Outside her shabby cottage, old Mrs. Tailor was hanging out laundry on a wire line, unaware that some children lay hidden in the leaves of a nearby tree watching her every move. They were determined to find out if she really was a witch.

   They watched as she took a broomstick to clean the dirt from her stone steps. But, much to their disappointment, she did not mount the broomstick and take flight. Suddenly, the old lady’s work was interrupted by the cackling of her hen—a signal that an egg had been laid in the warm nest on top of the haystack.

   The old broomstick was put aside as she hobbled off towards the haystack followed by Sooty, a black cat she had rescued from a fox trap some time back. With only three legs, it was hard for Sooty to keep up with the old lady. The cat provided proof—the children were sure that only a witch could own a black cat with three legs.

    There, standing on a wooden box, was Mrs. Tailor, stretching out to gather her precious egg. Taking the egg in one of her hands, she began to climb down when, without warning, the box broke and the old lady fell.

 “We have to got and help her,” whispered Amy.

 “What if it is a trick?” replied Ben.

 “Don’t be silly, Ben. If she were a witch, she would have turned us into frogs already,” reasoned Meg. “Come on Amy, let’s go.” The girls climbed down the tree and ran all the way to the haystack.

   Approaching carefully, they could see a wound on the old lady’s face. She had knocked her head on a stone and her ankle was definitely broken. “Go and get Dad,” Amy yelled to her brother. “Tell him about the accident.”

   The boys did not need another excuse to leave. They ran as fast as they could for help, hoping that Mrs. Tailor would not wake and turn the girls into frogs.

. Why were the children hiding in the tree?

 A. They wanted to watch Mrs. Tailor do her housework closely.

 B. They were playing a hide-and-seek game

 C. They wanted to find out if the rumors about Mrs. Tailor were true

 D. They were pretending to be spies

. Mrs. Tailor stopped sweeping when____

 A. her front steps were clean             B. she noticed the children in the tree

 C. she was ready to take a flight          D. she heard the hen cackling

. Ben did not rush in help Mrs. Tailor because_____

 A. he thought that she could be tricking them

 B. he knew that they could not have been in the tree

 C. he did not see the old lady fall down

 D. he was afraid of the three-legged cat

. Which of these old sayings best suits the story’s lesson for us?

 A. Make hay while the sun shines.

 B. Never judge a book by its cover.

 C. People in glasshouses should not throw stones.

 D. A bird in the hands worth two in the bush.

Outside her shabby cottage, old Mrs. Tailor was hanging out laundry on a wire line, unaware that some children lay hidden in the leaves of a nearby tree watching her every move. They were determined to find out if she really was a witch.
They watched as she took a broomstick to clean the dirt from her stone steps. But, much to their disappointment, she did not mount the broomstick and take flight. Suddenly, the old lady’s work was interrupted by the cackling of her hen—a signal that an egg had been laid in the warm nest on top of the haystack.
The old broomstick was put aside as she hobbled off towards the haystack followed by Sooty, a black cat she had rescued from a fox trap some time back. With only three legs, it was hard for Sooty to keep up with the old lady. The cat provided proof—the children were sure that only a witch could own a black cat with three legs.
There, standing on a wooden box, was Mrs. Tailor, stretching out to gather her precious egg. Taking the egg in one of her hands, she began to climb down when, without warning, the box broke and the old lady fell.
“We have to got and help her,” whispered Amy.
“What if it is a trick?” replied Ben.
“Don’t be silly, Ben. If she were a witch, she would have turned us into frogs already,” reasoned Meg. “Come on Amy, let’s go.” The girls climbed down the tree and ran all the way to the haystack.
Approaching carefully, they could see a wound on the old lady’s face. She had knocked her head on a stone and her ankle was definitely broken. “Go and get Dad,” Amy yelled to her brother. “Tell him about the accident.”
The boys did not need another excuse to leave. They ran as fast as they could for help, hoping that Mrs. Tailor would not wake and turn the girls into frogs.
【小题1】. Why were the children hiding in the tree?

Sarah came running in. She shouted happily, "Look what I ____36_____." She put a snake skin on the newspaper I was reading and it came so suddenly that it caused me to ____37_____. "Mom, look! Isn't it ____38_____?" said my seven-year-old daughter. I ____39_____ the snake skin and thought that it really wasn't pretty. Everything children see ____40_____is full of beauty in their eyes; they see only ____41_____ and excellence in the world until educated.

"____42_____ did the snake do this?" Sarah asked. I tried to seize the ____43_____ to teach my children that there was almost always something beyond the obvious. I wanted to tell them that there was something else going on ____44_____ what they saw in front of them. "Snakes shed (蜕) their skin because they need to renew themselves," I ____45_____.

"Why do they have to renew themselves?" Sarah asked.

My son Robert laughed and said, "Because they don't ____46_____ what they are and they want to be someone else." I politely ignored him and said that by shedding skins, we could ____47_____ the hidden reality.

"We often need to shed our skin, those coatings that we ____48_____ ourselves with," I said to my children, who listened very ____49_____, with their eyes wide open. "This snake ____50_____ needs this skin. It is probably too hard for him, or he probably doesn't think he looks as ____51_____in it as he once did. It's like buying a new ____52_____."

I'm sure this explanation will not ____53_____ the naturalists. But Sarah was getting to understand that renewal is part of ____54_____. She should learn from it what we need to keep and what we need to ____55_____.

1.                A．made          B．seized          C．caught   D．found

2.                A．think           B．jump           C．run  D．struggle

3.                A．interesting      B．smooth         C．beautiful  D．colorful

4.                A．stared at        B．took off         C．referred to    D．brought back

5.                                  A．by accident B．over and over again

C．in the future                      D．for the first time

6.                A．honesty        B．difference       C．value D．fear

7.                A．Where         B．Why           C．How D．When

8.                A．information     B．possibility       C．opportunity   D．question

9.                A．besides         B．for            C．without   D．around

10.               A．talked          B．explained       C．whispered D．shouted

11.               A．keep          B．want           C．need D．like

12.               A．see            B．guess          C．ignore D．remember

13.               A．keep          B．store          C．cover D．improve

14.               A．properly        B．attentively      C．sadly D．angrily

15.               A．once more      B．at times        C．right now  D．no longer

16.               A．nice           B．healthy         C．strong D．big

17.               A．hat            B．watch          C．suit   D．home

18.               A．move          B．satisfy          C．correct    D．defeat

19.               A．experience     B．achievement    C．progress   D．competition

20.               A．throw out       B．hope for        C．find out   D．throw away

Outside her shabby cottage, old Mrs. Tailor was hanging out laundry on a wire line, unaware that some children lay hidden in the leaves of a nearby tree watching her every move. They were determined to find out if she really was a witch.
They watched as she took a broomstick to clean the dirt from her stone steps. But, much to their disappointment, she did not mount the broomstick and take flight. Suddenly, the old lady’s work was interrupted by the cackling of her hen—a signal that an egg had been laid in the warm nest on top of the haystack.
The old broomstick was put aside as she hobbled off towards the haystack followed by Sooty, a black cat she had rescued from a fox trap some time back. With only three legs, it was hard for Sooty to keep up with the old lady. The cat provided proof—the children were sure that only a witch could own a black cat with three legs.
There, standing on a wooden box, was Mrs. Tailor, stretching out to gather her precious egg. Taking the egg in one of her hands, she began to climb down when, without warning, the box broke and the old lady fell.
“We have to got and help her,” whispered Amy.
“What if it is a trick?” replied Ben.
“Don’t be silly, Ben. If she were a witch, she would have turned us into frogs already,” reasoned Meg. “Come on Amy, let’s go.” The girls climbed down the tree and ran all the way to the haystack.
Approaching carefully, they could see a wound on the old lady’s face. She had knocked her head on a stone and her ankle was definitely broken. “Go and get Dad,” Amy yelled to her brother. “Tell him about the accident.”
The boys did not need another excuse to leave. They ran as fast as they could for help, hoping that Mrs. Tailor would not wake and turn the girls into frogs.

1. 1.

   . Why were the children hiding in the tree?

   1. A.
      They wanted to watch Mrs. Tailor do her housework closely.
   2. B.
      They were playing a hide-and-seek game
   3. C.
      They wanted to find out if the rumors about Mrs. Tailor were true
   4. D.
      They were pretending to be spies
2. 2.

   . Mrs. Tailor stopped sweeping when____

   1. A.
      her front steps were clean
   2. B.
      she noticed the children in the tree
   3. C.
      she was ready to take a flight
   4. D.
      she heard the hen cackling
3. 3.

   . Ben did not rush in help Mrs. Tailor because_____

   1. A.
      he thought that she could be tricking them
   2. B.
      he knew that they could not have been in the tree
   3. C.
      he did not see the old lady fall down
   4. D.
      he was afraid of the three-legged cat
4. 4.

   . Which of these old sayings best suits the story’s lesson for us?

   1. A.
      Make hay while the sun shines.
   2. B.
      Never judge a book by its cover.
   3. C.
      People in glasshouses should not throw stones.
   4. D.
      A bird in the hands worth two in the bush.

Outside her shabby cottage, old Mrs. Tailor was hanging out laundry on a wire line, unaware that some children lay hidden in the leaves of a nearby tree watching her every move. They were determined to find out if she really was a witch.

   They watched as she took a broomstick to clean the dirt from her stone steps. But, much to their disappointment, she did not mount the broomstick and take flight. Suddenly, the old lady’s work was interrupted by the cackling of her hen—a signal that an egg had been laid in the warm nest on top of the haystack.

   The old broomstick was put aside as she hobbled off towards the haystack followed by Sooty, a black cat she had rescued from a fox trap some time back. With only three legs, it was hard for Sooty to keep up with the old lady. The cat provided proof—the children were sure that only a witch could own a black cat with three legs.

   There, standing on a wooden box, was Mrs. Tailor, stretching out to gather her precious egg. Taking the egg in one of her hands, she began to climb down when, without warning, the box broke and the old lady fell.

 “We have to get and help her,” whispered Amy.

 “What if it is a trick?” replied Ben.

 “Don’t be silly, Ben. If she were a witch, she would have turned us into frogs already,” reasoned Meg. “Come on Amy, let’s go.” The girls climbed down the tree and ran all the way to the haystack.

   Approaching carefully, they could see a wound on the old lady’s face. She had knocked her head on a stone and her ankle was definitely broken. “Go and get Dad,” Amy yelled to her brother. “Tell him about the accident.”

   The boys did not need another excuse to leave. They ran as fast as they could for help, hoping that Mrs. Tailor would not wake and turn the girls into frogs.

1. Why were the children hiding in the tree?

  A. They wanted to watch Mrs. Tailor do her housework closely.

  B. They were playing a hide-and-seek game

  C. They wanted to find out if the rumors about Mrs. Tailor were true

  D. They were pretending to be spies

2. Mrs. Tailor stopped sweeping when____  

  A. her front steps were clean             B. she noticed the children in the tree

  C. she was ready to take a flight          D. she heard the hen cackling

3. Ben did not rush in help Mrs. Tailor because_____

  A. he thought that she could be tricking them

  B. he knew that they could not have been in the tree

  C. he did not see the old lady fall down

  D. he was afraid of the three-legged cat

4. Which of these old sayings best suits the story’s lesson for us?

  A. Make hay while the sun shines.

  B. Never judge a book by its cover.

  C. People in glasshouses should not throw stones.

  D. A bird in the hands worth two in the bush.