A penny-pinching farmer didn't want his hired hand to stop working. One morning, he told the farmhand, "It's such a nuisance to come in from the field,, wash up for lunch and take time to eat. Why don't we save time and eat lunch now?" The hired man agreed. The farm's wife brought in some cold meat and fried potatoes, and the two men ate again. When they had finished, the cheap farmer said, "While we're still at the table, let's have supper too. " They were now served steak, boiled potatoes and mixed vegetables, and they ate once more. "Now that the meals are out of the way, " the farmer announced, we can go out and work all day without interruption. " "Oh, no, " the farmhand answered. " I never work after supper. Notes: (1) penny-pinching adj.吝嗇的 (2) hired hand n. 幫手 (3) nuisance n. 討厭的事物、人、行爲等 (4) wash up洗 (5) be out of the way解決某事 (6) interruption n.打斷某人 Exercises: 根據短文選擇正確答案： ①How many people did the farmer hire to work in his field? A. One B. Two C. Three D. Four ② What, according to the farmer, was a nuisance? A. to come back from the field B. to wash up for lunch C. to take time to eat D. All of the above. ③ Why did the farmer urge the farmhand to eat three meals together? A. Because the farmhand was always hungry. B. Because the farmer's wife prepared three meals at one time. C. Because he was not willing to let the farmhand have a rest. D. Because the crops in the field had to be harvested in no time. ④ We can see from the passage that the farmer A. was too vicious B. did not like the farmhand C. was too mean D. was very hospitable ⑤ We can infer from the passage that the farmhand A. was slow-witted B. was very greedy C. was very lazy D. was a clever man 19.我晚飯後從不工作 一位農場主非常吝嗇，不想讓他僱傭的幫手停下來休息。一天早上，他對幫手說：“從地裏回來，又要洗手吃飯，又花時間，真是太不方便了。我們何不省點時間，現在就吃午飯呢？” 僱員同意了。農場主的妻子端進來一些冷肉和油炸土豆。於是，兩個人又開始吃起來。 吃完後，吝嗇鬼說：“既然我們還在桌子邊，讓我們連晚飯也吃了吧。”這次上桌的有排骨、煮土豆和雜燴青菜。於是兩個人又吃起來。 “現在三頓飯都吃過了，”農場主宣稱道，“我們便可以出去一整天不停地幹活了。” “哦，不，”那幫手回答說，“晚飯後我從不工作。” 練習參考答案： ①A②D③C④C⑤D
