The Story About Ravi

在日常生活中，我们常常在不经意间会接收到来自四面八方的信息，其中不乏未经证实的消息和谣言，如果我们不去证实就盲目地相信，会闹出各种笑话。谣言止于智者，需要我们理性对待。

Ravi the teacher was walking home after a long day at school when he felt something uncomfortable in his throat. He coughed and coughed， and something came out of his mouth—it was a heron’s feather！

When he got home， he told his wife about it. His wife also felt strange and she promised she wouldn’t say a word.

When she went outside， their neighbor waved， “Have you heard any news today？”

“My husband was walking home and some heron feathers came out of his mouth！ But promise you won’t tell！” she replied.

The neighbor then went to buy some vegetables. He told the shopkeeper who loved to gossip （说三道四）. “You know what， Ravi was giving a lesson today and a whole heron suddenly came out of his mouth. " .”

Then the cook came into the shop. “Did you hear about that？” the shopkeeper said in a low voice， “Ravi was buying pencils in the village shop and suddenly a lot of herons flew out of his mouth！ Don’t tell others！”

The shopkeeper’s little boy heard this. He ran outside to tell his friends. Soon， the rumors （谣言） had spread throughout the town！

When Ravi walked into the classroom the next morning， all his pupils were looking at him quietly！

“Why are you all looking at me like that？” he asked.

“We heard that yesterday a heron flew out of your mouth， and some other kinds of birds too. And a river of water with fish of all kinds in it！ We want to see you do it again！” A boy spoke up.

Ravi sighed （叹气） and put his books on the desk. “Today’s lesson is a very important one！” he said. “I think you all need to learn it！”

跟踪练习：

1. What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 2 refer to？

A. Ravi coughed and he might be badly ill.

B. Ravi had a strange feeling about his wife.

C. A heron’s feather came out of Ravi’s mouth.

D. A long school day made Ravi uncomfortable.

2. Which can be the best to fill in the blank “________” in Paragraph 5？

A. But it is true. " " " " B. But it’s a secret.

C. But he was tired. " " D. But everyone laughed.

3. In which order did the rumors develop？

A. ①③②④ B. ①④③② " " C. ③④①② D. ③①②④

文章解析：本文是一篇记叙文。文章讲述了Ravi老师因喉咙不适咳出了一根苍鹭的羽毛，这一事件在邻居、店主和孩子们之间传播成了荒谬的谣言，最后Ravi老师决定借此机会给学生们上一堂重要的课。

答案解析：1.词义猜测题。根据“He coughed and coughed， and something came out of his mouth—it was a heron’s feather！ When he got home， he told his wife about it.”可知，Ravi老师咳出了一根苍鹭羽毛，他把这件事告诉了他的妻子，“it”指代“Ravi嘴里咳出了一根苍鹭的羽毛”这件事。故选C。

2.推理判断题。根据“But promise you won’t tell！”可知，Ravi的妻子让邻居别跟其他人讲这件事，由此可知她会认为这件事是一个秘密，让店主也别向其他人提及。选项B“但这是一个秘密”符合语境。故选B。

3.细节理解题。根据“My husband was walking home and some heron feathers came out of his mouth！”可知，Ravi的妻子对邻居说Ravi老师嘴巴里冒出一些苍鹭的羽毛；根据“Ravi was giving a lesson today and a whole heron suddenly came out of his mouth.”可知，邻居对店主说Ravi老师嘴巴里冒出一整只苍鹭；根据“a lot of herons flew out of his mouth！”可知，店主对厨师说Ravi老师嘴巴里冒出很多苍鹭；根据“We heard that yesterday a heron flew out of your mouth， and some other kinds of birds， too. And a river of water with fish of all kinds in it！”可知，最后传到学生们的耳朵是Ravi老师嘴巴里飞出一只苍鹭，还有一些其他种类的鸟，还有一条河里的各种各样的鱼。由以上可知，图片的正确顺序是③①②④。故选D。