Once, a professor kept a chair at a certain distance on the stage, in front of the audience. He started his lecture, then pointing to the middle row, those who were sitting exactly in front of the chair, he asked, “How many legs the chair has that you can see, but answer me what you observe, not considering that the chair has four legs.”

The first person of the middle row replied, “Two”, because the other two legs were hidden behind the front legs. The professor then asked the same question to the left side. The answer came “Three. Here, one back leg was hidden behind one of it’s front side leg. So, only three were visible.

The same question was repeated to the right side and the extreme corner side audience. The answers, he received were “Three” and “Four”. The professor then said, “Look!! All of you know that the chair has four legs, but when I asked you to answer me exactly what you are observing from your angle, your answer was different. But, do you think it is possible? So what does it mean? Do you think that the same chair has two, three or four legs? It is clearly, the answer is “no”. We assume it as the changing numbers according to our perception(感知), the angle from which we view. So, what I mean to say is that our perception is not always absolutely correct or true. The same thing happens to everybody, when he/she judges others from his/her view points. It is necessary to take your time, but judge others correctly.” 

Good things are always taught, but it depends upon you and how much you want to learn it! Sometimes, things are misunderstood because of our angle of perception.

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1.What did the professor require the audience do answering his question?

A They should all sit directly in the middle row.

B They should know the number of chair’s legs.

C They should keep a short distance on the stage.

D They should report exactly what they have seen.

解析：选D。细节理解题。根据第一段最后一句的…answer me what you observe, not considering that the chair has four legs.可知,要根据自己的观察来回答问题，而不是根据自己的的思维定势。

2.Who can see two legs?

A The audience in the middle part of the row.

B The audience in extreme corner side.

C The audience in the left part of the row.

D The audience in the right part of the row.

解析：选A。细节理解题。根据文章第二段第一句的The first person of the middle row replied, “Two”, …可以得知坐在中间那些观众能看到椅子的两条腿。

3.The underlined word “visible” in the second paragraph means _____.

A caught

B seen

C shared

D managed

解析：选B。词义推测题。从前面的Here, one back leg was hidden behind one of it’s front side leg.可知，该椅子的一条后腿被挡住了；只能“看到”它的三条腿，所以visible是意思为“看到”。

4.What made people get different answers?

A Their angle of perception.

B Their different opinion.

C Their hidden position.

D Their hidden position.

解析：选A。细节理解题。根据第三段倒数第四句It is clearly, the answer is “no”. We assume it as the changing numbers according to our perception(观察), the angle from which we view.可知，是观察的角度不同才导致人们对椅子腿的数目的误判，而导致了不同的答案。

5.Why did the professor carry out the research?

A He wanted to show how silly the audience were.

B He reminded people how to get the right opinion.

C He would show why people were misunderstood.

D He used his own example to explain how to teach.

解析：选B。推理判断题。从文章根据第三段最后一句的It is necessary to take your time, but judge others correctly.可知，教授想用该例子来提醒人们如何才能得出正确的结论。