Late for Work

李汝

Henrys first job was in a shop. The shop opened at nine oclock. On his first day he was late for work.

“Youve five minutes late！” his boss said. “Why？”

“Im sorry， sir，” Henry said. “The bus was late. There was a traffic jam.”

“Catch an earlier bus，” his boss said， “Then you wont be late.”

“The earlier bus arrives an hour earlier！” Henry said. “I will be here by eight oclock.”

“Thats not my problem，” his boss said.

The next day， Henry was late again.

“Youre late again！” his boss shouted. He looked at his watch. “Today youre ten minutes late. What is your excuse？”

“Im sorry， sir，” Henry said. “but I met an old woman in the street. She was carrying a package. It was too heavy for her， so I carried it for her.”

“Thats not my problem，” his boss said. “If you are late again， I will fire1 you.”

The next morning Henry got up very early. “I wont be late this morning，” he thought. “Ill catch the early bus.”

Then he heard a noise outside. A cat had its head stuck2 through the bars3 of the balcony4. Henry went out on to the balcony. He leaned over it to push the cats head through the bars.

Suddenly he lost his balance5. He fell over the balcony and fell twenty floors to the ground below. Luckily， he fell on a pile6 of garbage and was not badly hurt. However， he was an hour late for work. His boss was very angry.

“Youre late！” he shouted.

Henry thought， “Ive got a good excuse this time.” He said， “I fell twenty floors from my balcony to the ground.”

“And that took you an hour？” his boss shouted.

Exercises

I. Complete each of the following sentences with a different form of one of these words. Use each one once. （用下列單詞的適當形式填空，完成下列句子。每個單詞只能使用一次。）

fall， bad， lose， package

1. Youre leaving tomorrow. You must ___

your bags tonight.

2. Was your? knees ____ hurt？

3. Unluckily， I ____ my present last night.

4. The vase ____ on the floor just now.

II. Find words in the story that match the following definitions. （在故事中找出符合下列英文解釋的單詞。）

1. the part of an apartment on which you can?? stand outside （7 letters） ____

2. difficulty （7 letters） ____

3. sound （5 letters） ____

III. Match these answers with their correct questions. Write the number of the correct answer for each question. （將下列正確答案與其相應的問題進行搭配。）

1. An old woman.

2. A traffic jam.

3. The trip took too long.

4. A cats.

5. In a shop.

a. Where was Henrys first job？

b. What was Henrys excuse on the first day？

c. Whom did Henry help on the second day？

d. Whose head did Henry push through the bars of his balcony on the third day？

e. What did the boss say on the third day？

IV. Write T for True or F for False beside these statements about the story. （判斷下列與故事內容有關的句子的正“T”、誤“F”。）

1. Henry didnt want to go to work.

2. Henrys first job was in a factory.

3. One day， Henry was late because he helped

someone.

4. Luckily， Henry didnt hurt himself badly at

last.

5. Henry caught the early bus on the third day.

V. Choose the best answer to each question about the story. （為下列與故事內容有關的問題選擇正確答案。）

1. What happened on Henrys first day at work？

a. He started at nine.

b. His boss was late.

c. He spoke to his boss.

d. He arrived late.

2. Why didnt Henry want to catch an earlier bus？

a. It wasnt his problem.

b. He would arrive too early.

c. He would be late again.

d. There was too much traffic.

3. Why did the boss look at his watch？

a. To see what time it was.

b. To help the old woman with her package.

c. To shout at Henry.

d. Because he was late for a meeting.

4. What happened on the third day？

a. Henry fell twenty floors to the ground.

b. Henry got ill.

c. Henry stopped to buy a cat.

d. Henry put out the garbage.

5. Why was the boss angry with Henry on the third day？

a. Because Henry had a good excuse.

b. Because he wanted to save the cat.

c. Because he liked Henry.

d. Because Henry was late for the third time.

VI. Complete the following paragraph about the story by putting in the missing words in their correct forms. （填入所缺單詞的正確形式，完成下面與故事內容有關的段落。）

Henrys first job was in a 1.____. Unluckily， his boss was very angry 2.____ him when he arrived late for work because the traffic was bad. The next day， Henry was late

3.____， but this time he had helped an old woman with her 4.____. On the third day， Henry fell from the twentieth floor of his apartment building when he was trying to help a 5.____.