A rich man was riding along the road and saw an old man digging(挖) in his garden. There was a young tree lying on the ground. The rich man asked the old man.” what kind of tree are you planting there, my good man?”

“This is a fig(无花果)tree, sir.” He said.

“A fig tree?” The rich man was very surprised. “How old are you, may I ask?”

“I am ninety years old.”

“What!” shouted the rich man, “You're ninety years old. You are planting a very young tree now and it'll take years to give fruit. You certainly don’t hope to live long enough to get any fruit from this tree.” The old man smiled and said, “Tell me, sir, did you eat figs when you were a boy?”

“Sure” the man did not know why he asked this question.

The old man asked, “Who planted the fig trees?”

“Well, I don’t know.”

“You see, sir.” The old man said slowly, “our forefathers(祖先)planted trees for us to enjoy and I am doing the same for the people after me.”

The rich man was quiet, then said, “You are right, my good man. We should do some things for the people after us. Thank you very much.” Then he rode away.

1.The old man was planting ________________when the rich man saw him.

A. an apple tree B. a fig tree

C. a pear tree D. a banana tree

2.The old man was planting the tree________________.

A. to get himself some fruit to eat

B. for the people after him

C. to make his garden more beautiful

D. just for fun

3.The sentence in the last paragraph “The rich man was quiet” means_____________.

A. he was thinking about who were his forefathers

B. he didn't want to disturb the old man

C. he couldn't communicate with the old man

D. he understood why the old man planted the young tree

4.What kind of personality does the old man has?

A. creative B. brave C. wise D. curious

5.We can express the main idea of this passage “_____________” in Chinese.

A. 前人栽树,后人乘凉 B. 光阴似箭,一去不返

C. 君子爱财,取之有道 D. 财多惹祸,树大招风

A year ago, I paid no attention to English idioms, though my teacher emphasized the importance again and again. But soon, the importance of English idioms was shown in an amusing experience.

One day, I happened to meet an Englishman on the road, and soon we began to talk. As I was talking about how I was studying English, the foreigner seemed to be astonished, gently shaking his head, shrugging his shoulders, saying , “You don’t say!” I was puzzled, I thought, perhaps this is not a proper topic. “Well, I’d better change the topic” So I said to him, “Well shall we talk about the Great Wall? By the way, have you ever been there?” “Certainly, everyone back home will laugh at me if I leave China without seeing it. It was magnificent.” He was deep in thought when I began to talk like a tourist guide, “The Great Wall is one of the wonders in the world, We are very proud of it.” Soon I was interrupted again by his order “You don’t say!”I couldn’t help asking, “Why do you ask me not to talk about is?” “Well, I didn’t request you to do so,” he answered, greatly surprised .I said , “Didn’t you say you don’t say?” Hearing this, the Englishman laughed into tears .He began to explain, “You don’t say actually means really? It is an expression of surprise .Perhaps you don’t pay attention to English idioms.”

Only then did I know I had made a fool of myself. Since then I have been more careful with idiomatic expressions

1.A year ago, the writer paid no attention to English idioms because ______________.

A. English idioms were too difficult to master

B. He cared little about the teacher’s emphasis

C. His teacher didn’t emphasize the importance

D. He had no interest in English learning

2.The write happened to meet an Englishman____________.

A. some day B. everyday

C. every day D. yesterday

3.When the writer first heard “You don’t say!” he thought _____________.

A. the Englishman was not interested in his English studies

B. The Englishman was only interested in the Great Wall

C. He has talked too much

D. He had to stop talking at once

4.The underlined word “amusing” means _________.

A. interesting B. important C. terrible D. lucky

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