Two brothers, Herbert and James, lived with their mother and
a cat named Edgar. James was particularly attached to the cat, and
when he had to leave town for several days, he left Herbert
meticulous instructions about the pet' s care. At the end of this
first day away. James telephoned his brother. "How is Edgar?"

"Edgar is dead." Herbert answered. There was a pause. Then
James said, "Herbert, you're insensitive, you know how close I was
to Edgar -you should have broken the news to me slowly. When I asked
about Edgar tonight, you should have said, 'Edgar's on the roof ,
but I have cal led the f ire department to get him down - ' And
tomorrow when I called, you could have said the firwere having
trouble getting Edgar down, but you were hopeful they would succeed.
Then when I called the third time, you could have told me that the
fire-men have done their best, but unfortunately Edgar had fallen
off the roof and was at the veterinarian's. Then when I called the
last time, you could have said that although everything possible
had been done for Edgar, he had died. That's the way a sensitive
man would have told me about Edgar. And, oh, before I forget," James
added, "how is mother?"

"Oh," Herbert said, pausing for a moment, "She' s on the roof."

Notes:

(1) particularly adv.特别地
(2) be attached to 为爱或感情所束缚；爱慕；依恋
(3) meticulous adj.仔细的
(4) insensitive adj.感觉迟钝的
(5) fire department 消防部
(6) have trouble doing 做某事有困难
(7) unfortunately adj.不幸地
(8) veterinarian n.兽医（常可写为vet）
Exercises:
根据短文选择正确答案：

① How many people were there in the family?
A. two
B. three
C. four
D. five
② Who was greatly attached to the cat?
A. Herbert
B. James
C. the mother
D. Edgar

③ What did James ask Herbert to do when he had to leave town
for several days?
A. to take good care of Edgar
B. to take good care of his mother
C. to take good care of himself.
D. to take good care of the house
④ What happened to Edgar?
A. He was on the roof.
B. He fell off the roof.
C. He was at the veterinarian's.
D. He was dead.
⑤ From the passage we can see that_____ .
A. James didn't care about his mother as much as he cared about
the cat
B. the mother was dead
C. something was wrong with the roof of the house
D. Herbert was very angry with James

报丧方式
郝伯特和詹姆斯兄弟二人一起生活，家中有一老母并养了一只猫叫
埃德格。詹姆斯特别喜欢这只猫。有一次他要外出几天，临行前不厌其
烦地嘱咐郝伯特照顾好这只宠物。出门后的头一天晚上，他打来电话询
问：“埃德格好吗？”

“它死了，”郝伯格回答。一阵沉默之后，詹姆斯说：“郝伯特，
你真没心没肺，你知道我多么喜欢埃德格——你应该把这个消息慢慢地
告诉我。当我问起埃德格今晚怎样时，你应该说，‘埃德格爬上了屋顶，
我已给消防队打了电话，让他们把它救下来。’我明天又给你打电话时，
你应该说消防队营救埃德格遇到了困难，但你相信他们会成功。在我第
三天给你打电话时，你可以说消防队员已尽了最大努力，但很不幸，埃
德格从屋顶上掉了下来，被送到兽医那里。在我最后一次给你打电话询
问，你可以说尽管对埃德格做了一切所能做的努力，它还是死了。这是
一个富有感情的人告诉我埃德格的消息时所用的方式。哦，趁我没忘记
还有件事顺便问一下，”詹姆斯补充道，“母亲好吗？”

“哦..”一阵沉默后郝伯特答道，“她上了屋顶。”

At the mall, my wife and I picked up some hardware items,
including a handsaw. We were heading back to the car when we passed
a steakhouse.

Let's try it. " my wife suggested. Although I felt a little
foolish carrying the saw, I followed her inside.

Scanning the menu, my wife told the waitress, " I' 11 have
chopped sirloin, please.

The waitress turned to me, eyed my saw and commented, "And I
see that. you, sir, have come for our T-bone special.

Notes:

(1) mall n.集市
(2) pick up 得到；获得
(3) handsaw n.手锯
(4) scan v.匆匆地略看；扫视
(5) chop v.砍；劈；剁
(6) sirloin n.最好的牛腰肉
(7) comment v.评论；说话
Exercises:
根据短文填空：

① At the mall, my wife and I picked _____some hardware items,
including a handsaw.
② We were _____back to the car when we passed a steak house.
③ Although I felt a little foolish carrying the saw, I
followed her _____.
④ _____the menu, m wife told the waitress. " I' It have chopped
sirloin please.
⑤ The waitress turned to me, _____my saw and commented, "And
I see you, sir, have come for our T-bone special. "

手锯的用处
在集市上，我和妻子买了一些五金用品，包括一个手锯。我们返回
汽车时刚好路过一家牛排店。

“我们尝尝吧，”我妻子建议说。尽管我觉得拿着锯有点傻乎乎的，
但还是随她走了进去。

我妻子扫视了一下菜单对女招待说：“请给我来一份炒牛腰片。”

女招待转向我，看了看我的锯，说道：“我能看出，先生，你是来
吃我们的T 形骨特色菜的。”

Once I received a thank-you note from a friend whom I had helped.
In the envelope were five lottery tickets that had been scratched,
revealing the numbers. "Thank you very much for your help," the
note read. "As a gift, I bought you some lottery tickets- sorry
you didn't win. "

Notes:

(1) lottery n.彩票
(2) scratch v.刮
(3) reveal v.显出
Exercises:
根据短文判断下列句子正（T）、（F）：

① The author received a thank-you note from one of his
relatives.
② The author had helped one of his friends.
③ In the envelope were six lottery tickets.
④ The lottery tickets were given to the author as a gift.
⑤ The lottery tickets had not been scratched.

一封感谢信
有一次，我收到一封感谢信，是一个我曾帮助过的朋友寄来的。信
封内有五张彩票，都被刮过了，露出了数字。“非常感谢您的帮助，”
信上写道，“作为礼物，我给您买了些彩票——真遗憾，您没中奖。”

We attended the wedding of an acquaintance's son. Because we
did not know the young man or his bride, we decided to send them
a practical household gift, a fire extinguisher. Apparently, the
couple mass-produced their thank-you notes because we received a
card saying: "Thank you very much for the nice wedding gift. We
look forward to using it soon.

Notes:

(1) acquaintance n.熟人
(2) practical adj.实用的
(3) household n.全家的人
(4) extinguisher n.灭火器
(5) apparently adj.明显地
(6) mass-produce 大批量生产
Exercises:
根据短文选择正确答案：

① Whose wedding did the couple attend?
A. their friend's
B. the man's brother's
C. of an acquaintance's son
D. of the woman's sister
② Why did they decide to send them a fire extinguisher?
A. Because they did not know the young man or his bride.
B. Because they knew that soon there would be a fire.
C. Because it was practical.
D. A &C.
③ How were the thank-you notes produced?
A. They were written by hand
B. They were mass-produced.
C. They were copied on a machine.
D. They were painted in varied colors.
④ What does the last sentence mean?
A. We look forward to using it to put out a fire in our house
soon.
B. We'll put out the fire on our neighbour's house by using
it.
C. We'll send it to someone else.
D. We'll carry it wherever we go.

.漂亮的结婚礼物
我们参加了一个熟人的儿子的婚礼。由于我们都不认识那个年轻人


和他的新娘，所以我们决定送给他们一个实用的全家礼——一个灭火
器。很明显，这对新人大批量制作了他们的感谢信，因为我们收到了一
张卡片，上面写着：“非常感谢您的漂亮的结婚礼物，我们期待着不久
就用到它。”

Two Russian hunters meet. "I shot a gigantic bear yesterday,"

says Ivan. "Look at the hide!"
"How do you find such huge bears?" Sergei asks.
"Easy," says Ivan. "You stand in front of a cave and whistle.

When the bear comes out, you shoot."
Weeks later the two meet again. Sergei is covered in bandages.
"Didn't you follow my advice?" Ivan asks.
"Sure I did. I stood, in front of a cave and whistled, " Sergei

replies.
"And what came out?"
"To me, "says Sergei, "it looked like the Trans-Siberian

Express."

Notes:

(1) hide n.兽皮
(2) bandage n.绷带
(3) whistle v.吹哨子；鸣笛
(4) Trans-Siberian Express 穿越西伯利亚的快车
Exercises:
根据短文判断下列句子正（T）、（F）：

① Ivan shot a gigantic bear yesterday.
② Ivan showed Sergei the hide of the bear.
③ Ivan taught Sergei how to hunt huge bears.
④ Sergei didn't follow Ivan' s advice.
⑤ Sergei was hit by a train.

打猎的技巧

两个俄国猎人相遇。“我昨天打了一只巨熊，”伊凡说，“看看这

兽皮！”
“你是如何发现这么大的熊的？”谢尔盖问道。
“简单，”伊凡说，“你站在一个洞前并吹哨子。熊出来时你就开

枪。”
几周后，两人见面了。谢尔盖浑身缠满了绷带。“难道你没有听我
的建议？”伊凡问
“我当然是按你的建议做的。我站在一个洞前并吹哨子，”谢尔盖

回答说。
“出来了什么？”
“向着我来的，”谢尔盖说，“像是穿越西伯利亚的快车。”

At 2 a. m, Mrs. Culkin was convinced that she had heard a prowler
in the living, room. "Tiptoe down-stairs," she told her husband.
"Don' t turn on the lights. Sneak up him before he knows what's
happening

Dutifully Mr. Culkin put on his robe. Just as he reached the
bed room door, his wife added, "And when you come back, bring me
a glass of milk."

Notes:

(1) convince v.使信服
(2) prowler n.偷窃者
(3) tiptoe v.踮着脚走
(4) sneak v.潜行；偷偷走
(5) dutifully adv.尽职地
Exercises:
根据短文选择正确答案：

① When did the story happen?
② What was Mrs. Culkin convinced of?
③ How should Mr. Culkin catch the prowler, according to Mrs.
Culkin?
④ What did Mrs. Culkin tell her husband to do for her?
⑤ Do you think there was a prowler in the Culkins' house?

捎杯牛奶
半夜两点，科尔肯太太确信听到客厅有贼，便对丈夫说：“别开灯，
蹑手蹑脚下楼，别让贼发觉，悄悄靠近他。”

科尔肯先生披上外套，责无旁贷地去捉贼。刚走到卧室门口，他妻
子又补充说：“回来时给我捎杯牛奶。”

A man was standing at a corner, with a hat in each hand, waiting
for handouts. A passer-by stopped and dropped a coin in one hat,
then asked, "What's the other hat for?"

"Business has been so tremendous lately. " the man replied.
" that I decided to open a branch off ice . "

Notes:

(1) handout n. 施舍
(2) tremendous adj.极好的
Exercises:
根据短文判断下列句子正（T）、（F）：

① The man was sitting at a comer.
② Before the man, there were two hats on the ground
③ The man was waiting for a certain person.
④ The passer-by put a coin in each of the two hats
⑤ The man would really open a branch office.

分店
一个人站在墙角处，两手各托一顶帽子，乞求施舍。有个路过的行
人停下来，往一顶帽子里扔了一枚硬币，然后问道：“另一顶帽子是干
什么用的？”

“近来生意兴隆，我决定开一个分店，”那人答道。

Tommy hated school and was always bring for excuses not to go.

If he sneezed, he asked his mother to write a note saying he
had a cold.

If he had a headache, he asked his mother to take him to the
doctor during school hours.

He spent more time at home than he did at school.

On the days that he did go to school, he looked for excuses
to come home early.

One morning he came hum when the lessons were only halt
finished.

His father was surprised.

"You've come home early," he said. "Is. the school closed
today?"

"No, Dad, " Tommy said - "It's open. I came home early.

"How did you do that?" his father asked him. "What did you say
to the teacher?"

"I told her that I had a new baby brother and that I had to
come home and help you . "

"But your mother has had twins," his father said, "a boy and
a girl. You've got a baby brother and a baby sister."

"Yes, I know, Dad, " Tommy said. "I'm saving up my baby sister
for next week "

Notes:

(1) sneeze v.打喷嚏
(2) twins n.双胞胎
(3) save up 留着
Exercises:

根据短文选择正确答案：

①Tommy tried to find excuses for not going to school because
_____.

A. it made him sneeze
B. it gave him a headache
C. he was too busy
D. he didn't like it
② Tommy spent most of his time_____ .
A. at school
B. at home
C. at the doctor
D. in bed
③ When he did go to school, he_____ .
A. was always late

B. tried to leave early
C. was often in trouble
D. was always sick
④ He did not tell his teacher about the twins because_____ .
A. they were very young
B. he didn't know about them
C. he wanted to keep one of them for another excuse
D. they were too new
⑤ We can tell for sure that it is _____that is looking after
the twins.
A. the mother
B. Tommy
C. the father
D. the teacher

休假
汤姆讨厌上学，总是找借口不去上学。
如果他打喷嚏，他就叫他妈妈写个纸条说他感冒了。
如果他头痛，他就叫他妈妈在上课时间带他去看病。
他呆在家里的时间比在学校的时间要多。
在他的确去上学的日子里，他就找借口早点回家。
一天早上他上了一半课就从学校回来了。
他爸爸很惊讶。
“你回来很早，”他爸爸问，“今天学校放学了吗？”
“没有，爸爸，”汤姆说，“还没放学。我提前回来了。”
“你怎么会提前回来了？”爸爸问，“你对老师说什么了？”
“我告诉她我有了一个小弟弟，我得回家帮你。”
“但是你妈妈生了一对双胞胎，”爸爸说，“一个男孩，一个女孩。

你有一个小弟弟和一个小妹妹。”
“是的，我知道，爸爸，”汤姆说，“我要等下个星期再说我有个

小妹妹了。”

A man took a pair of shoes to a shoe repair shop and said to
the shoemaker, "I'd like you to repair these shoes for me, please."

"Certainly, sir," the shoemaker said.

"When will they be ready?" the man asked.

"I'm a bit busy, but they'll be ready for you on Thursday."
he said.

That's fine," the man said, and left the shop.

The next morning he received a letter, offering him a job in
another courtry. Within 24 hours he was on an airplane to his new
job.

Twenty years passed and he returned to his hometown.

He remembered his shoes.

"They were a good pair of shoes," he thought. "I wonder if
theshoemaker is still there and still has them. I'll go and

He was pleased to see that the shoemaker was still in the same
shop ,although he was an old man by now.

"Good morning," he said to him. "Twenty years ago, I brought
in a pair of shoes to be repaired. Do you think you've still got
them?"

"Name?" the old shoemaker asked.

"Smith," the man said.

"I'll go and see. They may be out back.

The shoemaker went out to the back of his shop -and a few minutes
later returned ,carring the pair of shoes.

"Here we are," he said. "One pair of brown shoes to be repaired.
I'm a bit busy now, but they'll probably be ready on Thursday."

Notes:

(1) pleased adj.愉快的；高兴的
(2) bring in 带来
Exercises:
根据短文选择正确答案：

① Why did the man go to a shoemaker?_____ .
A. They were old friends
B. He wanted him to make him a new pair of shoes
C. He wanted him to repair a pair of shoes
D. He had a very old pair of boots to repair
② Why didn't the man return to the shoe repair shop on
Thursday?
A. He forgot.
B. He went overseas.
C. He was too busy.

D. He knew the shoes would not be ready.
③ The man stayed away from his hometown_____ .
A. until Thursday
B. until the next morning
C. for about twenty years
D. for a few days
④ What did the man do when he returned to his hometown?
A. He looked for a new job.
B. he bought a new pair of shoes.
C. He visited all his friends.
D. He returned to the shoemaker to get his shoes.
⑤ The man finally found that_____ .
A. his shoes had been repaired
B. the shoemaker had lost his shoes
C. the shoemaker had already repaired the shoes
D. the shoes hadn't been repaired yet

.快速服务
一个人把一双鞋子拿到一家鞋店，并对修鞋匠说，“请帮我修这双

鞋子。”
“当然可以，先生，”鞋匠说。
“什么时候能修好？”那个人问。
“我有点忙，但到星期四我会修好鞋子的。”他说。
“很好，”那人说，并离开了那家店。
第二天早上，他收到一封信，提供他一份在国外的工作。24 小时内，

他登上飞机去接受那份新工作。
二十年过去了，他回到了故乡。
他记起了那双鞋。
“那是一双好鞋，”他想，“我想知道鞋匠是否还在那儿，是否还

有那双鞋。我要去看看。”
他很高兴看到鞋匠还在那家店里，虽然他已很老了。
“早上好，”他对鞋匠说，“二十年前，我拿了一双鞋子来修。你

记得还有那双鞋吗？”
“名字？”老鞋匠问。
“史密斯，”那人回答。
“我去瞧瞧，或许在后面呢。”
鞋匠回到店的后面去，几分钟后又回来了，手里提着那双鞋子，“在

这呢，”他说，“一双棕色的鞋子要修。我有点忙，但可以到星期四把
鞋子修好。”

The mothers of four priests got together and were discussing
their sons. "My son is a monsignor," said the first proud woman.
"When he enters a room, people say, 'Hello, Monsignor'."

The second mother went on, "My son is a bishop. When he enters
a room, people say, 'Hello, Your Excellency'."

"My son is a cardinal." continued the next one. "When he enters
a room, people say, 'Hello, Your Eminence'.

" The fourth mother thought for a moment. "My son is six-
foot-ten and weighs 300 pounds, " she said. "When he enters a room,
people say, 'Oh, my God'!"

Notes:

(1) priest n.基督教的教士；牧师
(2) monsignor n.阁下（对某些天主教教士的尊称）
(3) bishop n.主教（主管一城市或一教区之教务）
(4) Your Excellency 阁下（对主教的尊称）
(5) cardinal n.（天主教的）红衣主教（有权选举教皇）
(6) Your Eminence 对红衣主教的尊称
Exercises:
根据短文判断下列句子正（T）、（F）：

① The four mothers were all proud of their own sons.
② The second mother's son was a great lawer.
③ The third mother said that her son was a high official in
the
④ The fourth mother was ashamed of her son.
⑤ We can see from the passage that the fourth mother was the
cleverest.

谁的儿子最伟大
四位牧师的母亲聚到一起谈论她们的儿子。“我的儿子是个教士，”
第一位母亲自豪地说道，“他进入房间，人们都说，‘您好，阁下’。”

第二为母亲说：“我的儿子是住主教。他进入房间，人们都称，‘您
好，大人’。”

“我的儿子是位红衣主教，”第三位母亲接着说，“他走进房间，
人们都说，‘您好，尊敬的主教大人’。”

第四位母亲略思片刻。“我的儿子身高六英尺十，体重三百磅，”
她说，“他要是走入房间，人们都说‘哦，我的上帝’！”