On a Friday night, a poor young artist stood at the gate of the New York railway station, playing his
violin. The music was so great that many people stopped to put some money into the hat of the young
man.
The next day, the young artist came to the same place, and put his hat on the ground gracefully.
Different from the day before, he took out a large piece of paper and laid it under his hat. Then he began
to play the violin. It sounded more pleasant than ever.
Soon he was surrounded with people who were attracted by the words on that paper. It said, "Last
night, a gentleman named George Sang put an important thing into my hat by mistake. Please come to
claim (认领) it soon."
After about half an hour, a middle-aged man rushed through the crowd to the violinist and said, "Yes,
it's you. I knew that you were an honest man and would certainly come here." The young violinist asked
calmly, "Are you Mr George Sang?" The man nodded. The violinist asked, "Did you lose something?"
"It's a lottery ticket," said the man. The violinist took out a lottery ticket on which George Sang's name
was seen. "Is it?" he asked. George nodded and took the lottery ticket and kissed it, then danced with
the violinist.
The violinist was a student at an arts college and had planned to attend advanced studies in Vienna.
Later his classmate asked the violinist,"At that time you needed money to pay the tuition and you had to
play the violin in the railway station every day to make money. Why didn't you keep the lottery ticket for
yourself?"
The violinist said, "Although I don't have much money, I live happily. But if I lose honesty I won't be
happy forever." Through our lives, we can gain a lot and lose so much. But being honest should always
be with us.
1. According to the words on the paper, which sentence below is TRUE?
A. It asked a gentleman named George Sang to claim his hat.
B. It asked a gentleman named George Sang to claim his important thing.
C. It was a lottery ticket and he needed to find the owner.
D. It was a lottery ticket and the owner is unknown.
2. The artist didn't take the lottery ticket for himself because he ____.
A. chose to be honest
B. didn't need the money
C. thought the lottery was worth nothing
D. was afraid of blame if he kept it for himself
3. From this article, we can learn that ____.
A. we should share with others if we find something valuable
B. we should know the importance of honesty and lead a happy life
C. keep the lottery if you find one
D. playing the violin could make you feel happy
