zhi to write a poem in just seven steps.”可知，曹丕要求曹植在七步之内作诗一首。故选B。

3.3. What was the main idea of Cao Zhi’s poem?

A Brothers should compete with each other.

B Brothers should help their father.

C Brothers should not hurt each other.

D Brothers should write poems together.

解析：选C。细节理解题。根据第三段中的“Brothers are of the same family, so why should they hurt each other to death?”“本是同根生，相煎何太急”可知，此诗的用意是曹植不能容忍哥哥曹丕的逼迫，说明兄弟间不要互相残杀的道理。故选C。

4.4. What does the phrase “has eight decalitres of talent” mean now?

A Someone is very talented.

B Someone is very tall.

C Someone has a big family.

D Someone is very old.

解析：选A。细节理解题。根据最后一段中的“we mean they are very talented”可知，今天，如果我们说一个人“才高八斗”，就是指他“才华出众，学识渊博”。故选A。

5.5. In which part of a magazine can we read the passage?

A Word Sound.

B Important People.

C Life Skills.

D Language Learning.

解析：选D。推理判断题。根据全文内容可知，文章主要描写了曹植的《七步诗》成诗背景以及成语“才高八斗”的来源，属于汉语言学习方面的内容，因此我们可能在杂志的“语言学习”部分读到本文。故选D。