A rich man was once riding along the road and saw an old man digging in his garden. On the ground lay a young tree, ready to be planted. The rich man called out to the old man, 'What kind of tree are you planting there, my good man?'

'This is a fig(无花果)tree, sir.' He said.

'A fig tree？' the rich man was very surprised. 'Why, how old are you, may I ask?'

'I am ninety years old.'

'What！' cried the rich man. 'You're ninety years old. You are planting a very young tree now and it'll take years to give fruit. You certainly don't hope to live long enough to get any fruit from this tree.' The old man looked around the garden. Then he said with a smile, 'Tell me, sir. Did you eat figs when you were a boy?' 'Sure,' the man did not know why he asked this question. 'Then tell me this,' he said. 'Who planted the fig trees?' 'Why-why？I don't know.' 'You see, sir.' went on the old man. 'Our forefathers(祖先)planted trees for us to enjoy and I am doing the same for the people after me.'

The rich man was quiet and said, 'You are right, my good man. We should do some things for the people after us. Thank you very much.' Then he rode away.

根据短文内容回答下列各问题。

1.What tree was the old man planting when the rich man saw him？

2.How old was the old man？

3.The old man was planting the tree to get himself some fruit to eat, wasn't he？Who was he planting the tree for？

4.Did the rich man eat figs when he was a boy？

5.What should we do for the people after us？

【答案与解析】

一位年已九旬的老人在花园里栽种一棵无花果树。一个年轻人看到后感到迷惑不解。于是引发了两人的一番对话。本篇短文通过这件寓意刻的小事，说明了'前人栽树，后人乘凉'的道理。

1.He was planting a fig tree. 本小题属于表层理解题，答案就在这位老人的回答中。

2.He was ninety years old. 与上题相似，其答案也在答语'I am ninety years old.'中。

3.No，he wasn't. He was planting the tree for the people after him to enjoy. 从'You are planting a very young tree now and it'll take years to give fruit. You certainly don't hope to live long enough to get any fruit from this tree.'中可看出答案是否定的。而其原因则隐含在'…and I am doing the same for the people after me.'中。

4.Yes, he did. 答案就在'‘Sure,’ the man did not know why he asked this question.'这句话当中。

5.We should do some good things for the people after us. 那位有钱的人听了老人的这一席话，深受启发。他说的'We should do some things for the people after us.'这句话就是答案的出处。

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