D
“Where’s Papa going with the ax(斧头)?” said Fern to her mother as they were setting the table for breakfast.
“Out to the pig house,” replied Mrs Arable. “Some pigs were born last night.”
“I don’t see why he needs an ax,” said Fern,who was only eight.
“Well,” said her mother,“one of the pigs is too small and weak,and it will never make it. So your father has decided to
do away with it.”
“Do away with it?” shouted Fern. “Just because it’s smaller than the others?”
“Don’t shout,Fern!” Mrs Arable said. “Your father is right. The pig would probably die anyway.”
Fern ran outdoors. The grass was wet and Fern’s sneakers were soaking(湿透的)by the time she caught up with her father.
“Please don’t kill it!” she cried. “It’s unfair.”
Mr Arable stopped walking.
“Fern,” he said gently,“you will have to learn to control yourself.” “Control myself?” shouted Fern. “This is a matter of life and death,and you talk about controlling myself.” Tears ran down her cheeks and she held the ax and tried to pull it out of her father’s hand.
“Fern,” said Mr Arable,“I know more about raising pigs than you do. A weakling(瘦弱的人或动物)makes trouble. Now run along!”
“But it’s unfair,” cried Fern. “The pig couldn’t help being born small,could it? If I had been very small at birth,would you have killed me?”
Mr Arable smiled. “Certainly not,” he said,looking down at his daughter with love. “But this is different. A little girl is one thing,but a weak little pig is another.”
“I see no difference,” said Fern,still holding the ax. “This is the most terrible case of unfairness I have ever heard of.”
A strange look came over John Arable’s face. He seemed almost ready to cry himself.
—Adapted from *Charlotte’s Web*
(
C
)12. What does the underlined phrase “do away with” in Paragraph 4 mean?
A. cook
B. raise
C. kill
D. protect
(
D
)13. Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A. Only one pig was born last night.
B. It was easy to raise a small and weak pig.
C. Mr Arable hated to raise pigs.
D. Fern tried to save the small pig.
(
A
)14. What is Fern like according to the passage?
A. She is kind-hearted and caring.
B. She is wise but careless.
C. She is simple but impolite.
D. She is humorous and patient.
(
B
)15. What can we infer about John Arable from the end of the passage?
A. He would kill the pig at last.
B. He would keep the pig.
C. He would let the pig die a natural death.
D. He would give the pig to others.
