There was a young painter who made a living by painting portraits（肖像）. One day, a rich man asked him to paint a portrait for him and promised to pay him 10,000 dollars.
After a week, the rich man came to take the painting, but he was not pleased with it. He told the young painter, “I will only pay 3,000 dollars for this painting”.
The young painter was angry. He argued with the rich man, hoping the rich man would keep his word.
The rich man thought, “The man in the painting is me. If I don’t buy this painting, no one else will buy it.” So he said, “I will ask you one last time: will you sell it for 3,000 dollars?”
The young painter said firmly（坚定地）, “No. This is a shame for me! I would prefer not to sell it, rather than be humiliated by you. Someday, you will pay 20 times the cost for breaking your promise.”
After that, the painter worked hard day and night. Finally, he became well-known in the art world.
The rich man forgot about the artist and what he had told him. But one day, some friends told him, “There is a painting selling for 200,000 dollars and the man in the painting looks exactly like you. It has a name of 'Thief（贼）”.
Then, the rich man remembered the artist. He quickly went to say sorry and paid 200,000 dollars to buy the portrait. The young painter made the rich man lower his head in the end.
36. The rich man would only pay 3,000 dollars for the painting because ________.
A. he didn't have 10.000 dollars
B. he wasn't very satisfied with it
C. he thought others would buy it
37. The painter became famous by________.
A. working hard B. making friends C. making a lot of money
38. The underlined word “humiliated” means “________” in Chinese.
A. 欺骗 B. 吓唬 C. 羞辱
39. The man in the painting with the name “Thief” is ________.
A. the artist B. the rich man C. the rich man's friend
40. What happened at the end of the story?
A. The rich man kept his promise.
B. The rich man fought with the painter.
C. The rich man was punished by the painter.
本文主要讲述了画家因为富人不信守诺言而惩罚他的故事。
36.B【解析】细节理解题。根据第二段中“After a week, the rich man came to take the painting, but he was not pleased with it. He told the young painter, ‘I will only pay 3,000 dollars for this painting’.”可知，一个星期后，富人来取画，但他对它不满意。所以富人只愿意付3000美元。故选B。
37.A【解析】细节理解题。根据倒数第三段中“After that, the painter worked hard day and night. Finally, he became well-known in the art world.”可知，在那之后，画家夜以继日地努力工作。最终，他在艺术界名声大噪。所以他是通过努力工作成名的。故选A。
38.C【解析】词句猜测题。根据“No. This is a shame for me! I would prefer not to sell it, rather than be humiliated by you. Someday, you will pay 20 times the cost for breaking your promise.”可知，画家觉得3000元卖掉这幅画对他来说是耻辱，所以推测此处humiliated是羞辱的含义。故选C。
39.B【解析】推理判断题。分析“There is a painting selling for 200,000 dollars and the man in the painting looks exactly like you. It has a name of ‘Thief（贼）’”可知，富人的朋友告诉他说有一幅画卖20万美元，画里的人跟富人长得一模一样。画的名字叫“贼”。所以“贼”指的是富人。故选B。
40.C【解析】细节理解题。A：富人信守了诺言；B：富人与画家斗争；C：富人被画家惩罚了。根据全文内容及最后一段中“He quickly went to say sorry and paid 200,000 dollars to buy the portrait. The young painter made the rich man lower his head in the end.”可知，富人很快就去道歉，然后花20万美元买下了这幅画像。这位年轻的画家最终使那位富人低下了头。所以画家最终惩罚了富人。故选C。