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【阅读理解】Reading: The Digger Who Never Finished
Eli was a corporal in nobody's army.
He lived alone in a habitable valley where the border between forest and farm was always vague.
His contemporaries called him odd.
He did not mind.
He had a theory, and it would not let him rest.
On Monday, he began digging.
The soil was primitive and full of stuff no one could name.
He had to excavate carefully.
A tiny iris grew near the fence.
He did not want to victimise it.
Beneath the ground, he hoped to find the core of an old idea.
"Every plant is sentient in its own way," he said.
"We just lack the ability to notice."
He had no warrant for this claim.
But it was a promising basis.
He planted three seeds.
He gave them water, not too much.
He did not resort to chemicals.
He wanted to ascertain whether a molecule could carry memory.
The work was tedious.
Yet a spontaneous joy would germinate in him each morning.
He felt a strange impetus to continue.
His neighbour, Mara, watched from her window.
She was skeptical.
"You rely on imagination, not evidence," she said.
"That interpretation will lead you astray."
Eli smiled.
He was conscious of his own limits.
Still, he could not forfeit this chance.
A month passed.
One seed failed.
One grew into a typical weed.
The third, however, did something conspicuous.
Its leaves turned toward the sun with an almost conscious flexibility.
The change was noticeable.
It seemed to mimic an animal.
Eli called Mara.
She came, reluctantly.
"This is not a substitution for real science," she said.
"But I admit it is distinct. I cannot elucidate it."
She paused.
"You have contrived something odd here."
Then came the turn.
A storm rolled in.
It was a major, world-wide weather event.
Rain churned the soil.
The plant was torn apart.
Eli was desperate.
He knelt in the mud.
He did not weep.
He simply said, "The experiment is over."
But the next spring, small shoots appeared.
Not one. Not two.
They had tripled.
The plant had survived.
It had integrated itself into the ecological sphere.
The old man was triumphant.
"So," he said, "what is essential is not the result. It is the question we keep asking."
He did not become eminent.
He did not achieve notoriety.
But his small discovery had a lasting effect.
Students came to study the soil.
They tried to distill its secrets.
They asked him for advice.
"Be patient," he told them.
"And be careful with your definition of intelligence."
The valley stayed quiet.
The forest and the farm still blurred at the edge.
Eli kept digging until the end.
He never finished the work.
That, he said, was the point.
Questions
1. What did Eli hope to find beneath the ground?
A. The core of an old idea. B. A rare species of iris. C. A hidden treasure of seeds. D. A source of clean water.
2. What was Mara's initial reaction to Eli's experiment?
A. She was enthusiastic and offered help. B. She was indifferent and ignored him. C. She was skeptical and doubted his evidence. D. She was angry and told him to stop.
3. The word "conspicuous" in the passage is closest in meaning to:
A. Hidden B. Noticeable C. Temporary D. Dangerous
4. What can be inferred about Eli's attitude towards his work?
A. He believed his experiment was a complete failure. B. He cared more about fame than discovery. C. He was discouraged by Mara's criticism and gave up. D. He valued the process of inquiry over immediate results.
5. Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
A. The Scientist Who Proved a Theory B. The Storm That Destroyed a Valley C. The Farmer Who Found Fame D. The Digger Who Never Finished