During his years, American author Mark Twain noted that "life would be surely happier if we could only be born at the age of 80 and gradually approach 18". Twain's words were only one of many complaints about aging that have been recorded for as long as humans have feared the downside of a long life. The ancient Greek poet Homer called old age"hateful", and William Shakespeare termed it "terrible winter".
Alexander the Great, who conquered most of the known world before he died around 323 BC, may have been looking for a river that treated the damage of age. During the 12th century AD, a king known as Prester John ruled a land that had a river of gold and a fountain of youth.
But the name linked most closely to the search for a fountain of youth is 16th-century Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León, who thought it would be found in Florida. In St. Augustine, the oldest city in the US, there's a tourist attraction that purports(标榜) to be the fountain of youth that Ponce de León discovered soon after he arrived in what is now Florida in 1513. However,elderly visitors who drink the spring's water don't turn into teenagers.
But the tale of the search for a fountain of youth is so attracting that it survives anyway, says Ryan K. Smith, a professor of history. "People are more interested by the story of looking and not finding it than they are by the idea that the fountain might be out there somewhere."
Still, a few grains of truth have helped the story. Kathleen Deagan, a professor,says a cemetery(墓地) and the remains of a Spanish mission dating back to St. Augustine's founding in 1565 have been discovered near the so-called fountain of youth. Michelle Reyna, a spokesperson for the Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park in St. Augustine, says the fountain has been a tourist attraction since at least the 1900s and may have been attracting visitors since the 1860s.
【小题1】Who is the most famous to look for the fountain of youth?
A.A king known as Prester John. |
B.Ryan K. Smith,a professor of history. |
C.Alexander the Great. |
D.Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León. |
【小题2】What is the attitude of people towards the fountain of youth?
A.People find much pleasure in looking for it. |
B.People believe the existence of it. |
C.People have no interest in searching for it. |
D.People consider the idea of the fountain of youth to be absurd. |
【小题3】The earliest city was built in America in _____.
【小题4】The passage is mainly about ______.
A.where the fountain of youth comes from |
B.why some famous people hate becoming old |
C.how people can remain young forever |
D.whether the fountain of youth exists |