Lesson 7 The Two Goats

1、On a wild mountain, two goats met on a ledge just over a high cliff. The ledge was so narrow, that there was neither room for them to pass each other nor to turn round and go back. A steep rock rose straight above them—a deep dark chasm lay below! What do you think the two goats did?

2、One of them with great care laid himself down on the narrow ledge, pressing as close to the rock as he could. Then the other goat gently and softly stepped over his friend, till, safely past him, he could lightly bound away.

3、The goat that had lain down then drew himself up from his lowly place, spring again from rock safe and sound1, free to spring again from rock to rock, and crop the sweet grass on the hills.

4、Two other goats had left the valley, and climbed far up the mountain. At length they met on the banks of a wild, rushing stream. A tree had fallen across the stream, and formed a bridge from the one side to the other.

5、The goats looked at each other, and each wished to pass over first.

6、They stood for a moment with one foot on the tree, each thinking that the other would draw back. But neither of them would give way and they met at last on the middle of the narrow bridge!

7、They then began to push and fight with their horns, till at last their feet slipped,and both the goats fell into the swift flowing stream, and were lost in the waters!

8、Both might have been saved, if either of them had known how to yield at the right time.

(289 words)

Exercises

Ⅰ. How well did you read?

1. [Note the fact] Where did the first two goats meet?

A. On the banks of a wild, rushing stream.

B. On a ledge just over a high cliff.

C. One the rock near the river.

2. [Note the fact] According to the passage, which of the following is true?

A. The other two goats might have been saved if either of them had known how to yield.

B. There was enough room for the first two goats to turn round and go back.

C. Two other goats helped each other to pass over a wild, rushing stream.

3. [Draw a conclusion] What can we infer from the passage?

A. It’s win-win for the two goats to solve the problem together.

B. It is dangerous for the two goats to pass each other over the river together.

C. It is impossible for the two goats to pass each other on a ledge over a high cliff.

4. [Grasp the main idea] The writer wrote the other two goats in Paragraph 4–8 to show that _________.

A. what the two goats wanted to do B. how the two goats helped themselves C. why the two goats were lost in the river

Ⅱ. Read for words.

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

1. Then the other goat gently and softly (1)stepped over his friend, till, safely past him, he could lightly (2)bound away. (Para. 2, line 2; Para. 2, line 3)

(1) A. 跨过 B. 踩上 C. 按住

(2) A. 逃走 B. 拿走 C. 跳跃着离开

2. The goat that had lain down then（1）drew himself up from his lowly place,spring again from rock safe and sound, free to spring again from rock to rock, and （2）crop the sweet grass on the hills. (Para. 3, line 1; Para. 3, line 2)

（1） A. 继续向前 B. 挺直身子 C. 站起离开（

2） A. eat B. see C. collect

3. At length they met on the banks of a wild, rushing stream. (Para. 4, line 1)

A. Actually B. Unluckily C. Finally

Ⅲ. Writing practice.

1. Where did the other two goats meet?

2. What does the bridge look like?

3. What did they each want to do?

4. What took place in the middle of the bridge?

5. What happened to them at last?

6. What can you learn from the story?