In a small village, there lived a famous old carpenter (木匠). People travelled from far and wide to buy his furniture.

One day, a young man came to learn from him. The young man loved working with wood but was always hurrying to finish things. After a few days of learning from the carpenter, the young man thought, “I can make furniture faster.”

The old carpenter noticed this and said, “I can teach you to make furniture quickly, but first, you need to do a simple job.” He then passed the young man a rough board and said, “Make this board smooth.”

The man thought it was easy. He sanded (用砂纸打磨) the board a few times and soon gave it back confidently. The old carpenter felt the board and said, “It is not smooth enough. Try again.”

A little impatient, the young man sanded harder. But the old carpenter shook his head once again.

Feeling sad, the young man started to think more. He wasn’t in a hurry anymore and sanded every part of the board carefully. Finally, the board was as smooth as a mirror. He was so pleased with his work.

This time, the old carpenter smiled and said, “You have learned an important lesson. Success needs not only skill but also patience. The simpler the job is, the more patience we need. When you perfect every part, you can make a perfect piece.”

The young man understood that carpentry was not only about making things but also about shaping the mind. Life is like this — a successful person moves forward step by step.

1.1. Why did the young man visit the old carpenter?

A To travel around.

B To buy furniture.

C To help him.

D To learn from him.

解析：选D。答案：D 题型：细节理解题 解析：原文第 2 段 “a young man came to learn from him”，年轻人来向老木匠学习。

2.2. What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 4 refer to?

A Making furniture faster.

B Making the board smooth.

C Working with wood.

D Sanding the board several times.

解析：选B。2.答案：B 题型：代词指代题 解析：前文木匠交代任务 Make this board smooth，年轻人认为把木板打磨光滑这件事很简单，it 指代这件事。

3.How did the young man finish the job?

A He finished it as quickly as he could.

B He succeeded for the second time.

C He sanded every part carefully.

D He made a board with a mirror.

解析：选C。答案：C 题型：细节理解题 解析：原文 “He wasn’t in a hurry anymore and sanded every part of the board carefully.” 他仔细打磨木板每一处。

4.4. Which of the following can best describe the change of the young man’s

A Confident → Sad → Pleased → Impatient.

B Impatient → Confident → Sad

C Pleased → Impatient → Sad → Confident.

D Confident → Impatient → Sad → Pleased.

解析：选D。答案：D 题型：细节理解题 解析：一开始 confident 自信→打磨失败 impatient 不耐烦→再次失败 sad 难过→木板成功后 pleased 满意。顺序：Confident → Impatient → Sad → Pleased。

5.5. What can we learn from the story?

A Success needs skill and patience. B. The simple job needs less patience.

B The simple job needs less patience.

C Carpentry isn’t about shaping the mind.

D A successful person moves forward quickly.

解析：选A。5.答案：A 题型：主旨大意题 解析：原文 “Success needs not only skill but also patience.” 成功需要技艺和耐心。B、C、D 和原文表述相反。