发布时间 : 星期一 文章大学英语精读第一册更新完毕开始阅读
―Say, kid,‖it said, ―do you know a boy named Lennie Steffens?‖ ―Yes,‖I spluttered through my tears. ―That‘s me.‖
―Well,‖he said, ―then this your horse.I‘ve been looking all over for you and your house.Why don‘t you put your number where it can be seen?‖
―Get down ,‖I said,running out to him.I wanted to ride.He went on saying something about ―ought to have got here at seven o‘clock,but--‖
I hardly heard,I could scarcely wait.I was so happy,so thrilled.I rode off up the street.Such a beautiful pony.And mine!After a while I turned and trotted back to the stable.There was the family,father,mother,sisters,all working for me,all happy.They had been putting in place the tools of my new business:currycomb,brush,pitchfork—everything,and there was hay in the loft.
But that Christmas,which my father had planned so carefully,was it the best or the worst I ever knew?He often asked me that;I never could answer as a boy.I think now that it was both.It covered the whole distance from broken-hearted misery to bursting happiness—too fast.A grown-up could hardly have stood it. Ⅰ.Answer the following questions:
1. What did the boy want as a Christmas present from his parents?
2. Why did his sisters come so cheerful and he so miserable after they got up
that Christmas morning?
3. What was the reaction of his sisters ,his mother and his father when they
found him in a miserable mood?
4. What did the boy see after sitting on the front steps for an hour or two? 5. What made him break into tears?
6. For whom was the man on the pony looking?
7. Why was the man late in delivering the pony to the boy? 8. How did the boy feel when he got his pony?
9. What made Lennie Steffens later think that Christmas was both the best
and the worst he ever knew?
10. Retell the story from the point of view of the father. 11. Do you think the boy a little spoiled?
Support your answer with examples the text.
12. Have you ever experienced anything that first made you miserable and
then very happy?If you have,tell it to the class.
Ⅱ.The whole family objected violently _____ I said that I was going ____ Europe over the Christmas holidays with a college friend of ___ .Mother said that since there was going to be a ___ reunion,I really ought to _____ at home.Although I always enjoyed these occasions,nothing ____ persuade me to change my ______.
A week before ___ ,my friend and I flew to Madrid and then traveled ____ train through Spain,France and Germany._____ Christmas Eve we arrived in a small town ___ southern Germany and were amazed to ___ so much activity in the town.The streets were crowded ______ people,and the shops were full of all ___ of interesting things.We walked around ___ hours and then just before midnight we went to ____
to Christmas songs __ by children around the brightly lit tree in the main square.We returned ______ our hotel late that night,looking forward __ the next day when we planned to have Christmas dinner _____ the best restaurant in town._____ ,in the morning the streets were deserted.To make matters worse,everything was closed upright—even the ____ .We searched in vain______ hours and finally had to return ___ our hotel _____ unhappy and lonely.Our Christmas ―feast‖ was a sack of fruit _____my friend had happened to buy the day _____.Our thoughts sadly turned to home ___ at that moment,our families must ______ been wishing us a ―______ Christmas‖!
Reading Comprehension
An English Christmas
Christmas Day,December 25th,celebrates the birth of Christ,and is thus the greatest of Christian festivals.However,many people feel that the religious meaning of Christmas is diminished by the commercialisation(商业化) of it.
As Christmas draws near, the big shops stay open long after dark,and get more and more crowded.Everyone is buying Christmas presents for friends and relations.
The home is decorated with colourful paper chains,leaves of holly and mistletoe(槲寄生),and attractive greeting cards received through the post from friends.In the corner there may be a Christams tree with its branches decorated with shinning ornaments such as coloured lights and glass balls,and sometimes hung with gifts.
On Christmas Eve,it is said,Father Christmas,also called Santa Claus,brings presents but only to good children.He knows just what every child wants,and he brings it all in a great sack.On Christmas Eve,when the children are asleep,he comes silently down the chimney and leaves the presents near their beds.
Christmas Eve comes at last.When the children go to bed they often hang up a large stocking or a pillow-case to receive the presents. ―Now go off to sleep quickly,‖says the mother, ―because he won‘t come until you‘re asleep!‖But they are too excited to sleep and are not even drowsy.So they just pretend to sleep,hoping to catch a glimpse of Father Chriatmas.Meanwhile,unknown to them,mother and father are busy filling stockings and pillow-cases with presents in the next room.When they are sure the children are really asleep,the parents creep like robbers into their bedroom and leave the presents near their beds.
The next morning it is Christmas.The children wake up with shouts of ―He‘s come!‖and immediately start opening all their parcels.The grown-ups,less excitable,save their own presents till breakfast time.After breakfast,many people go to church;but the children will be playing with their new toys,and the mother will probably be preparing the Christmas dinner.This includes poultry for the main course (e.g.chicken,turkey,duck,goose),salads,breads,and vegetables,and features a variety of desserts,for example,pies,puddings,and ice cream.
In the afternoon many families listen to the Queen broadcasting to the Common-wealth.In the evening,after a huge tea,often including a big Christmas
cake covered with a frosting as sweet as candy and as smooth as pudding,the family will probably sit round the fire eating nuts,sweets and fruit,talking or watching television,or playing party games.
Everybody likes to be happy and full of goodwill at Christmas time.The great writer Charles Dickens loved Christmas,and described its merriness and warm-heartedness in books like A Chriatmas Carol,with drawing-room scenes of blazing log fires,while the December snow outside makde all the country white.This is why people today talk of a ―good,old-fashioned Christmas‖,and why many hope oit will be a ―white‖one—but it seldom is,for snow is a rarity in December.
The theatre plays its part during the Christmas season by putting on special shows for children.The circus is another thing that parents may very well take their children to see as a Christmas treat.Lions and tigers have been patiently trained to leap through the air and even the more docile beasts like elephants and horses do astonishing tricks.
So the children usually count the weeks,then the days,to Christmas.And almost everyone enjoys the happiness of Christmas.
Unit Six
SAM ADAMS,INDUSTRIAL ENGINEER
If you ask my mother how I happened to become an industrial engineer,she‘ll tell you that have always been one.
She means that I have always wanted everything to be well organized and neat.When I was still in elementary school,I liked to keep my socks in the upper left-hand drawer of my bureau,my underwear in the upper right drawer,shirts in the middle drawer,and pants,neatly folded,in the bottom drawer.
In fact,I was the efficiency expert for the whole family.I used to organize my father‘s tools,my mother‘s kitchen utensils,my sister‘s boy-friends.
I needed to be efficient.I wanted to be well organized.For me,there was a place for everything and everything was always in its place.These qualities gave me a good foundation for a career in industrial engineering.
Unfortunately,I was also a bit bossy and I wasn‘t a very good listener.You‘ll see what I mean when I tell you about the first project I ever did after I finished my bachelor‘s degree at the university.
After graduation I returned home to my small town in Indiana.I didn‘t have a job yet.Mr.Hobbs,a friend of my father‘s,owned a small shirt factory in town.Within the past five years it had grown from twenty to eighty workers.Mr.Hobbs was worried that this plant was getting too big and inefficient,so he asked me to come in on a short-term basis as a consultant.
I went to the plant and spent about a week looking around and making notes.I was really amazed at what I saw.
Most curious of all,there was no quality control whatsoever.No one inspected the final product of the factory.As a result some of the shirts that were put in boxes for shipment were missing one or two buttons,the collar,even a sleeve sometimes!
The working conditions were poor.The tables where the workers sat were very high and uncomfortable.Except for a half hour at lunchtime,there were no breaks in the day to relieve the boring work.There was no music.The walls of the workrooms were a dull gray color.I was amazed that the workers hadn‘t gone on strike.
Furthermore,the work flow was irregular.There was one especially absent-minded young man in the assembly line who sewed on buttons.After a while I recognized him as ―Big Jim,‖who used to sit behind me in math class in high school.He was very slow and all the shirts were held up at his position.Workers beyond him in line on his shift had to wait with nothing to do;therefore,a great deal of time and efficiency were lost as Big Jim daydreamed while he worked.All week I wondered why he wasn‘t fired.
After I made observations for a week,Mr.Hobbs asked me for an oral report of my findings.I covered my major points by telling him the following: