A woman repeated a bit of gossip (流言) about a neighbour. Within a few days the whole neighbourhood knew the story. The neighbour was deeply hurt. Later the woman responsible (負(fù)責(zé)) for spreading the gossip learned that it was completely untrue. She was very sorry and went to a wise old man to find out what she could do to repair the harm.
“Go to the marketplace,” he said. “and buy a chicken, and have it killed, then on your way home, pluck (拔) its feathers and drop them one by one along the road. ” Although surprised by this advice, the woman did what she was told.
The next day the wise man said, “ Now, go and collect all those feathers you dropped yesterday and bring them back to me. ”
The woman followed the same road, but she was so discouraged when she found the wind had blown all the feathers away. After searching for hours, she returned with only three in her hand.
“ You see, ” said the old man, “it’s easy to drop them, but it’s impossible to get them back . So it is with gossip. It doesn’t take much to spread a gossip, but once you do, you can never completely undo the wrong.”
【小題1】The woman was very _________ the harm she had done to her neighbour.

A woman repeated a bit of gossip (流言) about a neighbour. Within a few days the whole neighbourhood knew the story. The neighbour was deeply hurt. Later the woman responsible (負(fù)責(zé)) for spreading the gossip learned that it was completely untrue. She was very sorry and went to a wise old man to find out what she could do to repair the harm.
“Go to the marketplace,” he said. “and buy a chicken, and have it killed, then on your way home, pluck (拔) its feathers and drop them one by one along the road. ” Although surprised by this advice, the woman did what she was told.
The next day the wise man said, “ Now, go and collect all those feathers you dropped yesterday and bring them back to me. ”
The woman followed the same road, but she was so discouraged when she found the wind had blown all the feathers away. After searching for hours, she returned with only three in her hand.
“ You see, ” said the old man, “it’s easy to drop them, but it’s impossible to get them back . So it is with gossip. It doesn’t take much to spread a gossip, but once you do, you can never completely undo the wrong.”

1. 1.

   The woman was very _________ the harm she had done to her neighbour.

   1. A.
      happy about
   2. B.
      angry about
   3. C.
      sorry for
   4. D.
      excited about
2. 2.

   Which of the following statements is TURE?

   1. A.
      The gossip didn’t hurt anyone at all.
   2. B.
      The wise man was not kind enough.
   3. C.
      The woman found all the feathers at last.
   4. D.
      The woman was given a lesson.
3. 3.

   What the wise man said has nearly the same meaning as the Chinese phrase “_________”

   1. A.
      覆水難收
   2. B.
      無(wú)中生有
   3. C.
      欲速不達(dá)
   4. D.
      得道多助

    A little boy didn't say fl word until he was three years old．His mother took him to every doctor．But there was no use．He was healthy and bright，so the doctors told his mother not to worry．

  One morning the boy suddenly knocked on the table and cried out，“These eggs are terrible!”The mother was very glad at hearing her son speak，and asked，“Why didn’t you say anything before?”

    “Well，”he answered，“up to now，the eggs have been very good．’’

1．Why didn't the boy say a word?

A．He didn't need to say．

B．He couldn't say．

C．He was nervous．

D．There was something wrong with his health

2．The little boy didn't say a word before he was                     years old．

A．one                     B．two                     C．three                      D．four

3．What made the boy say the first word?

A．Apples．             B．Bananas               C．Pears．                  D．Terrible eggs．

4．The mother was very                    after hearing her son speak．

A．sad                      B．worried                C．happy                    D．a(chǎn)ngry

5．The boy was                  after seeing every doctor．

A．ill                        B．healthy and bright    C．foolish                   D．surprised