Question

One winter evening, a storekeeper was going to close up his shop. Suddenly he saw Seth, a lazy, good-for-nothing fellow grab a pound of fresh butter and concealed it in his hat. No sooner had the storekeeper seen the act than he hit upon exactly the right revenge. He would punish the thief, and satisfy his own appetite for fun.

Seth had his hat on his head, and the butter in his hat. He was anxious to leave. However, the rightful owner of the butter offered him a cup of hot drink, took him by the shoulders and planted him in a seat close to the stove. The grocer stuffed in the stove as many sticks of wood as he could possibly fit inside.

Seth already could feel the butter settling down closer to his hair, so he jumped up, declaring that he must go. “Sit down; don’ t be in such a hurry,” replied the grocer, pushing him back into the chair again.

Streak after streak of the butter came pouring from under the poor man’s hat. The fun-loving grocer kept on stuffing wood into the stove. Then, as if surprised, he remarked, “You seem to be perspiring (排汗) as if you were warm! Let me put your hat away for you.”

“No!” exclaimed poor Seth at last, unable to stand it a moment longer. “No, I must go; let me out.”

A greasy (油腻的) waterfall of butter was now pouring down the poor man’s face and neck, soaking (浸泡) into his clothes, and trickling down his body into his boots. He was bathed in oil from head to toe.

Just as his victim darted out the door, the grocer said, “I reckon (估计) the fun I’ve had out of you is worth the money, so I shan’t charge you for that pound of butter in your hat.”

1．Why did Seth put the butter in his hat?

A. Because he just wanted to play a trick on the grocer.

B. Because he had nowhere to put the butter but in the hat.

C. Because he wanted to revenge himself on the grocer.

D. Because he didn’t want to pay for it.

2．What is not the action that the grocer took as a revenge?

A. The grocer offered Seth a cup of hot drink.

B. The grocer forced Seth to take a seat near the stove.

C. The grocer overcharged Seth for the butter.

D. The grocer offered to take off Seth’s hat.

3．What was the purpose of the grocer’s hospitality?

A. He wanted to make friends with Seth.

B. He wanted to be kind to him.

C. He wanted to take his revenge on Seth by making the butter in his hat melt.

D. He wanted to sell more of his goods.

4．What is the best title of the passage?

A. Great fun B. The right revenge C. A fun-loving grocer D. A foolish customer

Answer 1

1-4 DCCB

解析:

1．D       细节理解题。根据第一段中 “good-for-nothing fellow grab a pound of fresh hutter and concealed it in his hat… He would punish the thief…” 可知Seth是小偷，他想偷商店里的黄油。

2．C       细节理解题。A正确，根据第二段中 “the rightful owner of the butter offered him a cup of hot drink”; B正确，根据第二段和第三段中 “took him hy the shoulders and planted him in a seat close to the stove.”, “pushing him back into the chair again.”; D正确，根据第四段中 “You seem to be perspiring (排汗) as if you were warm! Let me put your hat away for you”; C错误，由最后一段可知店主没有向Seth要钱。

3．C       意图判断题。店主的热情好客是为了惩罚报复小偷，使小偷帽子里的黄油融化，使之流遍（小偷的）全身。

4．B     题目判断题。本文讲述的是商店店主如何惩罚小偷的故事。因此选B —“公正的报复”比较合适。