Two traveling angels stopped to spend the night in the home of a rich family. The family was rude and refused to let the angles stay in the guest room. Instead the angels were given a space in the cold basement (地下室). As they made their bed on the hard floor, the old angel saw a hole in the wall and repaired it. When the young angel asked why, the old angel replied, “Things aren’t always what they seem.”

The next night the pair came to rest at a house of a very poor but very friendly farmer and his wife. After sharing little food they had, the couple let the angels sleep in their bed. They had a good sleep. When the sun came up the next morning, the angels found the farmer and his wife in tears. Their only cow died in the field.

The younger angel was very angry and asked the older angel. “How could this happen? Why didn’t you watch out for the cow? The first man had everything, yet you watched over his house.” she said, “The second family had little but was willing to share everything, and you didn’t help.”

“Things aren’t always what they seem,” the old angel replied. “When we stayed in the basement, I noticed that gold was stored in that hole in the wall. Since the owner was so miserly and unwilling to share his good fortune, I asked God if I could seal (密封) the wall so he couldn’t find it. Then last night as we slept in the farmer’s bed, the angel of death came for his wife. I asked God if the angel could take the cow instead. Things aren’t always what they seem.”

1. Why did the older angel repair the hole for the rich family?

          A. Because she wanted to save the gold in it for the rich.                    

          B. Because the basement was too cold to stay in.                               

          C. Because she didn’t want the rich man to find the gold in it.             

          D. Because she thought she should always be ready to help others.

2. The young angel was very angry because ___________________.

          A. the older angel killed the farmer’s cow         

          B. the rich man gave them a bad place to live    

          C. the angle of death took the cow away         

          D. the older angel treated the two families unfairly

3. The meaning of the underlined word “miserly” is _______________.

          A. 貪婪的                 B. 吝嗇的                     C. 好客的                  D. 悲慘的

4. The reader tries to tell us ___________________________________.

          A. angles are always to help the poor               

          B. sometimes things aren’t always what they seem                             

          C. everyone should be ready to help others       

        D. the young should always learn from the old

Two traveling angels stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family. The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the guestroom. Instead the angels were given some space in the cold basement. As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw a hole in the wall and repaired it. When the younger angel asked why, the older angel replied, "Things aren't always what they seem."

     The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor, but very hospitable (好客的) farmer. After sharing a little food they had, the farmer and his wife let the angels sleep in their bed where they could have a good night's rest. When the sun came up the next morning, the angels found the farmer and his wife in tears. Their only cow, whose milk had been their only income, lay dead in the field.

     The younger angel was very angry and asked the older angel, "How could this happen?" "Why didn't you watch out for the cow? The first family had everything, yet you watched over his house," she accused (譴責(zé)). "The second family had little but was willing to share everything, you didn't help."

     "Things aren't always what they seem," the angel replied. "When we stayed in the basement, I noticed there was gold stored in that hole in the wall. Since the owner was so greedy and unwilling to share his good fortune, I asked God if I could seal the wall so he wouldn't find it. Then last night as we slept in the farmer's bed, the angel of death came for his wife. I asked God if the angel could take the cow instead. So things aren't always what they seem."

1. The older angel repaired the hole for the rich family because _____________________.

A. she wanted to punish the greedy owner

B. the basement was too cold to stay in

C. she wanted to save the gold for the poor.

D. she believed that one should always be ready to offer help

2. The younger angel was very angry because _______________________________.

A. the older angel killed the farmer's cow?

B. the wealthy man gave them a bad place to live in

C. the older angel treated the two families unfairly

D. the angel of death took the cow away instead of the farmer’s wife

3. Why did the older angel let the farmer's cow die?______________________.

A. Because she was sympathetic to the rich

B. Because she wanted to save the farmer's wife.

C. Because God wanted the older angel to take the cow.

D. Because she wanted to teach the younger angel a lesson.

4.The first “they” in line 7 refers to ________while the second “they” in line 8 refers to _______in the second paragraph.

A. two travelling angels; the couple???????

B. two travelling angels; the wealthy family

C. the couple; two travelling angels???????

D. the couple; the angel of death and the God

5.The story tries to tell the readers that _________________________.

A. angels are always ready to help the poor

B. angels are always ready to help the rich

C. the young should always learn from the cold

D. sometimes things are not always what they seem