He was 11 years old and went fishing every chance he got from the dock at his family’s 1)cabin on an island in the middle of a New Hampshire lake.
On the day before the 2)bass season 3)opened, he and his father were fishing early in the evening, catching 4)sunfish and 5)perch with worms. Then he tied on a small silver 6)lure and practiced casting.
The lure struck the water and caused colored 7)ripples in the sunset, then silver ripples as the moon rose over the lake.
When his 8)peapole doubled over, he knew something huge was on the other end. His father watched with admiration as the boy skillfully worked the fish alongside the dock.
Finally, he very 9)gingerly lifted the exhausted fish from the water. It was the largest one he had ever seen, but it was a bass.
The boy and his father looked at the handsome fish, 10)gills playing back and forth in the moonlight. The father lit a match and looked at his watch. It was 10 P.M.-- two hours before the season opened. He looked at the fish, then at the boy.
“You’ll have to put it back, son,” he said.
“Dad!” cried the boy.
“There will be other fish,”
I was the new coach of a Little League baseball team and had not yet learned the names of my players. At our first game, I called each boy by the number on his uniform. When I yelled,"Number5, your time to bat, " Jeff Smith came to the plate to hit. When I called for "Number 7", Steve Heinz jumped up. Then I asked for "Number 1", and no one emerged from the dugout. Again I called for Number 1. Still no one.
As the umpire looked on, annoyed at this delay of the game, I shouted, "Who is Number 1?"
That's when the whole team yelled, "We are, Coach! We are!
Notes:
(1) coach n.教练
(2) baseball n.棒球
(3) bat v.（用棒）击
(4) plate n.（棒球）本垒
(5) emerge v.出现
(6) dugout n.隐蔽壕
(7) umpire n.裁判员
Exercises:
请回答下列问题：
① Why didn't the coach know the names of his players?
② How did the coach call the boys since he didn't know their names?
③ Who was number five?
④ Why did the coach get annoyed?
⑤ How did the players interpret "Number I"?
An antiques collector was passing a small shop when he noticed a cat on the sidewalk out front, licking milk from a saucer. The man immediately realized the saucer was very old and valuable. He stepped into the shop with an uninterested look and asked to buy the cat. "I'm sorry, " the shop owner said, "but the cat is not for sale: "
"Please, " the collector urged, "I need a cat around my house to catch mice. I'll give you 20 dollars. "
"The cat is yours," the owner said taking the money.
"Listen," the collector added, "I wonder if you could throw in that old saucer as well. The cat seems to like it and I'd hate to have him give it up. "
"Sorry," the shop owner answered, "but that saucer brings me luck. Why, just this week I've sold 68 cats!"
Notes:
(1) saucer n.托盘
(2) antique n.古董
(3) lick v.舔
(4) urge v.力劝；敦促
(5) throw in 额外赠送