Saturday morning was bright and fresh. There was a song in every heart, cheer on every face, and a spring in every step.

Tom appeared with a bucket（桶）of white paint in one hand and a brush in the other. His Aunt Polly told him to paint the fence（篱笆）around the garden. It was ninety feet long and nine feet high. He felt very blue.

Then he had a wonderful idea. He picked up his brush and started to work.

Soon Ben came along the road. He was happily eating an apple. He stopped to look at Tom. Tom went on painting and pretended（假装）not to see Ben.

“I’m going swimming,” said Ben. “Do you want to go swimming, Tom? But I guess you can’t. You have to stay and work, don’t you?”

 “Work?” Tom said. “This isn’t work. I’m enjoying myself. Does a boy get a chance to paint a fence like this every day?”

Ben thought about this. Tom continued painting carefully. Sometimes he stopped, stood back to look at the fence like an artist, and then added（增加）a bit more paint in just the right place. Ben was watching Tom paint with great interest. He was getting more and more eager（渴望的）to have a try himself.

After a while, Ben asked Tom if he would let him paint a little. Tom thought about it, and said, “No, Ben, I can’t. You see. Aunt Polly wants it to be done well. Aunt Polly said that I must paint it with great care.”

“Oh, please, Tom,” begged Ben. “I can do it. I’ll be really careful. Just let me try. I’ll give you half of my apple. Well, I’ll give you all of it!”

“Well, all right, Ben,” said Tom. “You must be very careful.”

He gave Ben his brush with worry on his face but joy in his heart. He sat down under the tree, and started to eat Ben’s apple. All day, boys came to make fun of Tom, but they ended up staying to paint. When Ben got tired, Billy was waiting. He gave Tom a kite for a chance to paint. Then Johnny offered him a basketball, and so on.

By late afternoon Tom had got all kinds of toys, and the fence had got three coats of paint. Later Aunt Polly came to look at the painted fence. She was so pleased with Tom’s work that she gave Tom a large cake!

1.Why did Tom pretend not to see Ben when he came and watched him painting?

A. He saw Ben eating an apple happily.

B. He tried to make Ben interested in it.

C. He didn’t want to go swimming with Ben at all.

D. He didn’t want Ben to share the chance to paint the fence.

2.What does the underlined word “spring” probably mean in Chinese?

A. 春天           B. 弹簧           C. 泉                            D. 活力

3.What do you think of Tom?

A. Honest.           B. Smart.             C. Shy.                   D. Stubborn.

Tom lived a long way from the city. One day he went to the city to buy something in the shop, and after he bought them, he went into a restaurant（餐厅） and sat down at a table. When he looked round, he saw some old people put eye glasses（眼镜）on before reading their books, so after lunch he went to a shop to buy some glasses, too. He walked along the road, and soon found a shop. The man in the shop made him try on(试戴) a lot of glasses, but Tom always said, “No, I can’t read with these.”
The man became more and more puzzled(困惑). At last he said, “Excuse me, but can you read at all?”
“No, I can’t,” Tom said, “If I can read, do you think I come here to buy glasses?”
1. Tom met some old people____________.       .
A. far away from the city                      B. in the shop
C. in the restaurant                           D. in the park
2. When did Tom go to the shop to buy some glasses? ____________.
A. After lunch     B. Before lunch    C. In the morning   D. In the evening
3. Tom went to a restaurant to____________.        .
A. buy eye glasses  B. have lunch  C. buy some books D. sell eye glasses
4. Before reading their books the old people in the restaurant____________.    .
A. drank tea           B. took their glasses off
C. bought glasses       D. put their glasses on
5. In fact, Tom ____________.
A. liked eye glasses                   B. liked reading
C. couldn’t read at all               D. knew the man in the shop