Question

Fast Food Courier Wins Poetry Competition

Lei Haiwei, a 37-year-old fast food courier (送急件的人)from Hunan province won the championship in a televised Chinese poetry knowledge competition, winning fans over with his true love for poems.

“My interest in poems began as early as I was 6 years old,” Lei said after winning the competition.

Lei Haiwei was born in a village of Dongkou county, Shaoyang city. He inherited (继承) his father Lei Changgen’s love of poems. The elder Lei put poetry on the kitchen wall for his son to read throughout childhood.

“My father hoped I would grow up to be a man who keeps the mountains, rivers, lakes and seas in mind,” the courier said.

In the father’s small house, there is a four-story bookshelf, the top of which is filled with poetry books. Lei Haiwei showed great interest in Chinese culture when he was a child. Every time his father told him the stories behind each poem, he was totally attracted. He enjoyed reading poems.

In 2001, the younger Lei graduated from a technical secondary school and found a job in Shanghai. Lei began to read books related to poems at bookstores or libraries in his spare time, since he didn’t have enough money to buy many. The young man also developed a habit of reciting poems he liked, writing down them after returning home.

Though Lei came to Hangzhou city in 2008 and works as a fast food courier, his love for poems hasn’t faded (减退). On his busiest work days, the courier has to deliver more than 50 orders a day, earning up to 9,000 yuan a month. Even so, he seized any available moment to recite poems.

“For example, I am used to reciting poems when I wait for food at restaurants, and traffic lights on my way to deliver food. Reciting poems not only enriches my knowledge, but also makes my job less boring,” the courier said.

As for his future plans, the courier said he will stick to reading and reciting poems.

1.When did Lei Haiwei begin to be interested in poems?

A. At the age of 6. B. At the age of 37.

C. At the age of 50. D. At the age of 16.

2.Why did Lei Haiwei read books at bookstores or libraries?

A. Because he could write down poems there.

B. Because he won the championship in a competition.

C. Because he could talk about poems with others there.

D. Because he didn’t have enough money to buy many books.

3.What does Lei Haiwei think of reciting poems?

A. It helps him get more money.

B. It makes his job more boring.

C. It makes him busier with his job.

D. It helps him get more knowledge.

Answer 1