A number of years ago, a man went to visit a circus(马 戏 团 )in New York. He was able to walk around looking at the lions, monkeys, bears and other circus animals. As he was passing the elephants, he suddenly stopped. He found that these huge elephants were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains, no cages. It was clear that the elephants could, at any time, break away from their ropes but for some reason, they did not.
He saw a trainer nearby and asked why these animals just stood there and didn't try to get away. "Well,” the trainer said, "when they are very young and much smaller, we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it's enough to hold them. As they grow up, they still believe they can not break away. They believe the rope can hold them, so they never try to break free.”
“How could it be?" said the man. These animals could at any time break free from ropes. But because they were always stuck right where they were, they believed they couldn't.
Just like the poor elephants, how many of us go through life believing that we can not do something, just because we failed at it once before?
Failing is part of learning.
36．Where were the animals kept?
A．In the circus. B．In the zoo C．In the fore D．In the park.
37．What does the underlined phrase "break away" mean?
A．击败 B．打破 C．挣脱 D．折断
38．How were the elephants held?
A．By a strong rope. B．In cages C．With chains. D．By a small rope.
39．Which of the following is NOT true?
A．The elephants were held in this way when they were young.
B．There were many kinds of animals in the circus.
C．The animals were trained to perform.
D．The elephants often escaped.
40．What can we learn from the passage?
A．Well begun is half done. B．The early bird catches the worm.
C．We should never give up. D．One tree can't make a forest.
 
这是一篇记叙文，文章讲述马戏团的动物小的时候被绳子捆住，等到它们长大仍然用相同的绳子捆住但是它们没有逃跑。由此启发读者失败只是学习的一部分，不要害怕失败，不能放弃。
36．A【解析】细节理解题。根据第一段“a man went to visit a circus in New York. He was able to walk around looking at the lions, monkeys, bears and other circus animals”可知动物在马戏团。故选A。
37．C【解析】词义猜测题。根据“a small rope tied to their front leg”可知break away from指的是“挣脱这些绳子”。故选C。
38．A【解析】细节理解题。根据第三段“these huge elephants were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg”可知大象被用绳子捆住了前腿。故选A。
39．D【解析】推理判断题。根据“when they are very young and much smaller, we use the same size rope to tie them”可知A选项表述正确。根据“looking at the lions, monkeys, bears and other circus animals” 可知B选项表述正确。根据“a circus”可知动物在马戏团里被训练，C选项表述正确。根据“these animals just stood there and didn't try to get away”可知动物没想过逃跑，D选项表述错误。故选D。
40．C【解析】推理判断题。文章讲述马戏团的动物小的时候被绳子捆住，等到它们长大仍然用相同的绳子捆住但是它们没有逃跑。根据“how many of us go through life believing that we can not do something, just because we failed at it once before”及“Failing is part of learning”可知文章启发读者失败只是学习的一部分，不要害怕失败，不能放弃。故选C。