Lesson 2 The Fox and the Stork

1、A FOX asked a stork to dinner, with the naughty purpose of playing a trick on his guest.

2、The stork came at the hour fixed, with a good appetite for her meal. But little pleased was she on finding that it consisted of mince, served up in a dish so shallow that she could scarcely, with her long slender bill, pick up enough to satisfy a sparrow! The fox lapped up the food readily enough, only stopping a moment to say, “I hope, madam, that you like your feast? Don’t you think that my mince is first-rate?”

3、The stork made no reply, but retired, hungry and much displeased, from the almost untasted meal.

4、A few days afterwards the stork returned the compliment by asking the fox to dinner.

5、Reynard hastened to the place of meeting, where the stork had made ready her meal. Great was the disgust of the fox to behold the food served up in a long-necked jar, which let in the stork’s slender bill, but into which he could not thrust even his pointed nose!

6、“I hope, sir, that you like your feast?” said the stork, who was not generous enough to return good for evil, and who wished to give Reynard a lesson. And as the hungry fox looked sadly up into her face, she added, “Those who cannot take a joke in good part should never make one. Never do to others, what you would not like them to do to yourself. ”

（248words）

Exercises

Ⅰ. How well did you read?

1. [note the reason] Why did the fox ask the stork to dinner?

A. To make friends with her.

B. To play a trick on her.

C. To express thanks to her.

2. [check the details] What did the fox serve in the dish?

A. A small pieces of meat.

B. Much large pieces of meat.

C. Some vegetables and fruits.

3. [evaluate the information] How did the stork feel about the dinner?

4. [note the fact] How did the stork return the compliment?

A. By sending a thank-you letter.

B. By asking the fox to dinner.

C. By sending a bunch of fl owers.

5. [check the details] Where did the stork serve the food?

A. In a big plate. B. In a long-necked jar. C. In a shallow dish.

6. [give the reason] Why did the stork return the compliment?

A. To express her thanks. B. To congratulate the fox. C. To give the fox a lesson.

7. [grasp the main idea] What does the story tell us?

A. Treat others as you would like to be treated.

B. A friend in need is a friend indeed.

C. We can’t judge a book by its cover.

Ⅱ. Read for words.

1. Choose one best paraphrase for the underlined words.

(1) The stork made no reply, but retired, hungry and much displeased, from the almost untasted meal. (Para. 3, Line 1)

A. stopped working B. went off C. gave up

(2) Great was the disgust of the fox to behold the food served up in a long-necked jar. (Para. 5, Line 2)

A. hold B. hear C. see

(3) Reynard hastened to the place of meeting, where the stork had made ready hermeal. (Para. 5, Line 1)

A. went quickly B. walked slowly C. happened soon

2. Choose one best paraphrase or Chinese meaning for the underlined expressions.

(1) But little pleased was she on finding that it consisted of mince. (Para. 2, Line 2)

A. gathered up B. was made up of C. was divided into

(2) The fox lapped up the food readily enough. (Para. 2, Line 4)

A. ate up B. gave up C. put away

(3) “I hope, sir, that you like your feast?” said the stork, who was not generous enough to return good for evil, and who wished to give Reynard a lesson. (Para. 6,

Line 2)

A. 恩将仇报 B. 以德报怨 C. 以牙还牙

Ⅲ. Summary writing.

In no more than 80 words, summarize the whole text according to the following questions. Do not include anything that is not in the passage.

1. Why did the fox ask the stork to dinner?

2. What did he put before her?

3. What sort of dish was it in?

4. What did the fox ask the stork while he was eating?

5. How did the stork return the compliment?

6. What do you learn from the story?