I Want a Computer
我想要一臺電腦
It is Christmas Day. Tom asks his mother for a computer. But Tom is naughty (淘氣的) and doesn’t do well in his lessons. His mother can’t refused him directly, so she says, “Tom, write a letter to God. If you have done good things, God will give you a computer.”
Tom begins to write to God, “Dear God, I’m your lovely Tom. I have done many good things this year. It is Christmas Day now, and I wish that you can give me a computer. Yours Tom.”
But Tom feels it is not true. So he writes another letter, “Dear God, I’m Tom. I have done something bad this year, but I knew I’m wrong. I wish that you can give me a computer. Yours Tom.”
Still, Tom thinks it is not good. So he writes the third letter, “Dear God, it is me, Tom. Yes, I have done many bad things, but I always wish that you can give me a computer. Little Tom.”
So Tom goes to the church with the third letter. When he sees the statues (雕像) of the Virgin Mary and Jesus, he writes the fourth letter and carries the statue of the Virgin Mary home and puts it under the bed. The next day, the priest (牧師) finds a letter under the statue of Jesus. It says, “Jesus, your mother is in my hand. If you want to see her again, give me a computer. You know who I am.”
閱讀短文后判斷下列各題正(T)誤(F)。
( )1. Tom’s mother will give him a computer if Tom writes a letter to God.
( )2. Tom doesn’t do well in his lessons.
( )3. Tom writes three letters to God.
( )4. Jesus is Virgin Mary’s mother.
50 Dollars and a life
50美元和一條命
Bill and his wife, Martha, went to the state plane exhibition every year and every year Bill would say, “Martha, I’d like to ride in that plane.” Martha always replied, “I know, Bill, but that plane ride costs 50 dollars, and 50 dollars is 50 dollars.”
One year Bill and Martha went to the plane exhibition and Bill said, “Martha, I’m 81 years old. If I don’t ride in that plane, I might never get another chance.”
Martha replied, “Bill, that plane ride costs 50 dollars, and 50 dollars is 50 dollars.”
The pilot (飛行員) overheard (無意中聽到) them and said, “You both, I’ll make you a deal. I’ll take you both up for a ride. If you can stay quiet for the entire ride and do not say one word, I won’t ask you for any money. But if you say one word, it’s 50 dollars.” Bill and Martha agreed.
The pilot did all kinds of twists and turns (迂回曲折), but not a word was heard. When they landed, the pilot turned to Bill and said, “My dear, I did everything I could think of to get you to call out, but you didn’t.”
Bill replied, “Well, I was going to say something when Martha fell out, but 50 dollars is 50 dollars!”
閱讀短文后回答下列問題。
5. How much did the plane ride cost?
6. How could Bill and Martha take the plane paying no money?
7. Why didn’t Bill tell the pilot that Martha fell out when they were flying?
A Farmer and His Son
一個農(nóng)民和他的兒子
Mr White is a clever farmer. He always wants to become rich and has found a lot of ways. But he’s lazy and wouldn’t do anything. So he often fails. Most of his neighbors have got rich and built new houses. But he still lives in a short, wet house. His wife is angry with him and his son doesn’t respect him.
One day, a fat pig of Mr Black’s was ill and soon died. Of course, Mr Black was very sad for it. He dug a hole in his garden and buried it. Mr White saw it all through his window. That night he woke his son up, went to the garden behind his house and took the dead pig out of the hole. The next morning Mr White and his son took the pork to the town. Before he sold the pork in the market, Mr White said to the boy, “Don’t tell anybody that we’re selling the pork of a dead pig, Michael.”
An hour and a half passed, but little pork was sold. Mr White and his son began to be worried. Just then a woman came to them. She looked at the pork carefully, thinking whether she would buy a little. Michael said in a hurry, “Don’t be afraid, Madam! It isn’t the pork of a dead pig!”
Having heard this, the woman began to look at the pork more carefully and then went away. Mr White got angry and shouted at Michael, “Shut up, or I’ll give you a good beating!”
閱讀短文后選擇正確答案完成下列各題。
( )8. Mr White didn’t become rich because
.
A. he was clever
B. he would do everything
C. he was lazy
( )9. Why did Mr White take the dead pig out of the hole?
A. Because he wanted to eat the pig.
B. Because he had nothing to do.
C. Because he wanted to take the pork to the town and sell it.
( )10. Why did the woman go away?
A. Because she thought the pork was too expensive.
B. Because she looked at the pork carefully and found it was fresh.
C. Because she thought it was the pork of a dead pig.
Keys:
1~4 FTFF5. 50 dollars.
6. If they could stay quiet for the entire ride and do not say one word, they could pay no money.
7. Because if Bill said a word, he would pay 50 dollars.
8~10 CCC