Long long ago, a young man found a spring of delicious clean water while he was going through the desert. He brought some back to the oldest man in his village, who had been his teacher before. After a four-day journey he sent the water to the old man who took a deep drink, smiled warmly and thanked his student for the sweet water. The young man returned to his village happily. The next day, the teacher let another student taste the water. He spat it out, saying it was awful. It went bad because it had stayed in the old leather container(皮革容器) for so many days in such hot weather. The student asked his teacher why he pretended(假装) to like the awful water. The teacher replied, "You only tasted the water. I tasted the gift. The water was simply the container for love and kindness. And nothing could be sweeter than these."
I think we understand this lesson best when we receive small gifts of love from very young kids. Whether it's a slice of bread or a piece of colored paper, the natural and right response(反应) is to show our thanks and happiness because we get love from the gift.
To show our thanks doesn't always come naturally. Unfortunately, most children and many adults only see the thing itself. They never feel the meaning of the thing. We should tell ourselves and teach our children about showing thanks and happiness to the persons who give the gifts from their hearts because gifts from the heart are really gifts of the heart.
【小题1】Where did the young man find the water?
| A．In a spring. | B．In a river. | C．In a lake. | D．In a village. |
【小题2】How long did the water stay in the old leather container?
| A．Six days. | B．Five days. | C．Four days. | D．Three days. |
【小题3】What does the word “replied” mean?
| A．smiled | B．cried | C．answered | D．got angry |
【小题4】According to the passage, what is the right response when we get gifts from others?
| A．We eat it up at once. |
| B．We only see the thing itself. |
| C．We think about the meaning of the bread. |
| D．We usually show our thanks and happiness naturally. |
【小题5】What does the writer want to tell us?
| A．We should never receive anything from others. |
| B．We should show thanks and happiness when we get the gifts from the heart. |
| C．We should pretend to love the things given by others all the time. |
| D．We should give gifts from our hearts. |
