B
Laurie had just come home from school when she heard a light hammering(敲击) sound coming from Grandpa’s study. Curious, she tapped on the door. “Grandpa? Can I come in?”
“Just a second!” Grandpa said. Laurie heard lots of shuffling(拖着脚走). “Enter!”
Grandpa was sitting empty-handed at his desk, but there were wood shavings(刨花) everywhere. “Aren’t you supposed to be at school?” he asked.
“It’s over at three. What were you doing here?” Laurie said curiously. She saw something wooden under a book. “Aha!” she cried, pulling the object out. “What’s this?”
“Well, that’s your birthday gift. But now it won’t be a surprise,” Grandpa said.
It was a wooden crocodile(鳄鱼) with a string(线) on the top of its head so the mouth could be opened and shut.
“It’s an ancient Egyptian(埃及的) toy,” Grandpa said. “I made this, but if you were a child in ancient Egypt, you might have something similar. Crocodiles were an important part of Egyptian life, and many crocodiles lived in the Nile River.”
“The Egyptians depended on the Nile River for many things. It flooded every year, giving much-needed water and nutrients(营养物) to the land. This made farming easy for the Egyptians. The soft, wet land also made good mud for building mud-brick houses.”
“And the river provided the people of the area with a convenient highway for transportation and communication.”
“Ancient Egypt was an agricultural society. If you were a little Egyptian girl living about four thousand years ago, your father would probably be a grain farmer. Grains were the most common crop, especially wheat and barley, which were used to make bread and beer—the most typical food and drink.”
“Unluckily, children didn’t go to school like you do now. You’d probably spend most days helping your parents. During the harvest season maybe you would bundle(捆扎) wheat up on the farm. Or perhaps you’d be at home, helping to cook or take care of the vegetable garden near your house.”
Just then, Mum called from downstairs, “Laurie! I’m home!”
“Hi, Mum! I’ll be right down,” Laurie said. “Thanks, Grandpa. I’ll pretend(假装) I never saw this,” she said, putting the crocodile back on the desk. “Until next time!”
“Until next time! Bye, Laurie.”
—Adapted from Grandpa’s World History
(
) 4. Grandpa answered “Just a second!” because he wanted to
.
A. clean the floor
B. look for a book for kids
C. hide the wooden crocodile
D. tell a story about ancient Egypt
(
) 5. Which is NOT true about ancient Egyptian children?
A. They learnt how to farm at school.
B. They helped to cook at home.
C. They helped their parents with the harvest.
D. They played with crocodile toys.
(
) 6. What can we know about Grandpa from the story?
A. He is a strict and serious man.
B. He dislikes ancient Egyptian culture.
C. He is too busy to talk to Laurie.
D. He enjoys sharing knowledge and making gifts.
(
) 7. What is the main purpose of the story?
A. To describe a typical day in Laurie’s life.
B. To explain how to make wooden toys.
C. To tell ancient Egyptian life through a conversation.
D. To show the importance of birthday surprises.
