There is a man who I’d like to tell you about. His name is Sandy Greenberg. Sandy was a very good student, but he came from a poor family. And so he went to Columbia University, but while there, he became blind.
But something else happened to Sandy that may surprise you. Sandy said that when he lost his sight, his roommate would read his textbooks to him, every night. As a result, Sandy went on to graduate. He got a scholarship, and he went off to study at Oxford.
One day, Sandy got a call at Oxford, and his former roommate said, “Sandy, I’m really unhappy. I really don’t like being in graduate school, and I don’t want to do this.”
So Sandy asked, “Well, what do you want to do?”
And his roommate told him, “Sandy, I really love to sing. I have a high school friend who plays the guitar. And we would really like to try the music business. But we need to make a record, and in order to do that I need $500.”
So Sandy Greenberg told me he took all his life savings and sent it to his roommate. He told me, “You know, what else could I do? He made my life; I needed to help make his life.”
I almost forgot. You probably are wanting to know who Sandy’s roommate was. I think you’ve heard of him. Sandy’s roommate was a fellow by the name of Art Garfunkel, and he teamed up with another musician by the name of Paul Simon. That $500 helped them make a record that eventually became “The Sound of Silence.”
I hope you’ll remember the power of doing well by doing good. Each of you, in your own lives, will be faced with challenges and problems that you didn’t expect. How you are able to deal with adversity will be influenced by how you deal with others along the way. What you get will depend a lot on what you give. And that’s the end of the story of doing well, by doing good.
More importantly, when you get to be my age, you will find yourself beginning to ask, did my life make a difference? I think the only way to face this question is to consider, every day of your life: How can I do something for somebody else? How can I give back to others? It may be teaching, it may be becoming a doctor, you may be successful in business — no matter what your career path, there will always be the opportunity to give back. The chance will present itself to give your time, give your money, but mostly, to give your own heart and soul.
41. When Sandy Greenberg lost his sight, ____________.
A.he had thoughts of quitting college | B.he overcame the difficulties on his own |
C.he borrowed a friend’s notes | D.a friend helped him with his study |
42. From the passage, we know that ____________.
A.Sandy had a difficult time at Oxford |
B.Sandy and his roommate both went on studying after their graduation |
C.singing was one of Sandy’s hobbies |
D.Sandy’s roommate was a great success at graduate school |
43. The writer tells the story of Sandy and his roommate ____________.
A.to encourage us to face difficulties bravely |
B.to tell us to change our path in life if we want to |
C.to show that disabled people can succeed with help |
D.to tell us that by helping others, we can also help ourselves |
44. The underlined word ‘adversity’ in Paragraph 8 is closest in meaning to ____________.
A.difficulty | B.generosity | C.kindness | D.friendship |
45. The writer probably thinks that the true meaning of life is ____________.
A.helping others to make sure that we are successful |
B.using our life to make a difference to others |
C.being a teacher so that we can give back to others |
D.starting to be generous when we become older |