Shaking It Off

One day, a farmer’s donkey fell into a dry well(井). The poor animal cried for hours before his       finally found him. The farmer tried hard to pull him out from the well but failed. He felt       for the donkey but after carefully thinking about the situation, he       that he would save neither the donkey nor the well. Since the donkey was too       and it was not worth（值得） the trouble of saving. So he invited his neighbors to help him bury(埋葬) the old donkey in the __    so that it would make him end his pain.

      many people coming to help, the old donkey was excited at first. As they began to scoop the dirt into the well with shovels(铲子), he soon       what was happening. He felt upset and cried sadly again. As the farmer and his neighbors continued throwing the dirt on his      , he suddenly had a good idea. Some time later, when the farmer finally looked down into the well, he was surprised at what he saw:      the dirt landed on his back, he would shake it off and take a step up!

Soon, everyone was amazed when the donkey stepped       over the edge of the well and ran away quickly! It seemed that it would       him at first, but it actually helped him later because of the manner in which he faced his adversity(逆境).

That is life! Just like the donkey, life is going to throw dirt on us, all kinds of dirt.      we face our problems in an active way, and refuse to       to any trouble, each dirt is like a stepping stone with which we get out of the deepest wells. This is a key       one of the secrets of life.      stop and never give up. Success is just in its way.

1.A. neighbor                 B. owner                                C. relative                   D. kid

2.A. sorry                    B. lucky                                 C. dangerous                      D. worried

3.A. complained                  B. decided                            C. agreed                         D. meant

4.A. strong                           B. tall                                     C. old                                     D. poor

5.A. water                            B. hole                                  C. well                               D. house

6.A. Heard                            B. Hearing                            C. To hear                    D. Hears

7.A. realized                        B. remembered                  C. discovered                  D. found

8.A. leg                            B. stomach                   C. tail                                     D. back

9.A. any time                  B. every time                        C. one time                          D. some time

10.A. angrily                        B. heavily           C. proudly                    D. sadly

11.A. save                            B. bother                              C. fill                             D. bury

12.A. as soon as                  B. as long as                         C. as far as                            D. as well as

13.A. give up                       B. give out                            C. give in                               D. give off

14.A. to                                 B. of                             C. on                                      D. from

15.A. Always                        B. Never                          C. Sometimes                        D. Hardly

One day, a farmer was walking along a road with his son Thomas. The father said, “Look! There's a horseshoe. Pick it up and put it in your bag.” Thomas said, “It isn't worth the trouble.” His father said nothing but picked it up himself. When they got to a nearby town, they had a rest. There the farmer sold the horseshoe and with the few pennies he bought some cherries.

    The father and the son continued their way. The sun was well up in the sky, and there wasn't a house or even a tree where they could have a rest. Thomas felt too thirsty to walk on. At this time, his father dropped a cherry on the ground and Thomas picked it up quickly and ate it. After a while, his father dropped another cherry and once again, his son lost some time in picking it up and putting it in his mouth.

    And so they went on. The old farmer dropped the cherries and the son picked them up. When Thomas had eaten up all the cherries, his father said to him, "My dear son, if you had bent down earlier to pick up that horseshoe. it would not have been necessary for you to bend so many times for the cherries. Always remember the lesson that anyone who does not worry about the little things will find that he cannot do the great things.

1.Who picked up the horseshoe at last?

   A. Thomas.                           B. The old father.

   C. Both the father and the son.              D. Neither the father nor the son.

2.The farmer bought _______ with the money after he sold the horseshoe.

   A. some food     B. some water           C. some cherries    D. some pennies

3.When the son refused to pick up the horseshoe, the father _______.

   A. felt very happy   B. didn't say anything  C. beat the son     D. became a little angry

4. The father dropped the cherries one by one, because _______.

   A. he wanted his son to eat them all         B. he wanted his son to do more exercise

   C. lie wanted to teach his son a lesson       D. he wanted his son to pick them up

5.From the story, we can learn that _______.

   A. cherries are so delicious that most of us like to eat them

   B. a horseshoe is so expensive that it can bring us a lot of money

   C. if the boy wants to eat cherries, he must pick up the horseshoe

   D. if we want to do some great things, we should start with some small ones

One day, a farmer was walking along a road with his son Thomas. The father said, "Look! There’s a horseshoe. Pick it up and put it in your bag." Thomas said, ’It isn’t worth the trouble." His father said nothing but picked it up himself. When they got to a nearby town, they lad a rest. There the farmer sold the horseshoe and with the few pennies he bought some cherries.
The father and the son continued their way. The sun was well up in the sky, and there wasn’t a house or even a tree where they could have a rest. Thomas felt too thirsty to walk on. At this time, his father dropped a cherry on the ground and Thomas picked it up quickly and ate it. After a while, his father dropped another cherry and once again, his son lost some time in picking it up and putting it in his mouth.
And so they went on. The old farmer dropped the cherries and the son picked them up. When Thomas had eaten up all the cherries, his father said to him, "My dear son, if you had bent down earlier to pick up that horseshoe. it would not have been necessary for you to bend so many times for the cherries. Always remember the lesson that anyone who does not worry about the little things will find that he cannot do the great things.
【小题1】Who picked up the horseshoe at last?