【小阅读^大脑袋】0823 NO.404

Topping the class academically was certainly an advantage. Studying was a breeze for Nigel. The reward was certainly incomparable to the little effort that he had to put it. It began when he was selected to help the teachers in the computer laboratories.

The peak of his school career came not when he topped the school but when he was selected for the nationwide competition. Unlike everyone else, Nigel wanted to join the contest because he liked playing with the Lego sets and making something out of them. Nigel spent the next two months rebuilding the robot. It was during the time that Nigel found out about the prizes for the competition as well as another competitor, Alicia, from a neighboring school. His early intentions were forgotten.

Getting the thousand-dollar prize was more important than anything else. Nigel decided to befriend Alicia. Unaware of his intentions, she told him all about the robot that she had been building for the competition. He even helped her to put the finishing branches to her robot. He was glad with the way things had progressed. His robot looked even better than Alicia’s and it was able to bounce a ball with its arms, something Alicia had failed to do.

On the day of the competition, he saw Alicia. Everything dawned on her the minute she saw him among the competition. She stared at him, puzzled at first, then angry and finally a look of helplessness came over her.

The flashbulbs of the camera exploded in Nigel’s face. The robot had performed actions so unique and different that the specialist judgments were the same. Nigel was so pleased with himself that he did not even notice the girl standing a few feet away from him. Without her, he would never have won the competition.
CDA
答案解析：
1. Nigel’s original intention of joining the contest was to ___.
A. be the top student of the school
B. being great honor to his school
C. constructs a robot with the Lego sets
D. wins the thousand-dollar prize
解析：C正确
奈杰尔起初参加比赛的目的是什么？
Unlike everyone else, Nigel wanted to join the contest because he liked playing with the Lego sets and making something out of them.起初他只是因为喜欢玩乐高才参加。

 

2. Why did Nigel help Alicia finish her robot?
A. He tried to make friends with her
B. He was fond of building robots
C. He intended to help her
D. He didn’t want her to suspect him
解析：D正确
奈杰尔为什么要帮助艾莉西亚完成她的机器人？
奈杰尔在得知比赛的奖励之后，一心只想获胜。他和艾莉西亚交朋友的目的也是为了赢得比赛。所以他帮助她完成机器人也是取得对方信任的手段，让对方觉得他是真正的朋友。

3. What is the author’s attitude towards Nigel’s actions?
A. He is mildly critical
B. He is strongly critical
C. He is in favor of them
D. His attitude is not clear
解析：A正确
作者对待奈杰尔的行为的态度是什么？
作者似乎只是在讲述这样一件事情，不过从艾莉西亚的反应上可以看出作者对奈杰尔的批判。通过所描述的人物来达到教育的目的，这种方式比较含蓄婉转。

参考译文：
学习成绩在班级名列前茅自然是有好处的。学习对于奈杰尔来说是小菜一碟。与他为此所付出的微乎其微的努力相比，这份奖励可是相当贵重。奖励以他被选到电脑实验室帮助老师开始。

他的校园传奇的巅峰不在于他在全校成绩名列前茅，而是他被推举参加国家比赛。与其他人不同的是，奈杰尔参加比赛是因为他喜欢玩乐高，喜欢用乐高拼装东西。奈杰尔在接下来的两个月里重新组装机器人。正是在那个时候，奈杰尔获悉比赛奖励和另外一名竞争对手，来自邻校的艾莉西亚。他最初的目的已经被抛诸脑后。获得这个千元大奖比什么都要重要。奈杰尔决定和艾莉西亚交朋友。没有察觉到他的意图，她将自己参赛所做的制作都告诉了他。他甚至帮她安装最后的部件。他很满意事情的进展。他的机器人看起来甚至比艾莉西亚的还要好，它的胳膊还可以拍球。这是艾莉西亚的机器人做不到的。

比赛当天，他看见了艾莉西亚。当她看见他在比赛队伍中，真相浮出水面了。她盯着他，起初疑惑，然后愤怒，最终她的脸上呈现出了无助的表情。

照相机的闪光灯在奈杰尔的脸上跳跃。机器人的表演独特，与众不同，专家们的评价一致。奈杰尔沉浸在自己的喜悦中，并没有注意到站在离他几英尺处的那个女孩。没有她，他不可能赢得比赛。

 

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词汇及短语：
top: vt.超过; 胜过; 高过
academically : 学术上,学理上
breeze: n. 微风, 轻风; vi. 吹微风,漫不经心地行动
例：He breezed through the task.
他轻快地完成了那项工作。
incomparable：无敌的, 无比的
peak：最高点, 最高水平; 高峰
nationwide: adj. & adv. 全国范围的; 全国性的; 在全国
Lego：垒高拼装玩具（商标名称）
乐高玩具 (LEGO) 　　1932年，丹麦木匠奥尔•科克•克里斯蒂安森发明了一种可以互相拼插的塑料玩具，并将“Leg” 和“Godt”（丹麦语“玩得好”）合在一起，创造了“lego”（乐高）这一品牌。巧合的是“lego”在拉丁语中的意思是“拼在一起”。
rebuild：重建, 重新组装
competitor：竞争者, 对手, 敌手
unware：不察觉的,不知道的
progress：vt. & vi. (使)进步; (使)进行
bounce：vt. & vi. 弹回
dawn：vi. 破晓; (天)刚亮;开始出现
specialist：专家, 行家