查理和巧克力工廠（節選）

江蘇 李 彤

小男孩查理·巴克特和父母、爺爺奶奶、外公外婆住在一起，因為家境貧困，每個夜晚，他們一家七口吃的晚餐都是卷心菜湯……

主題語境：小說節選 篇幅：369詞 建議用時：7分鐘

1Mr and Mrs Bucket have a small boy whose name is Charlie.The whole family,the two old grandfathers,the two old grandmothers,Charlie's father,Charlie's mother and little Charlie Bucket live together in a small wooden house on the edge of a great town.Mr Bucket was the only person in the family with a job.He worked in a toothpaste factory,where he worked all day long.But he was never paid very much money,and was never able to make enough to buy one half of the things that so large a family needed.

2There wasn't even enough money to buy proper food for them all.The only meals they could afford were bread and butter for breakfast,boiled potatoes and cabbage for lunch,and cabbage soup for supper.The Buckets,of course,didn't starve,but every one of them went about from morning till night with a terrible empty feeling in their stomach.And although Charlie's father and mother often went without their own share of lunch or supper so that they could give it to him,it still wasn't nearly enough for a growing boy.He desperately wanted something more filling and satisfying than cabbage and cabbage soup.The one thing he had a strong desire for more than anything else was chocolate.

3Only once a year,on his birthday,Charlie Bucket did ever get to taste a bit of chocolate.The whole family saved up their money for that special occasion,and when the great day arrived,Charlie was always presented with one small chocolate bar to eat all by himself.

4Each time he received it on those wonderful birthday mornings,he would place it carefully in a small wooden box that he owned,and treasure it as though it were a bar of solid gold.And for the next few days,he would allow himself only to look at it,but never to touch it.Then at last, when he couldn't stand it no longer,he would peel a tiny bit of the paper wrapping at one corner off to expose a tiny bit of chocolate,and then he would take a tiny bite.The next day,he would take another tiny bite,and so on,and so on.

Reading Check

Gist 1.What's the main idea of the first paragraph?

A.Mr Bucket worked hard.

B.The Buckets were poor.

C.The Buckets needed to unite.

D.Mr Bucket was able to raise his family.

Detail 2.What can we know from paragraph 2?

A.The Buckets were hungry all the time.

B.Charlie was eager to have a bar of chocolate.

C.The Buckets couldn't offer Charlie a birthday present.

D.Charlie was satisfied with cabbage and cabbage soup.

Inference 3.What can we infer about Charlie's chocolate?

A.It was very expensive.

B.It was specially made for him.

C.It was particularly precious to him.

D.It was the size of a bar of solid gold.

Detail 4.What did Charlie do first after receiving his birthday present?

A.He stored it in a box.

B.He only looked at it.

C.He took a little bite.

D.He just touched it.

Language Study

Difficult sentences in the text

1.But he was never paid very much money,and was never able to make enough to buy one half of the things that so large a family needed.但是他從來沒有得到過很多薪水，也從來沒有掙到足夠的錢來購買這么大一個家庭所需的一半東西。

【點石成金】句中的that引導的是一個定語從句，在從句中作賓語。

2.Each time he received it on those wonderful birthday mornings, he would place it carefully in a small wooden box that he owned, and treasure it as though it were a bar of solid gold.每當他在那些美妙的生日早晨收到禮物時，他都會小心翼翼地把它放在自己的一個小木盒里，把它當作一塊純金一樣珍藏起來。

【點石成金】句中的each time 引導的是時間狀語從句，此類用法的詞組還有every time、the last time、the first time、next time 等。句中的as though 引導的是方式狀語從句，其引導的狀語從句中的謂語可用虛擬語氣，表示與客觀事實不符。