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當(dāng)你遇到被遺棄在路邊的小孩時(shí)，你會(huì)怎么做呢?你會(huì)不會(huì)認(rèn)為這是上帝賜予你的禮物呢?本文中的主人公Mr. Earnshaw遇到了一個(gè)被遺棄的吉卜賽小男孩，他會(huì)怎么做呢?他的家人又會(huì)有什么反應(yīng)呢?那么讓我們一起來賞讀這一段節(jié)選自《呼嘯山莊》的文字吧。

A Gift of God

One fine summer morning—it was the beginning of harvest， I remember—Mr. Earnshaw came down stairs， dressed for a journey;after he had told Joseph what was to be done during the day， he turned to① Hindley and Cathy， and me—for I sat eating my porridge② with them—and speaking to his son， he said:

“Now， I’m going to Liverpool today. What shall I bring you? You may choose what you like;only small things， for I shall walk there and back; sixty miles each way， that is a long time!”

Hindley named a fiddle(a kind of violin)， and then he asked Miss Cathy. She was hardly six years old， but she could ride any horse in the stable. She chose a whip(鞭子).

He did not forget me， for he had a kind heart， though he was rather serious sometimes. He promised to bring me a pocketful of apples and pears. Then he kissed his children good-bye and set off③.

The three days of his absence seemed a long while to us all. Mrs. Earnshaw expected him by supper-time on the third evening. She put off④ the meal hour after hour. There were no signs of his coming， however. About eleven o’clock the door opened and in stepped the master. He threw himself into a chair， laughing and groaning， and told them all to stand off， for he was nearly killed. He would never again have another such walk for whatever reasons.

Opening his great coat， which he held bundled up in his arms， he said: “See here， wife. I was never so beaten with anything in my life. But you must take it as a gift of God though it’s as dark almost as if it came from the devil.”

We crowded round him. And over Miss Cathy’s head， I had a look at a dirty， ragged， black-haired child—big enough both to walk and talk—yet， when it was set on its feet， it only stared round， and repeated over and over again some strange words that nobody could understand. I was frightened， and Mrs. Earnshaw was ready to throw it out of doors. She did get angry， asking why he should have brought that gipsy (吉卜賽人) child into the house when they had their own kids to feed and look after? What he meant to do with it?

The master tried to explain the matter though he was really half dead with tiredness. All that I could make out， among her scolding， was a story of his seeing it starving， and homeless， and almost dumb (啞的) in the streets of Liverpool where he picked it up and inquired for its owner. But not a person knew to whom it belonged. He said that as both his money and time was limited， he thought it better to take it home with him at once than run into vain expenses there. Anyway he was determined he would not leave it as he found it.

Well， finally Mrs. Earnshaw calmed down， and Mr. Earnshaw told me to wash it， give it clean things， and let it sleep with the children.

Hindley and Cathy then began searching their father’s pockets for the presents he had promised them. But when Hindley drew out what had been a fiddle， crushed(壓壞)to pieces in the great coat， he cried loudly. And Cathy， when she learned her father had lost her whip in attending on⑤ the stranger， showed her feeling by spitting at the gipsy child， earning herself a sound blow⑥ from Mr. Earnshaw to teach her cleaner manners.

(Adapted from Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte)

閱讀思考

1. What small presents did Mr. Earnshaw’s children ask for?

A. A fiddle and a whip.B. A horse and a whip.

C. A pocketful of apples and pears.D. A fiddle and some pears.

2. When did Mr. Earnshaw return home from Liverpool?

A. By supper time.B. An hour after the meal time.

C. When it was getting dark. D. Not until it was nearly midnight.

3. Mr. Earnshaw brought the gipsy child back home for the following reasons EXCEPT that .

A. he couldn’t find the parents of the starving child

B. he found that the starving child was a dumb boy

C. he couldn’t afford to stay longer to look for the child’s parents

D. he couldn’t leave the starving child without anyone caring for it

4. It can be inferred from the passage that.

A. the title “A Gift of God” refers to something he bought in Liverpool

B. Cathy was very disappointed and she turned her anger at her father

C. Mrs. Earnshaw agreed to keep the gipsy child in spite of everything

D. Hindley was good-humoured even if he didn’t get his present

詞匯聚焦

①turn to

句中的turn to表示“轉(zhuǎn)向”， 再如:

(1) He turned to his father and said that he would surely win the match.

他轉(zhuǎn)向他的父親并說他一定會(huì)贏得比賽。

turn to也可以表示“向……求助”， 如:

(1) They always turn to me when they are in trouble.

他們有麻煩的時(shí)候總是向我求助。

(2) With no one to turn to in her desperate situation， she felt quite miserable.

在她絕望的情形下沒有人可以求助， 她感到相當(dāng)悲慘。

②porridge

名詞， 意為“(谷類加水或牛奶煮成的)粥， (尤指)麥片粥”， 如:

a bowl of porridge with milk and sugar for breakfast

早餐吃的一碗甜奶粥。

③set off

句中的意思為:開始(旅行、賽跑等)

(1) What time are you planning to set off tomorrow?

你打算明天幾點(diǎn)鐘啟程?

(2) They’ve set off on a journey round the world.

他們已經(jīng)開始環(huán)游世界。

set off還可以表示“觸發(fā)， 引發(fā)”之意， 例如:

Whatever you say now will set off a more violent quarrel and fight. They have already lost control.

現(xiàn)在無論你說什么都會(huì)引發(fā)更加激烈的爭(zhēng)斗。他們已經(jīng)失控了。

④put off

put off在句中的含義為“推遲”， 例如:

This afternoon’s meeting will have to be put off.

今天下午的會(huì)議得延期。

相關(guān)的詞組:

put up 張貼

put up with 忍受

put out 撲滅

put away 收起來

put down 放下， 記下

⑤attend on

attend on表示“照顧， 伺候”的意思， 例如:

He had the honor of attending on the Prince.

他有幸照顧王子。

Two nurses attended night and day on the dying statesman.

兩個(gè)護(hù)士日夜照顧那個(gè)將死的政治家。

⑥earn herself a sound blow

sound在此處表示“充分的， 徹底的”， 本句的含義為:為自己得到了一頓痛打。

語法指津

1. She did get angry， asking why he should have brought that gipsy (吉卜賽人) child into the house when they had their own kids to feed and look after?

本句中should一詞表示驚訝之情， 表示“竟然”之意， 句意為:她真的很生氣， 問他已經(jīng)有自己的小孩要撫養(yǎng)和照顧， 為什么他竟然還帶回了那個(gè)吉卜賽小孩?關(guān)于should一詞表示這一含義的例句還有如:

(1) It wasn’t right that such near neighbors should not know each other.

這么近的鄰居竟然彼此不認(rèn)識(shí)， 這是不對(duì)的。

(2) It seems so unfair that this should happen to me.

這樣的事竟然發(fā)生在我的身上， 這太不公平了。

(3) I can’t think why he should have said that.

我想不出為什么他竟然這樣說。

【典題分析】

1.You can’t imagine that a well-behaved gentleman ____ be so rude to a lady.

A. mightB. needC. shouldD. would

答案:C。

分析:should表示驚訝之情， 表示“竟然”之意。

2. About eleven o’clock the door opened and in stepped the master.

句中in stepped the master為倒裝句， 倒裝的用法為將副詞提前引起全倒裝， here， there， in， out， away， up， down， often等副詞位于句首時(shí)引起全倒裝， 即將主語與謂語的順序倒置， 如:

(1) Here comes the bus.

汽車來了。

(2) The door opened and in came Mr. Smith.

門開了， 史密斯先生走了進(jìn)來。

(3) Out rushed the children.

孩子們沖了出來。

注意:當(dāng)主語是人稱代詞時(shí)不需要使用倒裝。

(1) Out he rushed.

他沖了出來。

(2) Here he comes.

他來了。

3. He said that as both his money and time was limited， he thought it better to take it home with him at once than run into vain expenses there.

It可以充當(dāng)形式賓語來代替其后充當(dāng)真正賓語的不定式、動(dòng)名詞或從句.

(1)—How can you keep so healthy these years?

—Well， I have made it a rule to take part in physical labor every Sunday.(代替不定式)

—這些年你是怎樣保持如此健康的?

—噢， 我把每個(gè)星期天參加體力勞動(dòng)變成了一條規(guī)定。

(2) We thought it no use arguing with him.(代替動(dòng)名詞)

我們覺得和他爭(zhēng)論沒有用。

(3) The teacher makes it clear that everyone should hand in his homework on time.(代替從句)

老師清楚地說明了每個(gè)人都應(yīng)該要準(zhǔn)時(shí)上交他的作業(yè)。

【典題分析】

The chairman thoughtnecessary to invite Professor Smith to speak at the meeting.

A. that B. it C. this D. him

答案:B。

分析:it作形式賓語， 真正的賓語為to invite Professor Smith to speak at the meeting。

答案與解析

1. A。細(xì)節(jié)題， 問的是Mr. Earnshaw的孩子們讓他帶什么禮物。 他的兒子讓他帶的是fiddle， 他的女兒讓他帶的是whip， 而文中的“我”并不是Mr. Earnshaw的孩子。

2. D。細(xì)節(jié)題， 根據(jù)第五段的描述:Mrs. Earnshaw expected him by supper-time on the third evening. She put off the meal hour after hour. There were no signs of his coming， however. About eleven o’clock the door opened and in stepped the master. 我們可以知道， 到了11點(diǎn)左右Mr. Earnshaw才到了家。

3. B。本題要求選出選項(xiàng)中不是Mr. Earnshaw帶回gipsy小男孩的原因， 通過分析可以知道B項(xiàng)中說因?yàn)樾∧泻⑹莻€(gè)dumb(啞的)男孩才把他帶回來的， 顯然不符合事實(shí)， 文中說的是:小男孩是almost dumb， 因此不是原因。

4. C。從課文的細(xì)節(jié)Well， finally Mrs. Earnshaw calmed down， and Mr. Earnshaw told me to wash it， give it clean things， and let it sleep with the children.可以看出， 最后Mr. Earnshaw還是接納了這個(gè)吉卜賽小男孩。

編輯/梁宇清