A scholar (学者) wanted to cross a long river by boat. So he asked a boatman to row him across the river. The journey was long and slow. The scholar was bored, so he wanted to have a talk with the boatman.

“Boatman,” he called out, “Let’s have a talk. Have you ever studied phonetics (语音学) or grammar?”

“No,” said the boatman, “I’ve no use for those tools.”

“Too bad,” said the scholar. “You’ve wasted half your life. It’s useful to know the rules.”

Later, as the boat crashed (碰撞) into a rock in the middle of the river, the boatman turned to the scholar and said, “Smart man, tell me, have you ever learned to swim?”

“No,” said the scholar, “I’ve never learned. I’ve spent most of my time in thinking.”

“In that case,” said the boatman, “you’ve wasted all your life. Alas, the boat is sinking (下沉).”

1.What did the scholar do for fun?

A He showed off.

B He sang.

C He danced.

D He read.

解析：选A。A 细节理解题。根据文中学者和船夫的对话可知，学者拿自己的强项去衡量别人的弱项，并且嘲笑贬低别人。故选A。

2.For the boatman, phonetics or grammar is _____________ .

A hard

B easy

C helpful

D useless

解析：选D。D推理判断题。根据文中的“I’ve no use for those tools.”可知，对船夫来说，这些学问对他来说没什么用处。故选D。

3.What happened in the middle of the river?

A The boat crashed into a rock.

B It rained heavily.

C The scholar cried.

D The scholar and the boatman fought.

解析：选A。A细节理解题。根据文中的“Later, as the boat crashed into a rock in the middle of the river”可知，这艘船撞到河中央的一块岩石上了。故选A。

4.Can the scholar swim?

A Yes, he is.

B No, he can’t.

C Yes, he can.

D No, he isn’t.

解析：选B。B推理判断题。根据文中的“I’ve never learned. I’ve spent most of my time in thinking.”可知，这名学者从来没有学过游泳。故选B。

5.What is the best title for the passage?

A An Interesting Talk.

B A Long River.

C A Scholar and A Boatman.

D A Boring Trip.

解析：选C。C主旨大意题。根据全文内容可知，本文主要讲了学者和船夫的故事。故选C。