阅读理解。
"Dr. Papaderos, what is the meaning of life?"
The usual laughter followed, and people stirred to go. Papaderos held up his hand and stilled the
room and looked at me for a long time, asking with his eyes if I was serious and seeing from my eyes
that I was.
"I will answer your question."
Taking his wallet out of his hip pocket, he fished into a leather billfold and brought out a very small
round mirror, about the size of a quarter. And what he said went like this:
"When I was a small child, during the war, we were very poor and we lived in a remote village. One
day, on the road, I found the broken pieces of a mirror. A German motorcycle had been wrecked in that
place.
I tried to find all the pieces and put them together, but it was not possible, so I kept only the largest
piece. This one, and, by scratching it on a stone, I made it round. I began to play with it as a toy and
became fascinated by the fact that I could reflect light into dark places where the sun would never
shine-in deep holes and crevices (裂缝) and dark closets. It became a game for me to get light into the
most inaccessible places I could find.
I kept the little mirror, and, as I went about my growing up, I would take it out in idle moments and
continue the challenge of the game. As I became a man, I grew to understand that this was not just a
child's game but a metaphor for what I might do with my life. I came to understand that I am not the
light or the source of light. But light-truth, understanding, knowledge-is there, and it will shine in many
dark places only if I reflect it.
I am a fragment (碎片) of a mirror whose whole design and shape I do not know. Nevertheless,
with what I have I can reflect light into the dark places of this world-into the black places in the hearts
of men-and change some things in some people. Perhaps others may see and do likewise. This is what
I am about. This is the meaning of my life."
1. On hearing the author's question, Dr. Papaderos _____ at first.
A. laughed at his foolishness
B. wasn't sure of the answer
C. doubted his seriousness
D. wasn't interested at all
2. Why did Dr. Papaderos like the small round mirror so much as a child?
A. Because he was too poor to afford other toys.
B. Because it could shine the places where the sun couldn't reach.
C. Because he believed it would bring good luck to him.
D. Because it told him a lot about what life really meant to him.
3. The underlined "metaphor" in the 7th paragraph most probably means _____.
A. symbol
B. source
C. light
D. purpose
4. Which of the following might be the best title for the passage?
A. A Special Game in the Childhood
B. A Broken Piece of Mirror
C. Dr. Papaderos' Experience
D. The Meaning of Life
