THE MULE IN THE WELL

A story is told of a farmer who owned an old mule. The mule fell into the farmers well. The farmer heard the mule crying， or whatever mules do when they fall into wells. After carefully assessing the situation， the farmer felt 1 for the mule， but decided that neither the mule nor the well was worth the trouble of saving. Instead， he called his neighbors together and told them 2 had happened， and encouraged them to help carry dirt to bury the old mule in the well and put him out of his misery.

In the beginning， the old mule was extremely 3 ！ But as the farmer and his neighbors continued shoveling and the dirt hit his back， a thought struck him. It suddenly dawned on him that every time a shovel load of dirt landed

4 his back， he should shake it off and step up！ This he did， blow after blow. “Shake it off and step up！ Shake it off and step up. Shake it off and step up！” He 5 to encourage himself.

No 6 how painful the blows， or hopeless the situation seemed， the mule fought panic and just kept right on shaking it off and stepping up！ Youre right！ It wasnt long 7 the old mule， though almost exhausted， 8 successfully over the wall of the well.

What seemed to bury him actually blessed him， all because of the perspective from 9 he viewed his bad fortune. Thats life. If we face our problems， recognize that they can have a positive benefit， and refuse to give into panic， bitterness， or self-pity， the bad fortunes that come along that threaten to bury us usually have 10

them the potential to benefit and bless us！

Choose the correct words to fill in the blanks.

1. A. care B. love C. fancy D. sympathy

2. A. what B. all C. that D. as

3. A. pleased B. excited C. terrified D. satisfied

4. A. in B. on C. above D. off

5. A. hoped B. stopped C. repeated D. remembered

6. A. matter B. wonder C. doubt D. fancy

7. A. after B. before C. since D. until

8. A. dug B. lay C. skated D. stepped

9. A. that B. where C. which D. how

10. A. through B. within C. over D. by

遇上一个磨磨蹭蹭的老外，该如何让他知道你已经很“捉鸡（着急）”了？看看英文中都有哪些表达吧！

Shoot！ 快说啊！

Make it sooner rather than later. 越快越好！

Lets get first things first！把重要的事先办了吧！

My patience is running out. 我的耐心快没了。

I cant wait any longer. 我不能再等了。

There isnt a moment to lose. 一分钟都不能等了。

Try to hurry a little bit more. 快点儿吧！

Theres no time to waste. 没时间可浪费了。

Were pressed for time. 我们在赶时间。