There was a businessman who was deep in debt and could see no way out. He sat on a park bench, head in his hands.
Suddenly, an old man appeared before him. "I can see that something is troubling you," he said. After listening to the businessman's story, the old man wrote out a check(支票), and put it in his hand, saying, "Take it and pay me back here exactly one year from today." Then he turned and disappeared as quickly as he had come.
The businessman saw in his hand a check for $500,000, signed by John D. Rockefeller, one of the richest men in the world! "I can pay off my debts in a second!" he realized. But instead, the businessman decided to put the check in his safe. Just knowing it was there might give him the power to save his business, he thought.
He went back and worked hard to make his business successful. Within several months, he was out of debt and making money once again.
Exactly one year later, he returned to the park with the check. At the agreed-upon time, the old man appeared. Behind the old man was a nurse. The nurse smiled to the businessman and told him the old man had been ill in mind for many years and was always telling people he was John D. Rockefeller.
The businessman was shocked to hear this. All year long he'd been buying and selling, believing that he had half a million dollars behind him. Suddenly, he realized that it wasn't the money, real or imagined, that had turned his life around. It was his newfound self-confidence that gave him the power to achieve anything he went after.
36. The businessman probably felt ________ before he received the check.
A.excited | B.creative | C.glad | D.unhappy |
37. The businessman put the check away because ________.
A.he was afraid of spending it freely | B.it was from a very important person |
C.the money might help him out later | D.it was safer than in anywhere else |
38. What made the businessman shocked?
A.The check he put in his safe wasn't worth anything. |
B.The old man didn't remember he was Rockefeller. |
C.The old man was seriously ill and was going to die. |
D.He needn't pay back the money to the old man. |
39. According to the passage, we can know that ________.
A.the nurse would get the money instead of the old man |
B.the old man would receive the money that was returned |
C.the businessman made money through his own efforts |
D.the money in the safe really helped the businessman |
40. What does the story teach us?
A.It's easy for rich people to be confident. | B.If you help others, you will get help later. |
C.We should be kind to mentally ill people. | D.Confidence plays a big role in one's life. |