At Blossom End Railroad Station, 22-year-old Stanley Vine sat, waiting for his new employer. The surrounding green fields were so unlike the muddy landscape of war-torn France. After four horrible years as an army private fighting in Europe, Stanley had returned to England in February 1946. Armed now with some savings and with no prospects for a job in England, he answered a newspaper ad for farm help in Canada. Two months later he was on his way.
When the old car rumbled (发着辘辘声) toward the tiny station, Stanley rose to his feet, trying to make the most of his five foot and four inches frame. The farmer, Alphonse Lapine, shook his head and complained, “You’re a skinny thing.” On the way to his dairy farm, Alphonse explained that he had a wife and seven kids. “Money is tight. You’ll get room and board. You’ll get up at dawn for milking, and then help me around the farm until evening milking time again. Ten dollars a week. Sundays off.” Stanley nodded. He had never been on a farm before, but he took the job.
From the beginning Stanley was treated horribly by the whole family. They made fun of the way he dressed and talked. He could do nothing right. The humourless farmer frequently lost his temper, criticizing Stanley for the slightest mistake. The oldest son, 13-year-old Armand, constantly played tricks on him. But the kind-hearted Stanley never responded.
Stanley never became part of the Lapine family. After work, they ignored him. He spend his nights alone in a tiny bedroom. However, each evening before retiring, he lovingly cared for the farmer’s horses, eagerly awaiting him at the field gate. He called them his gentle giants. On Saturday nights he hitch-hiked into the nearest town and wandered the streets or enjoyed a restaurant meal before returning to the farm.
Early one November morning Alphonse Lapine discovered that Stanley had disappeared, after only six months as his farmhand. The railway station master, when questioned later that week, said he had not seen him. In fact no one in the community ever heard of him again. That is, until one evening, almost 20 years later, when Armand, opened an American sports magazine and came across a shocking headline, “Millionaire jockey (赛马骑师), Stanley Vine, ex-British soldier and 5-time horse riding champion, began life in North America as a farmhand in Canada.”
小题1:Stanley Vine decided to go to Canada because ___________.| A．he wanted to escape from war-torn France | | B．he wanted to serve in the Canadian army | | C．he couldn’t find a job in England | | D．he loved working as a farmhand |
小题2:Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?| A．Stanley joined the French army when he was 18 years old. | | B．On the farm Stanley had to milk the cows 14 times a week. | | C．The Lapine family were very rich but cruel to Stanley. | | D．Stanely read about the job offer in a newspaper. |
小题3:What did Stanley like doing after work each day?| A．Hitch-hiking to different towns. | | B．Caring for the farmer’s horses. | | C．Wandering around the farm alone. | | D．Preparing meals on the farm. |
小题4:Why was Armand so astonished when he read about Stanley in the magazine?| A．He didn’t know Stanley had been a British soldier. | | B．He had no idea Stanley had always been a wealthy man. | | C．He didn’t know his father paid Stanley so little money. | | D．He didn’t expect Stanley to become such a success. |
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