The Pecan Thief When I was six years old, I was visiting my grandfather's farm in Kansas. Grandpa had sent me into the1 to gather pecans for us to enjoy later. Pecan picking was really2 work and my little basket was only half full. I wasn't about to3 Grandpa down. Just then something caught my4 . A large brown squirrel was a few feet away. I watched as he picked up a pecan, hurried to a tree and 5 in a large hole in the trunk. A moment later the squirrel 6 out and climbed down to the ground to pick up another nut. Once again, he took the pecan back to his hiding place. Not so7 anymore, I thought. I dashed over to the tree and looked into the hole. It was8 with pecans! Golden pecans were right there for taking. This was my9. Handful by handful, I scooped all of those pecans into my basket. Now it was full! I was so10 of myself. I couldn't wait to show Grandpa all the pecans.11, I ran back and shouted, “Look at all the pecans!” He looked into the basket and said, “Well, well, how did you find so many ? ” I told him how I'd12 the squirrel and taken the pecans from his hiding place. Grandpa congratulated me on how smart I'd been in observing the squirrel and his habits. Then he did something that13 me. He handed the basket back to me and put his arm gently14 my shoulders. “That squirrel worked very hard to gather his winter15 of food, ” he said. “Now that all of his pecans are gone, don't you think that little squirrel will16 the cold winter? ” “I didn't think about that,” I said. “I know, ” Grandpa said. “But a good man should never take17 of someone else's hard work.” Suddenly I felt a bit18. The image of the starving squirrel wouldn't19 my mind. There was only one thing I could do. I carried the basket back to the tree and poured all the nuts into the hole. I didn't eat any pecans that night, but I had something much more filling—the20 of knowing I had done just the right thing.
"I didn't hear them call my name," explained Shelley Hennig to Active Teens (AT) as she talked about that exciting moment on national television when she won the honor of Miss Teen USA 2004. "Are you ready?" is what she heard. Then she said, "I shook my head no, and then they said ‘yes’ and it was announced again." It was four days after that life changing moment for the seventeen-year-old high school student from Destrehan, Louisiana----she was still on cloud nine． "I was so shocked! I never believed that it could actually really happen." Present in the audience（观众）that day were: her mother and father, older brother, her friends, and her dance teacher. Understanding why members of her family and her friends would be there, AT asked why her dance teacher had traveled so far to see her compete（比赛）．"She's always been my role model．I've danced with her since I was six. She's been through so many difficulties and came through them all. I've learned to get over bad life's experiences and learned how to move on because of her." One of those bad life's experiences for Shelley happened three years ago when her brother Brad was killed in a drunk driving accident. He was 18. She found writing helped her get through the rough days. She said, "I write a lot about my brother. I write a lot, a lot, a lot...” As Miss Louisiana Teen, she traveled around the state speaking to teens（青少年）about the dangers of drinking and driving. In her role as Miss Teen USA, Sheiley will continue to speak to youth about safe driving, in addition to many other things to help the youth. When AT asked Miss Teen USA if she had any advice for our readers, she said, "Don't let anyone change you. Hang out with people that make you feel good about yourself. That way, it is easy to be yourself."
1.
What do the words “on cloud nine” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?
A.
frightened
B.
troubled
C.
very happy
D.
very angry
2.
Shelley takes her dance teachers as a role medel mainly because she is ______.
A.
determined
B.
friendly
C.
strict
D.
experienced
3.
How many children did the Hennigs have according to the text?
“Your honor(法官大人)！Let me say a few words for myself. What they have told you is just not true. I was not trying to kill anyone, and it was hardly possible to try to kill three strong young men at the same time. I didn't have anything to tell people that night and was quite alone. I didn't know them and needn't hate them. I was attacked by them, and I knocked one of them down. It's true, but I was made to do it, or I might be killed by them. I did this not because I hated the white men as they said. I just had to do so. While I was beaten in the dark street by the three men, a policeman came, caught me and took me here. I know why I was beaten. I have just moved into a house next to these three white men. I have felt that I am not welcome and I have tried to be quiet. I think, as an American, I have the right to choose where to live. I am guilty. What makes me guilty is my color opposite to theirs and I can't enjoy justice(公正). Yes, I'm not guilty. This is all I want to say. Thank you, your honor.”
1.
Why did he speak for himself?
A.
He wanted to live in the house next to the whites
B.
He wanted to have the right to choose where to live
C.
He wanted to show he was not guilty
D.
He wanted to show he didn't hate the whites
2.
The speaker was caught because________
A.
the policeman wanted to save him
B.
he was black and was fighting with the whites
C.
he killed the three men in a dark street
D.
he lived in a house next to the whites
3.
What's the right order of the story? a. The speaker said something for himself. b. The three men said something. c. The speaker knocked down one of the three men. d. The speaker was beaten by the three men. e. He was caught by the policeman. f. The speaker moved into a house near the whites
