Question

    Once there lived a farmer who owned a land along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. Even after letting out several advertisements to look for someone to take care of his farm, no one seemed to sign up for it.

People were reluctant to work along the Atlantic, it had frequent storms. These storms were cruel, violent and destroyed every building and crop field they touched.

After months of advertising and request refusals, a man came to the farmer for the job.    “Do you have any skills or experience to work on a farm like this?” the farmer asked him.

“Well, I may not have enough experience, but I can sleep when the wind blows,” replied the man.

Although the farmer wasn’t sure if the man was the right person for the job, the farmer was too desperate to have someone to help him on the field that he hired him anyway. The man worked well around the farm. The farmer was pretty satisfied with the man.

Then one stormy night, the strong wind blew hard and woke the farmer. The farmer immediately got off his bed and headed towards the quarter where his helper was sleeping.

“Wake up!” the farmer shouted, throwing the soundly asleep man off the bed, “A storm is coming. Tie things down before they get blown away.”

The man sat up and said, “No, sir. I told you I can sleep when the wind blows.”

The farmer turned red with fury after listening to this. He controlled all his will to fire the man because at the moment it was more important to secure his fields and barn than to argue  with his helper. The farmer ran out to tie the things up and was surprised by what he saw.

All of the chickens were in the cages, the cows were in the barn, the doors were closed, and the shutters were firmly secured. Everything was tied down so that nothing could be blown away.

The farmer smiled. Now, he understood what the man meant by when he said he could sleep when the wind blew. He went off to bed and slept soundly through the storm.

Word Bank

desperate 急切的hire    雇佣  secure  保 护  barn    谷仓; 畜棚

根据材料内容选择最佳答案。

1.What does the underlined word “reluctant” mean?

A.不情愿的 B.很失望的 C.极震惊的 D.有信心的

2.Why did the farmer decide to hire the man?

A.Because the man said he was really experienced.

B.Because the man could sleep well when the wind blew.

C.Because the farmer believed the man could do things well.

D.Because the farmer wanted the man to have a try for the job.

3.How did the farmer feel at first when the man refused to get up on that stormy night?

A.Excited. B.Worried. C.Angry. D.Surprised.

4.Why did the farmer smile in the end?

A.Because the storm became weak.

B.Because he understood what the man meant.

C.Because the man helped him get all things done.

D.Because he successfully tied all things up by himself.

5.What can we learn from this text?

A.When you’re prepared, you have nothing to fear.

B.Life is always full of chances if you try hard enough.

C.Don’t worry too much about things that may never come.

D.It’s difficult to wake up a person that pretends to be sleeping.

Answer

1.A

2.D

3.C

4.C

5.A

【解析】

本文主要讲述了大西洋的一个农夫招聘工人的故事，因为大西洋经常有风暴所以没人愿意来应聘，结果一个男人应聘并说道暴风雨来临我仍可以安然入睡，农夫对此不解，直到一次暴风雨来临，男人提前准备好了一切便安然入睡，农夫才终于明白男人的话。

1.词义猜测题。根据第2大段“People were reluctant to work along the Atlantic, it had frequent storms.”人们因为大西洋经常有暴风雨所以不情愿沿着大西洋走，可知，是不情愿的意思。故选A。

2.细节理解题。根据第5大段“Although the farmer wasn’t sure if the man was the right person for the job, the farmer was too desperate to have someone to help him on the field that he hired him anyway.”虽然农夫不确定这个人是不是适合这个工作，但是他真的需要人在田里帮忙。可知，农夫是想有人帮忙农活。故选D。

3.细节理解题。根据第7大段““Wake up!” the farmer shouted, throwing the soundly asleep man off the bed,””起床，农夫大叫道。可知，农夫是生气的。故选C。

4.细节理解题。根据第10大段“Everything was tied down so that nothing could be blown away.”所有的东西都绑好了，没有东西会被吹走了。可知，男人帮农夫把所有的事情都做好了，所以农夫笑了。故选C。

5.推理判断题。根据第11大段“Now, he understood what the man meant by when he said he could sleep when the wind blew.”现在，他终于明白这个男人说的刮风都能睡着的意思了。可知，只要事情准备好了，没有什么可害怕的。故选A。