A
A ship was wrecked during a storm at sea and only two of the men on it were able to swim to a small island.
The two survivors, also good friends, not knowing what else to do, agreed that they had no other choice but to pray to God. However, to find out whose prayer was more powerful, they divided the land between them and stayed on opposite sides of the island.
The first thing they prayed for was food. The next morning, the first man saw a fruitbearing tree beside him and he ate its fruit. The other man's land remained barren (贫瘠的).
After a week, the first man was lonely so he prayed for a wife. The next day, another ship was completely destroyed, and the only woman survivor soon became his wife. On the other side of the island, there was still nothing.
Soon the first man prayed for a house, clothes and more food. The next day, like magic, all of these were given to him. However, the second man still had nothing.
Finally, the first man prayed for a ship. In the morning, he found a ship on his side of the island. The first man boarded the ship with his wife and decided to leave the second man on the island behind, because he considered the other man unworthy to receive God's blessings, since none of his prayers had been answered.
As the ship was about to leave, the first man heard a voice from Heaven，“Why are you leaving your companion on the island？”
“My blessings are mine alone, since I was the one who prayed for them，”the first man answered.“His prayers were all unanswered, so he does not deserve anything.”
“You are mistaken！”the voice rebuked him.“He had only one prayer, which I answered. If not for that, you would not have received any of my blessings.”
“Tell me，”the first man asked with great curiosity，“What did he pray for so that I should owe him anything？”
“He prayed that all your prayers would be answered.”
For all we know, our blessings are not the fruits of our prayers alone, but those of another praying for us. So what you do for others is more important than what you do for yourself.
( D )21．It can be learned from the passage that ________．
A．the men prayed for each other selflessly
B．the first man was a reliable and devoted friend
C．the men got along well with each other on the island
D．the men stayed separated to test the power of their prayers
( C )22．What does the underlined word“rebuked”in Paragraph 9 most probably mean?
A．Ignored. B．Requested.
C．Criticized. D．Recognized.
( A )23．What is the message conveyed in the story?
A．Helping others is helping ourselves.
B．Our blessings are the fruits of our prayers alone.
C．A life without a friend is a life without a sun.
D．A friend in need is a friend indeed.
答案及解析：
【语篇解读】这是一篇记叙文。文章主要通过讲述一个善良的人总是为别人祈祷的故事，告诉我们帮助他人就是帮助自己，作者通过这篇文章鼓励我们要多帮助他人。
21．D 细节理解题。根据第二段最后一句However, to find out whose prayer was more powerful, they divided the land between them and stayed on opposite sides of the island.(然而，为了找出谁的祈祷更有力量，他们彼此把土地划分开，分别住在岛的两边)可知，这两人被分开以测试他们祈祷的力量。故选D。
22．C 词义猜测题。根据上文“You are mistaken！”可推知上帝在责备第一个人，故画线单词意为“责备，批评”。故选C。
23．A 推理判断题。根据文章最后一段以及文章主要内容为讲述一个善良的人总是为别人祈祷的故事可知，本文想告诉我们帮助他人就是帮助我们自己。故选A。
