Back in the fifteenth century, in a tiny village near Nuremberg, lived a family with eighteen children．In spite of the hopeless condition, two of the children, Albrecht Durer and Albert, had a dream．They both wanted to pursue their talent for art．After many long discussions, the two boys finally worked out an agreement．They would toss a coin．The loser would go down into the nearby mines and, with his earnings, support his brother who attended the academy．Then, when that brother who won the toss completed his studies, in four years, he would support the other brother at the academy．

Tossing a coin, Albrecht Durer won and went off to Nuremberg．Albert went down into the dangerous mines and, for the next four years, supported his brother, whose work at the academy was almost an immediate sensation（轰动）．By the time he graduated, he had earned considerable fees for his outstanding works．

When the young artist returned to his village, the Durer family held a festive dinner to celebrate Albrecht’s triumphant（胜利的）homecoming．Albrecht drank a toast to his beloved brother for the years of sacrifice that had enabled him to complete his dream．“And now, Albert, blessed brother of mine, now it is your turn．Now you can go to Nuremberg to look for your dream, and I will take care of you．”

Tears streaming down his pale face, Albert sobbed, “No．．．no．．．It is too late for me．Look．．．look at what four years in the mines have done to my hands！The bones in every finger have been broken at least once, and lately I have been suffering from arthritis（关节炎）so badly in my right hand that I cannot even hold a glass to return your toast, much less draw delicate lines with a pen or a brush．”

To show thanks to Albert for all that he had sacrificed, Albrecht Durer painstakingly drew his brother’s injured hands with palms together and thin fingers stretched skyward．He called his powerful drawing simply “Hands”, but the entire world almost immediately opened their hearts to his great masterpiece and renamed it “The Praying Hands”．The next time you see a copy of that touching creation, let it be your reminder—no one ever makes any success alone！

小题1:Why did the two brothers work out the agreement？

A．They were so curious as to make a joke．

B．Their family couldn’t afford the academy．

C．One of the brothers was supposed to go into mines．

D．They wanted to support the other sisters and brothers．小题2:The underlined word “whose” in Para．2 refers to _____ ．

A．the Durer family’s

B．the miners

C．Albert’s

D．Albrecht’s小题3:Which of the following statements is NOT true about Albrecht Durer？

A．He began to earn his living after graduation

B．He did perfectly well at the academy

C．He wanted his brother to go to the academy

D．He created great masterpieces小题4:Which of the following is the correct order of the story？

a．Albrecht went to Nuremberg

b．Albert supported his brother

c．The Durer family held a festive dinner

d．Albrecht drew his brother’s injured hands

e．The brothers tossed a coin．

A．b, a, c, d, e

B．a, e, c, d, b

C．e, a, c, b, d

D．e, a, b, c, d小题5:What can we learn from the story？

A．One can achieve success simply on his own

B．Any success requires the help of others．

C．It’s other people who contribute to one’s success

D．Nobody could succeed without good guidance