Lesson 6 The Devil and Tom Walker (1)

Washington Irving

1、Let us go back to the late 1600s. In those years, one of the most famous men in the world was Captain William Kidd. Captain Kidd was a pirate, sailing the seas and capturing any ships he found. He and his men took money from these ships. Captain Kidd hid this money in different places. He was captured by the English in Boston, Massachusetts, and was put to death in the year 1701.

2、From that time on, people all over the world searched many places for Captain Kidd’s money. The people who lived in Massachusetts in the 1700s believed Captain Kidd buried some of his treasure near Boston. Not far from Boston was a small river which ran into the Atlantic Ocean. An old story said that Captain Kidd had come up this river from the ocean. Then he buried his gold and silver and jewels under a big tree.

3、The story said that this treasure was protected by the Devil himself, who was a good friend of Captain Kidd. In the year 1727，a man named Tom Walker lived near this place. Tom Walker was not a pleasant man. He loved only one thing—money. There was only one person worse than Tom. That was his wife. She also loved money. These two were so hungry for money that they even stole things from each other.

4、One day, Tom Walker was returning home through a dark forest. He walked slowly and carefully so that he would not fall into a pool of mud.

5、After reaching a piece of dry ground, Tom sat down on a tree that had fallen. As he rested, he dug into the earth with a stick. He knew the story that Indians had killed prisoners here as sacrifices to the Devil. But this did not trouble him. The only devil Tom was afraid of was his wife.

6、Tom’s stick hit something hard. He dug it out of the earth and saw that it was a human skull. In the skull was an Indian ax. Suddenly, Tom Walker heard an angry voice, “Don’t touch that skull!”

7、Tom looked up. He saw a giant sitting on a broken tree. Tom had never seen such a big man. He wore the clothes of an Indian. His skin was almost black and covered with ashes. His eyes were big and red. His black hair stood up from his head. He carried a large ax. The giant asked, “What are you doing on my land?”

8、But Tom Walker was not afraid. He answered, “What do you mean? This land belongs to Mr. Peabody.”

9、The strange man laughed and pointed to the tall trees. Tom saw that one of the trees had been cut by an ax. He looked more closely and saw that the name Peabody had been cut into the tree. Mr. Peabody was a man who got rich by stealing from Indians.

10、Tom looked at the other trees. Every one had the name of some rich, important man from Massachusetts. Tom looked at the tree on which he was sitting. It also had a name cut into it —the name of Absalom Crown-inshield.

11、Tom remembered that Mr. Crown-inshield was a very rich man. People said he got his money as Captain Kidd did—by stealing ships.

12、Suddenly, the giant shouted, “Crown-inshield is ready to be burned! I’m going to burn many trees this winter!”

13、Tom told the man that he had no right to cut Mr. Peabody’s trees. The stranger laughed and said, “I have every right to cut these trees. This land belonged to me a long time before Englishmen came to Massachusetts. The Indians worshipped me here. Then you Englishmen killed the Indians. Now I show Englishmen how to buy and sell slaves. And I teach their women how to be witches.”

14、Tom Walker now knew that the giant was the Devil himself. But Tom Walker was still not afraid.

15、The man said Captain Kidd had buried great treasures under the trees, but nobody could have them unless he permitted it. He said Tom could have these treasures if he agreed to give him what he demanded.

(723 words)

Exercises

Ⅰ. How well did you read?

1. [Check the details] What did Captain Kidd do?

A. He was a captain. B. He was a sailor. C. He was a pirate.

2. [Give the reason] Why did people in Massachusetts believe that Captain Kidd buried money near Boston?

A. Because Captain Kidd’s good friend lived in Boston.

B. Because the old story said he had come up the river from the ocean and buried some money there.

C. Because he was killed in Boston.

3. [Check the details] Who was the giant man?

A. The giant man was Captain Kidd.

B. The giant man was Tom Walker’s good friend.

C. The giant man was the Devil, the owner of the land.

Ⅱ. Read for words.

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

(1) The people who lived in Massachusetts in the 1700s believed Captain Kidd buried some of his treasure near Boston. ? (Para. 2, Line 3)

A. money, including gold, silver, jewels and so on

B. the ships he captured?in the ocean?

C. the people he loved very much

(2) Tom’s stick hit something hard. (Para. 6, Line 1)

A.?knocked against

B. had a bad influence

C. came to understand

(3) He said Tom could have these treasures if he agreed to give him what he demanded. (Para. 15, Line 3)

A. needed to do B. asked him to do C. decided to do

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

(1) These two were so hungry for money that they even stole things from each other. (Para. 3, Line 5)

A. loved money so much

B. were very hungry and needed money to buy some food

C. were very poor and wanted to get money

(2) Tom told the man that he had no right to cut Mr. Peabody’s trees. (Para. 13,Line 1)

A. 不对，不正确 B. 没有权利 C. 做得对

Ⅲ. Writing practice.

1. Who did Tom Walker see in the trees?

2. What did the Devil look like?

3. Was Tom Walker afraid of the Devil?

4. What did the Devil cut on the trees? Why?

5. What did the Devil say about Captain Kidd’s money?

6. How could Tom Walker get the money according to the Devil?