When I was a kid in Minnesota, watermelon was expensive. One of my father’s friends, Bernie, was a rich businessman, who owned a large store in St. Paul.
Every summer, when the first watermelons arrived, Bernie would call. Dad and I would go to Bernie’s place. We’ d sit on the edge of the dock(码头), feet dangling(摇晃), and got ready for a big meal.
Bernie would take his knife, cut our first watermelon, hand us both a big piece and sit down next to us. Then we’d bury our faces in watermelon, eating only the heart—the reddest, juiciest, firmest, sweetest, most seed-free part—and throw away the rest.
Bernie was my father’s idea of a rich man. I always thought it was because he was such a successful businessman. Years later, I realized that it was not Bernie’s wealth itself but his way of dealing with it that my father liked. Bernie knew how to stop working, get together with friends and eat only the heart of the watermelon.
What I learned from Bernie is that being rich is a state of mind. Some of us, no matter how much money we have, will never be free enough to eat only the heart of the watermelon. If you don’t take the time to dangle your feet over the dock and enjoy life’s small pleasure, your work is probably hurting your life.
For many years, I forgot that lesson I’d learned as a kid on the loading dock. I was too busy making all the money I could.
Well, I’ve relearned it. I hope I have time left to enjoy the success of others and to take pleasure in the day. That’s the heart of the watermelon. I have learned again to throw the rest away.
【小题1】 We learned from the second paragraph that the writer and his father were feeling ______.

A.relaxedB.worriedC.hungryD.proud
【小题2】How did the writer and his father eat the watermelon?
A.They ate it in a polite way.B.They only ate its best part.
C.They ate every part of it.D.They shared only one piece.
【小题3】 In the eyes of the writer’s father, Bernie ______.
A.was just a rich businessmanB.worked hard all the time
C.lived a rich but healthy lifeD.knew how to make money
【小题4】The underlined part “the heart of the watermelon” in the last paragraph refers to ______.
A.the best part of the watermelon B.the writer’s busy life
C.the writer’s decision of making moneyD.the writer’s hope of enjoying life
【小题5】It can be learned from the passage that ______.
A.one has to work hard to reach his goalB.a friend in need is a friend in deed
C.watermelon is the healthiest fruitD.one should keep work-life balance

A woodcutter(伐木工) was working in the forest one day when he found a box full of gold coins. Unfortunately, his wife was the kind of woman who could not keep a secret. Somehow, he knew, he had to prevent(阻止) her from talking about the gold.

He thought about this for a long time, then had an idea.

“ I found something in the forest”, he told his wife, “come with me and I’ll show you.”.His wife followed him into the forest and soon they came to a tree.“ Look at that!” the woodcutter said to his wife, and pointed to the tree. “There’s a fish growing on that branch!” His wife was surprised ,especially when he climbed up the tree and brought down the fish for her to see.They walked on and soon came to the river. “I’ll just pull in my net and see what I’ve caught”, the woodcutter said.

He pulled in his net and inside there were several hares(野兔). “How interesting!” he said “there are now hares in the river.” After that, they came to where the woodcutter had found the box of gold. “Look, wife”, he said “this is what I have found. A box of gold coins.”

The next day, his wife could not stop herself from telling her friends about all the wonderful things she had seen.Of course, nobody believe her!

1.Where did the woodcutter find the box of gold?______

A.When he was working

B.In his garden

C.In the forest where he was working

D.On his farm fields, where he was farming

2.Where do you usually see hares?______

A.In the street.       B.In the forest.       C.In the river.        D.In the sea.

3.Why did his wife tell her friends what happened? Because ______

A.she was very surprised.

B.she wondered why the hares were in the river and fish was in the tree

C.she could not stop herself from talking about anything

D.she was very happy

 

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