中考真题2025年江苏省盐城市阅读理解D-小王子与地理学家
The sixth planet was ten times larger than the last one. There
the little prince met an old gentleman who was writing a big book.
“What is that big book?” said the little prince. “What are you doing?”
“I am a geographer,” the old gentleman said to him. “And I am writing about all the seas, mountains and deserts.”
“That is interesting,” said the little prince. “So could you tell me something about your planet?”
“I couldn’t tell you,” said the geographer. “But you are a geographer!”
“Exactly,” the geographer said. “But I am not an explorer. We don’t have any explorers here.
I don’t go out to count the seas, mountains and deserts. Instead, I receive explorers from other planets in my study. I ask them questions, and I write down their answers.”
The geographer’s eyes suddenly shone with excitement.
“But you... you come from far away! You are an explorer! You shall describe your planet to me!”
“Oh, where I live,” said the little prince, “it is all so small. I have a flower on my planet.”
“We do not record flowers,” said the geographer.
“Why is that? The flower is the most beautiful thing on my planet!”
“We do not record them,” said the geographer, “because they are ephemeral.”
“What does that mean... ‘ephemeral’?”
“Geographies,” said the geographer, “are the books about eternal things. The thing that matters to us is the mountain. It doesn’t change. But your flower is different. It will not last long. It is ephemeral.”
“My flower is ephemeral,” the little prince said to himself, “and I have left her on my planet, all alone!”
That was his first moment of regret. But he took courage and asked, “What place would you advise me to visit now?”
“The planet Earth,” replied the geographer. “I promise you will like it.”
And the little prince went away, thinking of his flower.
——Adapted from The Little Prince