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He's an old cobbler (修鞋匠) with a shop in the Marais, a historic area in Paris. When I took him my
shoes, he at first told me: "I haven't time. Take them to the other fellow on the main street; he'll fix them
for you right away. "
But I'd had my eye on his shop for a long time. Just looking at his bench loaded with tools and pieces
of leather, I knew he was a skilled craftsman (手艺人). "No," I replied, "The other fellow can't do it well."
"The other fellow" was one of those shopkeepers who fix shoes and make keys "while-U-wait" -without
knowing much about mending shoes or making keys. They work carelessly, and when they have finished
sewing back a sandal strap (鞋带) ,you might as well just throw away the pair.
My man saw I wouldn't give in, and he smiled. He wiped his hands on his blue apron (围裙), looked
at my shoes, had me write my name on one shoe with a piece of chalk and said, "Come back in a week."
I was about to leave when he took a pair of soft leather boot off a shelf.
"See what I can do " he said with pride. "Only three of us in Paris can do this kind of work."
When I got back out into the street, the world seemed brand-new to me. He was something out of an
ancient legend, an old craftsman with his way of speaking familiarly, his pride in his craft.
These are times whe
n nothing is important but the bottom line, when you can do things any old way as
long as it "pays", when, in short, people look on work as a path to ever-increasing consumption (消费)
rather than a way to realize their own abilities. In such a period,it is a rare comfort to find a cobbler who
gets his greatest satisfaction from pride in a job well done.
1. Which of the following is true about the old cobbler?
A. He was equipped with the best repairing tools.
B. He was the only cobbler in the Marais.
C. He was proud of his skills.
D. He was a native Parisian.
2. The sentence "He was something out of an ancient legend." ( paragraph 7 ) implies that _____.
A. nowadays you can hardly find anyone like him
B.it was difficult to communicate with this man
C. the man was very strange
D. the man was too old
3. According to the author, many people work just to_____ .
A. realize their abilities
B. gain happiness
C. make money
D. gain respect
4. This story wants to tell us that_____ .
A. craftsmen make a lot of money
B. whatever you do, do it well
C. craftsmen need self-respect
D. people are born equal
