A Lesson from the Elder

Grandfather was an elder Cherokee Native American who had a wrinkled, nut brown face and kind dark eyes. His grandson often came in the evening to sit on his knee and asked the many questions that children would ask.

One day the grandson came to his grandfather with a look of anger on his face and the following story. “Father and I went to the store today and because I helped him, he bought me a present---a jack-knife. I went outside to wait for father and to admire my new knife in the sunlight. Some town boys came by and saw me. They surrounded me and started saying bad things. They called me dirty and stupid and said that I should not have such a fine knife. The largest of these boys pushed me back and I fell over one of the other boys. I dropped my knife and one of them picked it up and they all ran away laughing. I hate them. I hate them all."

The elder Cherokee, with eyes that had seen too much, lifted his grandson's face so his eyes looked into the boy's face. Grandfather said, "Let me tell you a story. I, too, at times, have felt a great hate for those who have taken so much with no sorrow for what they do. But hate wears you down and does not hurt your enemy. It is like drinking poison and wishing your enemy would die. I have struggled with these feelings many times. It is as if two wolves are inside me.... It is a terrible fight.

One wolf is good and does no harm. He lives in harmony with all around him and does not take offense when no offense was intended. It will only fight when it is right to do so and in the right way. This wolf stands for joy, peace, love, hope, sharing, modesty, kindness, friendship, sympathy, generosity, truth, and faith.

The other wolf is full of anger. The least thing will set off his fiercest temper. He fights everyone, all the time, for no reason. He cannot think because his anger and hate are so much. It is helpless anger, for his anger will change nothing. This wolf represents fear, envy, greed, self-pity, guilt, lies, false pride and superiority.

Sometimes, it is hard to live with these two wolves inside me for both of them try to control my spirit. This same fight is going on inside you and inside every other person too.”

The boy looked into his grandfather's eyes and asked, "Which wolf will win?" The old Cherokee simply replied.... "The one you feed."

1.The boy was angry because __________.

A. he was not satisfied with his present

his back was badly injured in a fight

he had waited for his father for too long

his jack-knife had been taken away by some boys

2.How does the good wolf do things in the story?

A. He never fights against others.

B. He tries to get on well with others.

C. It is hard for him to live with other wolves.

D. Sometimes he had a terrible fight because some one hit him.

3.We can learn from the third paragraph that _________.

A.  “hate” is healthy

B.  “hate” hurts oneself

C.  “hate” is complicated

D.  “hate” harms one’s enemies

4.What did Grandfather mean by saying "The one you feed" in the last paragraph?

A. We should feed the two wolves equally.

B. Living in harmony with others is important.

C. Our feelings should be expressed at the right time.

D. The choices we make determine who we will become.

A crow(乌鸦) is about twenty inches(英寸) long and black all over. Crows are dirty birds because they live on bad food. Crows eat a lot of waste food. In this way they are more useful to us than any birds. They clean up the dirty things in our streets. Crows are always hungry. They look for food all day, and in the evening you can see them in large numbers flying back to their nests(巢) in the trees. They sleep there at night.
Crows are much noisier than other birds. Very often a large number of crows will get together on one house and talk. Sometimes they talk together, and sometimes they do it by turns(轮流) like human beings(人类). It is easy to tell(判断) from crow’s sound if they are pleased or angry. Perhaps crows talk a lot because they are friendly birds. A pair of crows will live together all their lives, and if one of them dies, the other one becomes very sad and quiet for the rest of its life and some time later it dies too.
【小题1】Crows “live on bad food” means “ _________ ”.