Ⅲ. (2025 徐州邳州市期中)任务型阅读（典故传说）
Here are two stories about Mao Sui and Shang Yang.
The State of Qin had a fight with the State of Zhao. Qin was very strong, so the king of Zhao ordered Lord Pingyuan to go to the State of Chu to ask for help. When Lord Pingyuan began to choose some men to go with him, Mao Sui recommended himself. He thought he was the right person and could do the job well. Lord Pingyuan didn't really believe him but allowed(允许) him to go. In Chu, Lord Pingyuan didn't have a good start. But Mao Sui finally made the king of Chu agree to help Zhao.
In the State of Qin, there was a famous person called Shang Yang. One day, Shang Yang made his people put a thin wooden pole(木杆) near the south gate of the city. He promised to give 10 gold pieces（金币）to anyone who could move it to the north gate. It was such an easy job that all people thought Shang Yang was joking. No one wanted to do it. Then Shang Yang added 40 more gold pieces. A man moved the wooden pole and Shang Yang did as he said. After that, the people of Qin believed Shang Yang was a man of his word. And they all followed his new laws(法律) later.
根据上面短文内容，回答下列问题(每小题答案不超过5个单词)。
15. Where was Mao Sui from?

16. What's the Chinese name of the first story?

17. What do you think of Mao Sui?

18. At the beginning of the second story, did people believe Shang Yang?

19. How many gold pieces did Shang Yang give the man who moved the wooden pole?

Ⅳ. 阅读下面短文,从方框中选用恰当的单词或短语填空(每个单词或短语只能用一次)
$\boxed{something, worried about, dead, later, growing}$
Long long ago, there was a farmer who worked very hard. He was always 20. different things.
One day, the farmer and his son planted rice together. They were happy when all the seeds(种子) were planted. Several days 21. , the seeds grew into the rice. Then he went to watch the rice grow every day. Many days passed, but the rice still seemed the same. He began to get worried.
The farmer asked his neighbour for help, “I am worried about my rice. It seems to stop 22. !” His neighbour replied, “Nature will provide. Be patient.”
The farmer got worried again. “What if my rice never grows?” he thought and thought. “I must find a way to help my rice grow faster. I think the rice really needs my help. I must do 23. !” The next morning, the farmer ran to the rice field, and pulled(拔) the rice up a few inches(英寸) one by one.
The next day, the farmer went to the field and found that all the rice was 24. . All the hard work had gone to waste, and there was no rice left to be saved.