Question

Outside her shabby cottage, old Mrs. Tailor was hanging out laundry on a wire line, unaware that some children lay hidden in the leaves of a nearby tree watching her every move. They were determined to find out if she was really a witch.

They watched as she took a broomstick to clean the dirt from her stone steps. But, much to their disappointment, she did not mount the broomstick and take a flight. Suddenly, the old lady’s work was interrupted by the cackling of her hen—a signal that an egg had been laid in the warm nest on the top of the haystack.

The old broomstick was put aside as she hobbled (蹒跚) off towards the haystack followed by Sooty, a black cat she had rescued from a fox trap some time back. With only three legs, it was hard for Sooty to keep up with the old lady. The cat provided proof—the children were sure that only a witch could own a black cat with three legs.

There, standing on a wooden box, was Mrs. Tailor, stretching out to gather her precious egg. Taking the egg in one of her hands, she began to climb down when, without warning, the box broke and the old lady fell.

“We have to go and help her,”whispered Amy.

“What if it is a trick?”replied Ben.

“Don’t be silly, Ben. If she were a witch, she would have turned us into frogs already,”reasoned Meg.“Come on, Amy! Let’s go.”The girls climbed down the tree and ran all the way to the haystack.

Approaching carefully, they could see a wound on the old lady’s face. She had knocked her head on a stone and her ankle was definitely broken.“Go and get Dad,”Amy yelled at her brother.“Tell him about the accident.”

The boys did not need another excuse to leave. They ran as fast as they could for help, hoping that Mrs. Tailor would not wake and turn the girls into frogs.

1.Why were the children hiding in the tree?

A. Because they wanted to watch Mrs. Tailor do her housework closely.

B. Because they were playing a hide-and-seek game.

C. Because they wanted to find out if the rumors about Mrs. Tailor were true.

D. Because they were pretending to be spies.

2.Mrs. Tailor stopped sweeping when __________.

A. her front steps were clean

B. she noticed the children in the tree

C. she was ready to take a flight

D. she heard the hen cackling

3.Ben did not rush into helping Mrs. Tailor because _________.

A. he thought that she could be tricking them

B. he knew that they could not have been in the tree

C. he did not see the old lady fall down

D. he was afraid of the three-legged cat

Answer 1

1.C

2.D

3.A

【解析】

试题分析：本文讲述了一个故事，孩子们怀疑泰勒夫人是一个女巫，于是就藏着树叶中观察，令他们失望的是泰勒夫人根本不会魔法，还从箱子上摔了下来。

1.细节理解题。根据第一段unaware that some children lay hidden in the leaves of a nearby tree watching her every move. They were determined to find out if she was really a witch.孩子们藏在树叶里，是想看看泰勒夫人究竟是不是一个女巫。选C。

2.细节理解题。根据第二段Suddenly, the old lady’s work was interrupted by the cackling of her hen—a signal that an egg had been laid in the warm nest on the top of the haystack 。得知泰勒夫人在听到鸡叫的时候，停止了扫地。选D。

3.细节理解题。根据 “What if it is a trick?”replied Ben.泰勒夫人摔倒时，本没有马上去救助，因为他害怕这是泰勒夫人耍的诡计，选A。

考点：故事类文章