A well-known speaker started his speech by holding up a $20 bill. In the room of 200 people, he asked, “Who would like this $ 20 bill?”
Hands started going up. He said, “I am going to give this $20 to one of you. But first let me do this.” He crumpled the bill. He then asked, “Who still wants it?” Still, the hands of stayed in the air.
“Well,” he replied, “What if I do this?” He dropped it on the ground and started to grind(碾压) it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty. “Who still wants it?” The hands did not move.
“My friends, you have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I do to the money, you will still want it because it is still worth $20.”
“Sometimes we feel like we are worthless because we did something wrong or the situation is not good. But no matter what has happened, you will never lose your value and you are still priceless to those who love you. They care about you because you are special to them.”
“The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we know, but by who we are.”
36．How did the speaker start his speech?
A．By hiding a $20 bill. B．By passing a $20 bill.
C．By borrowing a $20 bill. D．By holding up a $20 bill.
37．What does the underlined word crumpled probably mean in the passage?
A．揉搓 B．涂画 C．撕碎 D．剪开
38．The speaker put the bill high up in the air because he wanted to _________.
A．change the value of the bill B．get more listeners to look at the bill
C．make the listeners feel sorry for the bill D．show the listeners that the bill was worthless
39．It’s clear that _________.
A．no one wanted the bill B．the speech was not interesting
C．the speaker didn’t like money D．the speaker was good at making a speech
40．What did the speaker want to tell people with his speech?
A．Keep cool when there is a problem.
B．It doesn’t matter if you lose your value.
C．The value of our lives lies in who we are.
D．Money is not the most important thing in life.
 
本文是一篇记叙文，作者通过一场演讲告诉人们一个道理：生命的价值不在于我们做了什么或认识谁，而在于我们是谁。
36．D【解析】题意：演讲者是如何开始演讲的？细节理解题。根据原文A well-known speaker started his speech by holding up a $20 bill可知，一位著名的演讲者举着一张20美元的钞票开始了自己的演讲。D选项By holding up a $20 bill“通过举着一张20美元的钞票”符合题意，故选D。
37．A【解析】题意：文中画线单词“crumpled”的意思可能是？词句猜测题。根据原文He crumpled the bill. He then asked, “Who still wants it?” Still, the hands of stayed in the air可知，他把钞票揉皱了，但是人们还是想要这张钞票。画线单词“crumpled”此处有“揉皱”之意。A选项“揉搓”符合题意，故选A。
38．B【解析】题意：演讲者把纸币高举在空中，因为他想________。推理判断题。根据原文A well-known speaker started his speech by holding up a $20 bill. In the room of 200 people, he asked, “Who would like this $ 20 bill?”可知，演讲者把纸币高举在空中，因为他想让在场的200听众都看到这张钞票。B选项get more listeners to look at the bill“让更多的听众看到钞票”符合题意，故选B。
39．D【解析】题意：很明显________。推理判断题。通读全文可知，演讲者通过一张钞票，就教会了人们一个道理：生命的价值不在于我们做了什么或认识谁，而在于我们是谁。由此可推断，他是一位非常善于演讲的演讲者。D选项the speaker was good at making a speech“演讲者很擅长演讲”符合题意，故选D。
40．C【解析】题意：演讲者想用他的演讲告诉人们什么？细节理解题。根据原文The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we know, but by who we are可知，生命的价值不在于我们做了什么或认识谁，而在于我们是谁。C选项The value of our lives lies in who we are“生命的价值在于我们是谁”符合题意，故选C。