短文阅读2

11. Living like a Pig (1)

One day, a guru(印度教大师)knew what he would be in his next life. So he called his favorite disciple(徒弟) and asked him what he would do to show thanks. The disciple said he would do whatever his guru asked him to do.

After the guru received the promise, he said,“Then this is what I'd like you to do for me. I've just learned that when I die very soon, I'm going to be born as a pig. Do you see that pig eating rubbish over there in the yard ?

I'm going to be born as one of its baby pigs. You’ll recognize(认出)me by a mark on my face When the baby pigs have been born, find the baby pig with a mark on its face and kill it with your knife Then I’ll not live a pig's life Will you do this for me?”

11. Living like a Pig (2)

The disciple was sad to hear all this, but he agreed to do as he had promised.

Soon after this conversation, things happened just as the guru had mentioned. The guru died. Four baby pigs were born. One day, the disciple held his knife with him and picked out the baby pig with a mark on its face. Just as he was about to kill it, the little pig suddenly spoke,“Stop! Don't kill me!”it cried.

The disciple was very surprised, and he heard the little pig speak in a human voice, it said,“Don't kill me I want to live on as a pig. When I asked you to kill me, I didn't know what a pig's life would be like. It's great! Just let me go.”

12. Greenland and Iceland

Greenland is the largest island on earth. It is in the north of Europe. Near Greenland is another island. It is small. Its name is Iceland. Do you think that Greenland is green and warm? Do you think that Iceland is white with ice? If you do, you are wrong. Not many people live on the big island of Greenland. There are more people in your hornet own than in all of Greenland That is because Greenland is not green Greenland is white. Most of Greenland is covered with lots of ice. The ice covering Greenland is higher than some of the world's buildings. What about Iceland? Is it colder than Greenland? No, it is not. Iceland has ice, but not so much ice as Greenland. Iceland has a Lot of hot springs(温泉). They give out hot water and steam (蒸汽).

So it is not as cold as Greenland. And there are a lot more people who live in Iceland.

13. A Competition of Lying

A certain old gentleman was very unhappy about modern education, and thought that young people didn’t know the difference between right and wrong.

One day he was taking a walk near the church when he saw some young boys standing around a small cat The old gentlemen went up to the boys and asked them what was happening. One of the boys said to him“We're having a competition. We're telling lies, and the one who tells the biggest lie will keep the cat.”

The old gentleman thought this was a good chance to teach the boys a useful lesson, so he said to them,“I've never told a lie in my life”. At once there was a great shout from all the boys, and they said,“You've won! The cat belongs to you!”

14. Sports in America

In many parts of the world, there are four seasons: spring, summer, fall and winter. There are only three in America: football, basketball and baseball. If you want to know what season it is, just have a look at what people are playing.

Sports are an important part of American culture. Students learn to play many sports at school. They take PE classes. Some join the school teams, and others join school sports leagues(联盟).

For many people in the USA, sports are not just for fun They're almost a religion (宗教). Thousands of sports fans buy expensive tickets to watch their favorite teams and sports stars play. Other fans watch games on TV at home. The most devoted(投入的) sports fans never miss a game

15.The Apple Tree (1)

A long time ago, there was a huge apple tree. A little boy loved to come and play around it every day. He climbed to the treetop, ate the apples, played under the tree... He loved the tree and the tree loved to play with him.

Time went by...The little boy had grown up and he no longer played around the tree.

One day, the boy came back to the tree and looked sad.“Come and play with me,”the tree asked the boy.

“I am no longer a kid I do not play around trees any more”The boy replied,“I want toys. I need money to buy them.”“Sorry, but I don't have money. But you can pick all my apples and sell them So, you will have money.”The boy was so excited. He picked all the apples on the tree and left happily. The boy didn't come back after he picked the apples. The tree was sad.

One day, the boy returned and the tree was so excited“Come and play with me”The tree said“I don't have time to play. I have to work for my family. We need a house Can you help me?”“Sorry, but I don't have a house But you can cut off my branches(枝干)to build your house.”, so the boy cut all the branches of the tree and left happily.

The tree was glad to see him full of joy, but the boy didn't appear since then The tree was again lonely and sad.

15.The Apple Tree (2)

One hot summer day, the boy returned and the tree was very happy.“Come and play with me!”the tree said.

“I am sad and getting old I want to go sailing to relax myself. Can you give me a boat?”“Use my trunk(树干) to build the boat You can sail and be happy.”So the boy cut the tree trunk to make a boat He went sailing and did not show up for a long time

Finally, the boy returned after he left for so many years.“Sorry, my boy. But I don’t have anything for you any more No more apples for you.”the tree said.“I don’t have teeth to eat.”The boy replied“No more trunk for you to climb on”“I am too old for that now.”the boy said.“I really want to give you something——the only thing left is my dying roots(根).”The tree said.“I don't need much now, just a place to rest. I am tired after all these years.”The boy replied.“Good! Come here, please sit down with me and have a rest,”The boy sat down and the tree smiled .

This is a story of everyone The tree is our parent. When we were young, we loved to play with Mom and Dad. When we grow up, we leave them, and only come to them when we need something or when we are in trouble. Whatever, parents will always be there and give everything they could to make you happy. You may think that the boy is cruel to the tree but that's how all of us are treating(对待)our parents.

16. Pupils in China

On Tuesday, October 4, Mr. Goff visited our class. He is Karen's dad, and he just got back from a business trip to China. He has many pictures of busy cities and beautiful mountains. His pictures are worth seeing Mr. Goff came to our class to tell us what life is like in China

We learned that pupils in China went to school six days a week in the past but now they have a rest at weekends. They write with 2,000 characters(字) instead of 26 letters. Each character is a complete word They also review their lessons. After school, pupils play basketball and volleyball and ride bikes They do the same things as we do.

Mr. Goff said a businessman from China would visit him soon We will invite the man to our class. In that way, he can tell us more about pupils in China

Young men often give flowers to young women when they are in love. The tradition may have come from Turkey(土耳其).

In the 1700s in Turkey, it was quite popular for people in love to send each other baskets full of strange things. The baskets were sent secretly to the person who was receiving it. Usually, an old woman who sold flowers or fruit on the street left the basket beside the door of that person

17.Say it with Flowers(1)

Young men often give flowers to young women when they are in love. The tradition may have come from Turkey.

In the 1700s in Turkey, it was quite popular for people in love to send each other baskets full of strange things. The baskets were sent secretly to the person who was receiving it. Usually, an old woman who sold flowers or fruit on the street left the basket beside the door of that person

17. Say It with Flowers (2)

These baskets included many kinds of gifts: flowers, stones, candles, etc. Each thing in the basket had a special meaning. By working out the secret message hidden in each gift, the person who received the basket began to understand little by little the true feelings of the person who sent it.

17. Say It with Flowers (3)

The idea of sending gifts of love with secret meanings quickly spread to other countries. However, as time passed, only sending flowers remained popular.

Flowers told young ladies about the feelings in the heart of young men. Each different flower had a different meaning. For example, the flowers from an orange tree meant,“you are beautiful and pure(纯洁).”Pink carnations (康乃馨) meant,“My love far you is great.”Yellow roses, on the other hand, meant,“I saw you with someone else.”

Many flower dictionaries were made to help young people in love understand the meaning of the flowers they received However, not all of the dictionaries agreed on the meaning of each flower, so a person had to be careful about the flowers they chose to send

By the 1880s, using flowers to send messages had become unpopular, and the more direct way of sending love letters began. Today, flowers are still considered a lovely gift, but the meaning for each kind of flower has been lost.

18. Learning by Doing and Going

Many of my classmates think they are forced to go to school. They say they are only interested in playing. But I love going to school, and my favorite subject is science I like science because the experiments and field trips are exciting.

In science we do many exciting experiments in the lab. One time we made crystal form(晶形)in a bottle by using salt in water. Another time we watched how baby chicks are hatched(孵出).

We also take exciting field trips for science, We went to a museum and saw huge dinosaurs(恐龙)and tiny butterflies. On Tree-planting Day, we went to a forest and collected leaves.

It's good to play, but I would rather do experiments and go on field trips. That’s why science is my favorite subject.

19. Jane Came Home Too Late

Jane got home late at night. She was going to knock at the door. Just then it opened. Her father was standing by the door. He was a tall man with white hair.“Come in,”he said“I am getting cold.”Jane went in Her mother was waiting in the room Her mother was a short woman She was sitting on the sofa, and looked pale Her father closed the door.

“Well,”he said,“Where have you been? You promised not to stay out beyond 11 o'clock. It's one o'clock now.”

“It's only a quarter to one.”

“That doesn't make any difference. You should have come home earlier”her father replied angrily.

“We've been very worried about you,”said her mother.

“I'm sorry,”Jane said.“I was at a party. I didn't notice the time.”

“You've got a watch, ”said her father.“Your mother and I have waited for a long time. We didn't know where you were”

“I can look after myself,”replied Jane“I'm not a baby any more”...

That is a situation that we often see in our life Please do not let your parents worry about you again!

20. My Son's Questions

Since my son was three years old, he's kept asking me“why?”about everything. Why is the sky blue? Why are there clouds? Why can't I go outside? Why do I have to be nice? Anyway, I always try my best to answer his questions.

Now my son is ten years old. At this age, the boy is interested in all kinds of things, and he’s got more questions to trouble me Do people in prison celebrate festivals? Why are dogs' noses always wet? Why are women and men's shoe sizes different? ...

These days, the boy shows interest in the facts of life, so I borrowed books from the library and prepared myself for any questions he might ask At the end of our long talk, he still looked confused(迷惑的).“If you have any questions,”I said,“please ask them There are no stupid questions.”

“Well. suppose I was married,”he said with shame,“my wife was going to give birth to a baby, and I had to rush her to the hospital, okay?”

“Yes,”I smiled and encouraged him to continue his question.

Then he asked,“Can go through red lights?”