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The Father, His Son and Their Donkey

Narrator 1: One bright day in a long ago springtime, a farmer and his son set off for the marketplace. They felt very happy to be together and they walked along slowly, talking and enjoying the sunshine. Their donkey followed behind them happily as they made their way over the long and dusty road to town.
Farmer: It’s a wonderful day to be out and about in the world, don’t you think?
Son: Surely I do, Father. I can’t wait to get to the marketplace. I want to buy a jam cake and a new slingshot (弹弓).
Farmer: And I hope to get some fat red hens and a bag of good yellow corn to plant.
Narrator 2: And so the farmer and his son continued their journey excitedly, thinking good thoughts about the day ahead. The donkey walked along behind them.
Narrator 1: After a while they came upon an old woman, working in her garden by the roadside.
Farmer: (cheerfully) Good day, madam.
Old Woman: (with an angry voice) I will not wish you a good day, sir.
Farmer: (confused) And why not? What have I done to you?
Old Woman: It is not what you have done to me, sir, but what you have done to that child of yours. How dare you make him walk with heavy steps through the dust (尘土) while that donkey prances along without a care in the world? You should be ashamed (羞愧的) of yourself, making the poor boy walk in this heat.
Farmer: (nervously) Why, yes, I see what you mean. I wonder that I did not think of it before. Here, son, climb right up on the donkey and rest your legs.
Narrator 2: Now the boy was not a bit tired, and he did not really wish to ride the donkey. But he was an agreeable boy, so he climbed up on the donkey’s back, and the three continued their journey.
Narrator 1: After a while they met a pair of travelers coming along the road in their direction.
Traveler 1: Look at that rude boy, riding while his poor old father walks.
Traveler 2: What a good-for-nothing boy he must be!
Narrator 2: Hearing their words, the boy jumped right down into the road.
Son: Father, you must ride. I don’t mind walking.
Farmer: (doubtfully) I guess you are right. Thank you, son.
Narrator 1: So with the father riding the donkey, and the boy walking along beside, the three continued their journey.
Narrator 2: After a while they nearly arrived at the town. A shopkeeper stood in his doorway and watched them pass.
Shopkeeper: I have never seen such a pair of fools! That strong little donkey can easily carry the two of you. Why does one walk when both of you could ride?
Narrator 1: The farmer and his son were both feeling a bit bewildered (困惑的) by this time, and only wished to be left alone, so they tried to ignore (不理会) the shopkeeper. This made the shopkeeper very angry, and he ran into the street.
Shopkeeper: Can’t you hear me, you great selfish fool? Let your son ride with you. That donkey is a fine strong animal. It won’t hurt him a bit!
Narrator 2: The farmer was sad hearing the shopkeeper’s angry words, so he called to his son.
Farmer: Come, Son. Jump up behind me. We both can ride the rest of the way.
Narrator 2: The boy climbed up on the patient donkey behind his father, and the three continued on their journey.
Narrator 1: Very soon, they passed a group of townspeople, who began to laugh and shout at them.
Townspeople: What cruel (残忍的) people you are! Are you trying to break that poor donkey’s back? Shame on you!
Narrator 2: The farmer and his son jumped quickly down off the donkey’s back and looked at each other. They did not know what to do.
Townspeople: The donkey has carried you for miles. Why don’t you try carrying him for a change? (laughing)
Farmer: (with frustration) All right, all right! If it will make you happy we will carry the donkey!
Son: But Father, how will we do it? He will not like it. He will surely kick us! And he is far too heavy.
Farmer: We only need a stout pole and some rope. We can lash the donkey’s feet to the pole. We can each lift one end of the pole and carry our donkey to the marketplace. We have only a short way to go now.
Son: (doubtfully) It might work.
Townspeople: Go find a stout pole. And bring some rope. Hurry!
Narrator 1: The townspeople rushed to their homes and quickly found a strong pole and some rope. They stood by and watched as the farmer and his son tried to tie(系) the donkey’s feet to the pole.
Narrator 2: This was not an easy thing to do. No one had asked the donkey about the plan, and he clearly wanted no part of it. He kicked and bucked and brayed. But at last he was tied fast to the pole.
Narrator 1: The farmer took one end of the heavy pole and lifted it to his shoulder. His son did likewise (同样的). With staggering steps, they continued on their journey.
Narrator 2: After a few minutes, they came to a bridge over a river. The water gushed noisily under the bridge. The sound made the poor donkey afraid, who was feeling rather sick from traveling in this upside-down way.
Narrator 1: The donkey began to kick, trying to free himself. Suddenly, the ropes broke and the poor donkey went flying over the side of the bridge and into the rushing water below.
Narrator 2: The farmer and his son ran down to the bank of the river. But there was nothing they could do. The water was fast and deep, and the donkey quickly sank (下沉). They couldn’t see it very soon.
Townspeople: Look what has happened! Look what you have done!
Farmer: (Sadly) Oh no! We have lost our donkey. This is awful!
Son: (crying) Our poor donkey has died. It is all our fault (错误).
Farmer: You are right. We made a mistake.
Narrator 1: And so the farmer and his son turned sadly toward their home, having learned a painful lesson.
1. What are the father and the son like? They are ________.

A．brave and honest

B．kind and simple-minded

C．warm-hearted and open-minded

D．hard-working and humorous

Read and answer:
2. What lesson can you learn from the play?
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2 . 阅读短文, 根据短文内容回答问题。

Bob Smith, a National Teacher Award Winner

What does it take to win the hearts and minds of Grade 10 students? Ask Jenny Fitchette, Grade 10 student at Lester Pearson High, and you will get a warm reply: “The number one thing is a good teacher.”

Jenny should know this well. Look at her timetable and you will find that she is studying the usual subjects of maths, English, biology and art this term. It’s not so much the subjects that keep her coining to school each day. It’s her biology teacher, Mr. Smith, who keeps her eager and ready to learn. So Jenny recently found time to finish a 1000-word paper in which she nominated （提名）her teacher, Mr. Bob Smith for the Teacher of the Year Award. Only students may nominate someone for the award.

“I can’t really say why Mr. Smith is such a good teacher.” says Jenny. “But we always enjoy the time when Mr. Smith stays with us. I mean, the little fish really help us in our biology studies. We can actually watch the fish growing and study them in the classroom. It’s hands-on, which makes his class special. Mr. Smith always tells us that we learn best when we get in there and work with things.”

Mr. Smith says he was very surprised and honoured when he heard that Jenny had nominated him for the award. “It’s really the students who should be getting the award,” he says. “It’s my job to bring meaningful and interesting things for them to study. It’s not I, but the students who are showing excellence.”

When asked what makes his students love school so much, Mr. Smith stops and thinks deeply. I think it comes down to respect. I respect my students and I see my job as serving them in a way. I work for them to help them open up their minds and discover things that matter to them.”

Jenny says that you never know what to expect from day to day in her biology class. One day, Mr. Smith might bring his electric guitar, and for the whole class, explain and show the effects of music on plant growth. He never allows anyone any time to be lazy.

1. What does Jenny think is the number one thing to win the hearts of students?
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2. What subject does Mr. Smith teach?
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3. Who may nominate someone for the Teacher of the Year Award?
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4. Why is Mr. Smith’s class special according to Jenny?
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5. What do you think of a teacher like Mr. Smith? Why do you think so?
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