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【阅读理解】Reading: The Painter and the Commuter
Tomas was a potter, not a politician.
His workshop stood behind a bakery, and the smell of clay clung to his hands like a stubborn glove.
He had one ambition: to be remembered the way a folk song is remembered.
That ambition made him curious about ordinary things.
Every afternoon he would carry his wheel to the market square and watch people pass.
He loved what others ignored: a cracked paving stone, a delivery bike, a child's lost mitten.
His friends grew tired of his talk about shadows.
Some called his pots crude; others said they were elegant.
A gallery owner in the capital praised his 'honest touch', and Tomas began to produce more: ten pots, then fifty, then two hundred.
He would wrestle with glaze as if glaze were a living thing.
Then a researcher named Elin visited his studio.
She had just completed a study in 15 towns, asking 3,000 residents one question: how does your daily commute affect your mood?
Nearly half said the journey was the most draining part of their day.
Her earlier data showed that long commutes reduced leisure time and increased irritability.
The key factor, she believed, was not distance but unpredictability.
Where bus lanes were added, patience rose and small acts of kindness increased.
Tomas listened closely.
For him, this was not an abstract problem.
It became the subject of his next series.
He would no longer make pots for their own sake.
He would shape the weight of the wait, the frustration of delays, the prevalence of hurry.
He would press a critique into the clay itself.
He would weave the individual with the system.
He would capture a whole journey in one fired vessel.
He would show a common illusion: that speed equals freedom.
The result would be fitting for the age.
He would not copy a single photograph.
He would work from memory and from the body.
The next pot was a girl on a bus, eyes shut in sleep, or boredom, or pain — one could not tell.
A man stands over her, resembling a prince in a fairy tale.
The symbolism is clear enough, but nothing is sentimental.
By the time the exhibition opened, the city's culture had shifted.
Buses were back. Walking was in.
The car had been demoted from hero to helper.
His pots were read as preventative propaganda, though he had not intended that.
Critics said his vision revolved around one insight: the ordinary trip is where society is decided, and anyone who is unbiased can see it.
Sales remained weak.
He remained, in a manner of speaking, poor.
Even so, he was not unhappy.
The quality of a pot cannot be easily measured, and he knew it.
That is the whole story.
Nothing dramatic; just a man with clay, a woman with data, and a city that finally looked at its own reflection.
Questions
1. What was Tomas's main ambition?
A. To become a politician B. To open a gallery in the capital C. To be remembered like a folk song D. To make pots for money
2. What did Elin's study find about commuters?
A. Most enjoyed their daily journey B. Commutes had no effect on mood C. Nearly half said the journey was the most draining part of their day D. Longer commutes increased leisure time
3. What does the word 'draining' in paragraph 4 most nearly mean?
A. Exciting B. Tiring C. Cheap D. Short
4. Why did Tomas change his art after meeting Elin?
A. He wanted to copy photographs B. He wanted to make more money C. He was tired of making pots D. He was inspired to address commuting as a social issue
5. What is the best title for the passage?
A. The Fall of the Car B. How to Make Pots C. The Potter and the Commuter D. A Study of 15 Towns