Edward Sims was born in 1892． He was the fifth child and only son of Herbert and Dora Sims． Herbert was a carpenter （木匠）， and did a successful business making furniture． He decided that his first-born son would be a carpenter just like him． For this reason， Edward was kept away from school and worked with his father．
    However， Edward was not born to be a carpenter． Although he had a fit body， he didn't have strong arms like his father． When he tried to find another job， he found it difficult because he had never learnt to read or write．
    One day， he went for an interview at a law office． The job was a runner， taking papers from the office to other offices in the city． The lawyer was pleased to see that Edward was physically fit， but when he discovered that the young man couldn't read or write， he decided not to employ him． "How can you deliver documents to other offices，" he asked， "if you can't read the addresses on them？"
    Greatly disappointed， Edward left the building and went to wait for a bus to take him back home． Next to the bus stop， a man was selling newspapers from a stand （攤位）．
    "Excuse me， young man？" he said． "Would you look after my stand for a moment？"
    For the next 20 minutes， Edward sold newspapers， lots of them． When the man came back， he was so happy to see his new assistant's honesty that he offered him a job． Edward took it immediately．
    In the next few months， the two men progressed from working on newspaper stands to selling newspapers， cigarettes， candy and other goods in a shop． Then they opened a second shop， and a third． Finally， they had a chain of 25 shops in three cities．
    Edward became very rich， so he employed a private teacher to teach him read and write． The teacher was amazed at what Edward had achieved． "Imagine what you could do if you were able to read and write when you were younger!" he said．

（1）What was Edwards' father？

He was a carpenter

He was a carpenter

．
（2）Why was Edward kept away from school？Because his father

decided that his first-born son would be a carpenter just like him

decided that his first-born son would be a carpenter just like him

．
（3）Was it easy for Edward to find another job？

No，it wasn't

No，it wasn't

．
（4）How did Edward feel when he was refused by the lawyer？

He was greatly disappointed

He was greatly disappointed

．
（5）What did the man selling newspapers ask Edward to help him？He asked Edward

to look after his stand for a moment

to look after his stand for a moment

．
（6）How long did it take the two men to progress from working on newspaper stands to selling newspapers and other goods in a shop？

A few months.

A few months.

．
（7）What do you think Edward could do if he was able to read and write when he was younger？

He could be richer and more successful

He could be richer and more successful

．