American author Mark Twain once noted that “life would be surely happier if we could only be born at the age of 80 and gradually approach 18.” Twain’s words were only one of many complaints about aging. The ancient Greek poet Homer called old age “hateful”, and William Shakespeare termed it “terrible winter”.
Alexander the Great, who conquered most of the known world before he died around 323 B.C., may have been looking for a river that healed the ravages of age. During the 12th century A.D., a king called Prester John ruled a land that had a river of gold and a fountain of youth.
But the name linked most closely to the search for a fountain of youth is 16th-century Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon. He thought it would be found in Florida. In St. Augustine, the oldest city in the U.S., there’s a tourist attraction. It is said to be the fountain of youth that Ponce de Leon discovered soon after he arrived in what is now Florida in 1513. However, elderly visitors who drink the spring’s water don’t turn into teenagers.
But the tale of the search for a fountain of youth is so appealing(有吸引力的) that it survives anyway, says Ryan K. Smith, a professor of history. “People are more attracted by the story of looking and not finding than they are by the idea that the fountain might be out there somewhere.”
Still, a few grains of truth have helped to support the story. Kathleen Deagan, a professor of archaeology, says a graveyard and the remains of a Spanish mission dating back to St. Augustine’s founding in 1565 have been discovered near the so-called fountain of youth. Michelle Reyna, a spokesperson for the Fountain of Youth Arc
haeological Park in St. Augustine, says the fountain has been a tourist attraction since at least 1901 and may have been attracting visitors since 1860.
小题1:According to the passage, who searched for a fountain of youth?
A．Ponce de Leon
B．William Shakespeare.
C．Kathleen Deagan
D．Michelle Reyna小题2:What does the underlined word “ravages” in the second paragraph probably mean?
A．Growth.
B．Limits.
C．Damages.
D．Benefits.小题3:What is the attitude of people towards the fountain of youth?
A．People find much pleasure in looking for it.
B．People believe the existence of it somewhere.
C．People have no interest in searching for it.
D．People consider the idea of the fountain of youth absurd(荒谬的).小题4:The passage mainly tells us _____.
A．how the fountain of youth came into being
B．why some famous people hate becoming old
C．how to remain young forever
D．whether the fountain of youth exists小题5:Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A．The underlined words “the story” refers to Alexander the Great ruling a land that had a river of gold and a fountain of youth.
B．Augustine, which is the oldest city in the U.S, lies in Florida.
C．Some elderly visitors find themselves younger after drinking the water from the fountain of youth.
D．Kathleen Deagan is the spokesperson for the Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park.
