In ancient times, there was a king who loved flowers. His palace was always decorated with beautiful orchids(兰花) and other flowers. As the king grew older, he knew that one day he would have to give up his throne(王位). So he had to find someone to rule the country.
The other day, the king had an idea. He asked his servants to travel to every part of the country and give every citizen a single orchid seed(种子). He then announced that the person who grew the most beautiful orchid would take his throne.    
Everyone in the country then got their own seed. One young man named David was especially excited about the news, because he had experience in growing flowers himself. David planted his seed in a pot and put it in a place where it would get lots of sunlight. He watched it carefully every day. But as hard as he tried, his flower simply would not grow. Finally, it was time for everyone to give their flowers to the king. David took his empty potto the palace. ＂Your Majesty(尊敬的陛下), I am sorry to say that I could not grow an orchid.  But I hope you can see that I tried my best,＂ he said. The king was moved by David’s honesty. Although he did not choose David as the new king, he gave David a job as a royal court judge(法官). He believed that David’s honesty would make him the right person to make sure the justice(公正) in the country.
1. According to the king’s order, who could be the next king?
A. The man who was the smartest.
B. The man who was the most honest,
C. The man who could plant the best seed.
D. The man who could grow the most beautiful orchid.
2. What do we know about David?
A. He told a joke to the king. B. He failed to grow the king’s orchid.
C. He was good at growing orchids. D. He was chosen to be the next king.
3. What does the underlined word ＂it＂ refers to in Paragraph 4?
A. The pot. B. His flower. C. The seed. D. The sunlight.
4. What can we learn from the story?
A. David was the only winner in the end.
B. It is stupid of the king to choose David as a judge.
C. It is impolite of David to give an empty pot to the palace.
D. The king believed honesty was very important for a judge.
5. Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
A. Honesty Is the Best Policy B. How to Grow Orchids
C. Flowers Are the Best Gifts D. It’s Very Easy to Grow Orchids
【文章大意】本文介绍了古代有一个喜欢花的国王。并且宣布能种植出最美丽兰花的人将继承王位。大卫是一位年轻人，但无论怎么努力，都没有种植出兰花，带着空花瓶去了宫殿。国王被大卫的诚实所感动。虽然他没有选择大卫作为新国王，但他给了大卫一份皇家法院法官的工作，他相信大卫的诚实会使他成为正直的人，以确保国家的正义。
1. D【解析】细节理解题。根据He then announced that the person who grew the most beautiful orchid would take his throne. 然后他宣布种植最美丽兰花的人将继承王位。可知，按照国王的命令，能种出最美丽兰花的人可以成为下一个国王。故选D。
2. B【解析】细节理解题。根据But as hard as he tried, his flower simply would not grow. 但尽管他努力，他的花还是长不出来。可知，他没有种出国王的兰花。故选B。
3. C【解析】推理判断题。句子He watched it carefully every day.的意思是：他每天都仔细观察。根据上文的句子David planted his seed in a pot and put it in a place where it would get lots of sunlight. 大卫把种子种在盆里，放在阳光充足的地方。可知，句子中的it是指上文中的the seed，即：国王给的兰花种子。故选C。
4. D【解析】推理判断题。题干的意思是：我们能从这个故事中学到什么？根据he gave David a job as a royal court judge(法官).He believed that David’s honesty would make him the right person to make sure the justice(公正)in the country. 他给了大卫一份皇家法院法官的工作，他相信大卫的诚实会使他成为一个正直的人，以确保国家的公正。可以推出，国王认为诚实对法官来说非常重要。故选D。
5. A【解析】推理判断题。题干的意思是：以下哪一个是文章的最佳标题？A. Honesty Is the Best Policy诚实是最好的为人之道。B. How to Grow Orchids如何种植兰花。C. Flowers Are the Best Gifts花是最好的礼物。D. It’s Very Easy to Grow Orchids兰花很容易种植。根据短文的内容The king was moved by David’s honesty. Although he did not choose David as the new king, he gave David a job as a royal court judge(法官). He believed that David’s honesty would make him the right person to make sure the justice(公正)in the country. 可知，大卫是一个非常诚实的人，国王才选择他做皇家法院法官的。因此最好的标题应该选择Honesty is the Best Policy诚实是最好的为人之道。故选A。
【点睛】
用细节定位法来做细节理解题。
细节理解题属直接解答性问题，是阅读理解题中最简单的一种，多数属中低难度的送分题。但由于中考所占的比例很大，应特别引起注意。
事实和细节题的命题特点是：把某词语、某个句子或某具体事实用不同于原文的另一方式或句型表达，即同义改写。解答这类题的窍门是：A)注意掌握英语的多种表达法；B）正确分析词语在句中的作用；C）熟练运用英语的句型转换；D）读懂题干所提出的问题，并准确地找到文中涉及该问题的句子。
做细节题具体方法与步骤如下：
①略读材料,大概了解原文，掌握中心或主旨。
②按文章的体裁，作者写作的组织模式及有关的信息词，如for example，first，second…等预测应该到何处寻找自己所需要的事实。
③将自己精力放在寻找你所需要的细节上，快速通篇跳读，眼睛自左至右，自上而下呈Z形扫视，直到找到细节出处，待找到含细节句子时，放慢速度，仔细核对比较内容，直至找到答案。