The Story About Ravi

在日常生活中，我們常常在不經意間會接收到來自四面八方的信息，其中不乏未經證實的消息和謠言，如果我們不去證實就盲目地相信，會鬧出各種笑話。謠言止于智者，需要我們理性對待。

Ravi the teacher was walking home after a long day at school when he felt something uncomfortable in his throat. He coughed and coughed， and something came out of his mouth—it was a heron’s feather！

When he got home， he told his wife about it. His wife also felt strange and she promised she wouldn’t say a word.

When she went outside， their neighbor waved， “Have you heard any news today？”

“My husband was walking home and some heron feathers came out of his mouth！ But promise you won’t tell！” she replied.

The neighbor then went to buy some vegetables. He told the shopkeeper who loved to gossip （說三道四）. “You know what， Ravi was giving a lesson today and a whole heron suddenly came out of his mouth. " .”

Then the cook came into the shop. “Did you hear about that？” the shopkeeper said in a low voice， “Ravi was buying pencils in the village shop and suddenly a lot of herons flew out of his mouth！ Don’t tell others！”

The shopkeeper’s little boy heard this. He ran outside to tell his friends. Soon， the rumors （謠言） had spread throughout the town！

When Ravi walked into the classroom the next morning， all his pupils were looking at him quietly！

“Why are you all looking at me like that？” he asked.

“We heard that yesterday a heron flew out of your mouth， and some other kinds of birds too. And a river of water with fish of all kinds in it！ We want to see you do it again！” A boy spoke up.

Ravi sighed （嘆氣） and put his books on the desk. “Today’s lesson is a very important one！” he said. “I think you all need to learn it！”

跟蹤練習：

1. What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 2 refer to？

A. Ravi coughed and he might be badly ill.

B. Ravi had a strange feeling about his wife.

C. A heron’s feather came out of Ravi’s mouth.

D. A long school day made Ravi uncomfortable.

2. Which can be the best to fill in the blank “________” in Paragraph 5？

A. But it is true. " " " " B. But it’s a secret.

C. But he was tired. " " D. But everyone laughed.

3. In which order did the rumors develop？

A. ①③②④ B. ①④③② " " C. ③④①② D. ③①②④

文章解析：本文是一篇記敘文。文章講述了Ravi老師因喉嚨不適咳出了一根蒼鷺的羽毛，這一事件在鄰居、店主和孩子們之間傳播成了荒謬的謠言，最后Ravi老師決定借此機會給學生們上一堂重要的課。

答案解析：1.詞義猜測題。根據“He coughed and coughed， and something came out of his mouth—it was a heron’s feather！ When he got home， he told his wife about it.”可知，Ravi老師咳出了一根蒼鷺羽毛，他把這件事告訴了他的妻子，“it”指代“Ravi嘴里咳出了一根蒼鷺的羽毛”這件事。故選C。

2.推理判斷題。根據“But promise you won’t tell！”可知，Ravi的妻子讓鄰居別跟其他人講這件事，由此可知她會認為這件事是一個秘密，讓店主也別向其他人提及。選項B“但這是一個秘密”符合語境。故選B。

3.細節理解題。根據“My husband was walking home and some heron feathers came out of his mouth！”可知，Ravi的妻子對鄰居說Ravi老師嘴巴里冒出一些蒼鷺的羽毛；根據“Ravi was giving a lesson today and a whole heron suddenly came out of his mouth.”可知，鄰居對店主說Ravi老師嘴巴里冒出一整只蒼鷺；根據“a lot of herons flew out of his mouth！”可知，店主對廚師說Ravi老師嘴巴里冒出很多蒼鷺；根據“We heard that yesterday a heron flew out of your mouth， and some other kinds of birds， too. And a river of water with fish of all kinds in it！”可知，最后傳到學生們的耳朵是Ravi老師嘴巴里飛出一只蒼鷺，還有一些其他種類的鳥，還有一條河里的各種各樣的魚。由以上可知，圖片的正確順序是③①②④。故選D。