Lesson 2 A Killer on the Cliff

“What’s w rong, dad?” asked the boy. Something had wakened him. He went out and found his father standing on the steps, rifle in hand.

“Dingo, so, must be the one that has been killing our sheep.”

The silence of night was split by the long, shrill^① wail of a dingo—the w ild dog of Australia. The wail came from the cliff about a quarter of a mile from the house.

The boy’s father lifted his rifle. He fired several shots in the direction of the cliff^②. “There, that ought to frighten him away,” he said.

In the morning the boy set off with his horse. He rode slow ly along beside the old stone cliff, looking for signs of the dingo. Suddenly he saw it. It was lying flat^③ on the branch of a tree that grew out from the high cliff face. It must have slipped over the edge of the cliff in its flight during the night. As it fell, it must have landed in the branches. Below the tree was a sudden drop of sixty feet. The dingo was trapped beautifully. The boy went to tell his father.

“Are you going to shoot it, dad?” he asked as they returned to the cliff.

“I guess so. It’ll only starve up there anyway.” He lifted the rifle and aimed. The boy waited for the shot but it never came. His father had lowered the rifle again.

“Aren’t you going to shoot it?” asked the boy.

“Not now, son.”

“Are you going to let it go?”

“Not if I can help it, son.”

“Then why don’t you shoot it?”

“It just doesn’t seem fair.”

Next day when they rode out，the dingo was still there. It seemed to be measuring the distance between the tree and the top of the cliff as though it would jump up. Still his father didn’t shoot it.

By the third day the dingo was starting to look thin and weak. The boy’s father raised his rifle slow ly, almost sadly. He aimed and fired. The boy looked first at the ground, expecting to see the dingo’s dead body. Finding the ground bare, he looked up at the tree.

The dingo was still there. Never before had his father missed such an easy shot.

The frightened dingo glanced down at the ground. Then it moved back on its hind legs.

“Look, dad. It’s going to jump. Shoot it now. Quick.”

Suddenly the dingo sprang. The boy watched, expecting it to fall onto the ground. Instead he saw it sticking to the face of the cliff, and struggling wildly at the sliding rock. Its hind feet kicked upward.

“Now, dad,” the boy urged, “or it’ll get away.”

His father did not move.

The dingo stopped itself weakly over the top. Still his father didn’t raise the rifle. The dingo walked away from the edge of the cliff and moved slow ly out of sight.

“You let it go!” the boy shouted.

“Yes, I let it go.” his father said.

“Why?”

“Guess I’m getting soft, son.”

“But to let a dingo go! A fter it killed all those sheep.”

His father looked at the tree swaying^④ empty in the breeze. “There are some things, son.” He said, “that just don’t seem right for a man to do.”

Notes

① shrill [ʃrɪl] adj. 尖锐的；刺耳的

② cliff [klɪf] n. 峭壁，悬崖

③ flat [flæt] adv. 平伸地，平躺地

adj. 平坦的，平展的，平伸的；单调的

n. 公寓，单元房

④ sway [sweɪ] vt. & vi. （使）摇摆，摇晃，摆动

Exercises

Ⅰ. How well did you read?

1. [Note the facts] A dingo is most like a___.

A. lion 　B. sheep 　C. dog

2. [See the purpose] The man tried to scare the dingo off so that it wouldn’t___.

A. wake him at night 　B. kill his sheep 　C. hurt his son

3. [Follow the order] Which happened first?

A. The dingo landed in the branches of a tree.

B. The dingo fell over the edge of the cliff.

C. The boy rode out to look for the dingo.

4. [Understand the reason] The dingo was trapped since it was___.

A. too high above the ground to jump down

B. held tightly by the branches of the tree

C. in danger of being hit by falling rocks

5. [Read between the lines] The dingo looked thin because it had___.

A. spent three days in the tree without food

B. worn itself out by jumping from branch to branch

C. eaten poison the man put out for it

6. [Draw a conclusion] If the man hadn’t shot at the dingo, it might never have___.

A. fallen 　B. barked 　C. jumped

7. [See the point] The man let the dingo go because he___.

A. felt shooting it would be unfair

B. couldn’t shoot straight

C. knew it hadn’t killed his sheep

Ⅱ. Read for words and exp ressions

1. Choose one best paraphrase or Chinese meaning for the underlined words.

(1) The silence of night was split① by the long, shrill wail② of a dingo—the w ild dog of Australia. The wail came from the cliff about a quarter of a m ile from the house. (Para. 3)

① A. followed 　B. maintained 　C. broken

② A. shadow 　B. cry 　C. tail

(2) The boy’s father lifted his rifle. He fired several shots in the direction of the cliff. “There, that ought to frighten him away,” he said. (Para. 4)

A. stick 　B. gun 　C. knife

(3) It must have slipped over the edge of the cliff in its flight during the night. (Para. 5)

A. 飞行 　B. 搏斗 　C. 逃跑

(4) Suddenly the dingo sprang. The boy watched, expecting it to fall onto the ground. (Para. 19)

A. jumped 　B. flew 　C. stood up

2. Choose one best Chinese meaning for the underlined expressions. Instead he saw it sticking to the face of the cliff, and struggling w ildly at the sliding rock. (Para. 19)

A. 倚靠 　B. 贴紧 　C. 坐在

Ⅲ. Writing practice

In about 250 words retell the story. Do not include anything that is not in the passage.

Answer these questions in note form to get your points:

1. One night what awoke the boy?

2. What had the dingo done to them?

3. Why did the father fire several shots?

4. The second day, what did the boy find when looking for the signs of the dingo?

5. Why was it impossible for the dingo to jump down?

6. W hen the father came why didn’t he shoot?

7. On the second day when they got there, what did they see? Did the father fire?

8. On the third day, seeing the dingo begin to look thin and weak, what did the father do? Why?

9. What did the dingo do hearing the shot?

10. Why did the father just let the dingo go?

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