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w关键词：farmer/农夫，gold/金子，spirit/精神 |
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w话题：金钱，自力更生 |
w体裁：关于金钱的故事 |
w类型：记叙文 |
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w难度级别：初级 |
w词汇要求：1000 |
w文章词数：350 |
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[ 生 词 可 拖 选 或 双 击 ] |
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"You gave us what we really needed to keep going
—you gave us the lift of our spirits." |
The farmer and his gold pieces
农夫和金币的故事
作者：Hanna 来源：www.skippingstones.org
日期：2008-08-20
There was once
a farmer. His land was hilly; the soil was not the best. He had
a cow that wasn't giving much milk; he had chickens who were
laying few eggs. The place looked run-down: barn and fences
needed repair. The farmer and his wife were so dejected in
spirit that they just could not manage to get the farm back on
its feet.
One stormy
evening, a poorly-dressed man knocked on their door, asking if
he could get shelter for the night. They shared what food had
been prepared, while they talked a great deal about the sad
shape of the farm.
When the
stranger left the following morning, he thanked the farmers for
the good rest he had. As he was by the door, ready to leave, he
pulled a little bag of gold pieces out of his pocket, and said
that maybe this would help them. He added that he'd come by next
year with hopes of finding a revived farm.
After this,
the farmer and his wife often talked about whether they should
buy a more promising cow. Other times they considered whether
they should buy chickens who laid more eggs. However, every
conversation ended with the farmer trusting the farm would
improve as he found himself fixing the barn and the fences,
caring for the animals, planting food for themselves, for their
animals and more to sell.
The farmer
beamed when the stranger really did come by again a year later.
Everything looked so much better. The stranger asked, "What did
you use the gold for?"
"Why," the
farmer said," we had hidden the gold under the kitchen tile and,
while we often thought of it, we never did think of anything we
needed the gold for."
Then the
farmer looked the stranger in the eye and added thoughtfully, "I
do thank you, though, ever so much. You gave us what we really
needed to keep going—you gave us the lift of our spirits."
Saying that,
the farmer dug up the tile and cheerfully returned the gold to
the stranger.
Discussion/讨论：
1. What does the word "dejected"
(underlined in Paragraph 1) mean?
2. Why did the stranger
give the farmer a bag of gold pieces?
3. How did the farmer use
the gold received from the stranger?
4. What did the farmer
really need?
5. What is your opinion
about money?
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