文学阅读之童话故事类why the sea is salt 任务单 -2025-2026学年高中英语课外阅读

阅读原文 WHY THE SEA IS SALT A FAIRY TALE. Mary Howitt was born in 1804,at Coleford,England.She wrote many charming stories for children in prose and verse,and also translated many from Swedish,Danish, and German authors.This story is arranged from one in a collection named“Peter Drake's Dream,and Other Stories.”She died in 1888. 1.There were,in very ancient times,two brothers,one of whom was rich,and the other poor.Christmas was approaching,but the poor man had nothing in the house for a Christmas dinner;so he went to his brother and asked him for a trifling gift. 2.The rich man was ill-natured,and when he heard his brother's request he looked very surly.But as Christmas is a time when even the worst people give gifts,he took a fine ham down from the chimney,where it was hanging to smoke,threw it at his brother,and bade him begone and never to let him see his face again. 3.The poor man thanked his brother for the ham,put it under his arm, and went his way.He had to pass through a great forest on his way home. When he had reached the thickest part of it,he saw an old man,with a long, white beard,hewing timber."Good evening,"said he to him. 4."Good evening,"returned the old man,raising himself up from his work,and looking at him.“That is a fine ham you are carrying.”On this,the poor man told him all about it. 5."It is lucky for you,"said the old man,"that you have met with me.If you will take that ham into the land of the dwarfs,the entrance to which lies just under the roots of this tree,you can make a capital bargain with it;for the dwarfs are very fond of ham,and rarely get any.But mind what I say: 学科网（北京）股份有限公司 you must not sell it for money,but demand for it the ‘old hand mill 'which stands behind the door.'When you come back,I'll show you how to use it.” 6.The poor man thanked his new friend,who showed him the door under a stone below the roots of the tree,and by this door he entered into the land of the dwarfs.No sooner had he set his foot in it,than the dwarfs swarmed about him,attracted²by the smell of the ham.They offered him queer,old- fashioned money and gold and silver ore for it;but he refused all their tempting offers,and said that he would sell it only for the old hand mill behind the door. 7.At this,the dwarfs held up their little old hands,and looked quite perplexed³.“We can not make a bargain,it seems,"said the poor man,“so I'll bid you all a good day.” 8.The fragrance⁴of the ham had by this time reached the remote parts of dwarf land.The dwarfs came flocking around in little troops,leaving their work of digging out precious ores,eager for the ham. 9.“Let him have the old mill,"said some of the newcomers;"it is quite out of order,and he don't know how to use it.Let him have it,and we will have the ham.” 10.So the bargain was made.The poor man took the old hand mill, which was a little thing not half so large as the ham,and went back to the woods.Here the old man showed him how to use it.All this had taken up a great deal of time,and it was midnight before he reached home. 11.“Where in the world have you been?”said his wife."Here I have been waiting and waiting,and we have no wood to make a fire,nor anything to put into the porridge pot for our Christmas supper." 12.The house was dark and cold;but the poor man bade his wife wait and see what would happen.He placed the little hand mill on the table, and began to turn the crank.First,out there came some grand,lighted wax candles,and a fire on the hearth,and a porridge pot boiling over it,because 7 学科网（北京）股份有限公司 in his mind he said they should come first.Then he ground out a tablecloth, and dishes,and spoons,and knives and forks. 13. He was himself astonished at his good luck,as you may believe;and his wife was almost beside herself with joy and astonishment.Well,they had a capital supper;and after it was eaten,they ground out of the mill every possible thing to make their house and themselves warm and comfortable. So they had a merry Christmas eve and morning. 阅读任务单 WHY THE SEA IS SALT I. Plot Analysis 1. What is the genre（体裁）of this passage? ____________ Do you know any other passages in the same genre? _____________________________________________________________________ 2. Read the passage quickly and answer the following questions: (1) With Christmas coming, the poor asked his brother for a gift because for Christmas dinner he had _____. A.  nothing B. porridge C.a fine ham (2) When the poor man went to his brother for a gift, what did he get? _______________ (3) On the way home with the ham, the poor met with a greybeard _____. A. at the skirt of the forest B. at the thickest part of the forest C. at the very centre of the great forest (4) The poor didn't know the old man but greeted him, so the poor was  _____. A. kind B. too talktive C. eager to enter the land of the dwarfs (5) The poor exchanged the ham for an old hand mill, which was  _____. A.  much larger B. of the same size C. much smaller (6)  What kind of mill was it? _____________________________________________________________________ (7) Summarize the main plot of each section Para. 1-2 _____________________________________________________________________ Para. 3-5 _____________________________________________________________________ Para. 6-10 _____________________________________________________________________ Para. 11-13 _____________________________________________________________________ II. Critical Thinking 1. Try to compare the characters and personalities of the two brothers. Use some adjectives. The rich man The poor man 2.How did the poor man find the way to the land of the dwarfs? Do you think the old man would have told him if the poor man had not been so polite? What can be learned from this? _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ 3. If you had a hand mill, what would you want to grind? _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ 4. What happens next in the story? Please use your imagination to continue to write the story. You can discuss in groups. _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Word bank ancient approach trifling ill-natured request dwarf capital attract tempting perplexed porridge astonish make a bargain dig out eager for a great deal of 答案 I. Plot Analysis 1. What is the genre（体裁）of this passage? A fairy tale Do you know any other passages in the same genre? Little Red Riding Hood, Daughter of the Sea, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs...... 2. Read the passage quickly and answer the following questions: (1) With Christmas coming, the poor asked his brother for a gift because for Christmas dinner he had ___A__. A.  nothing（不定代词） B. porridge C.a fine ham (2) When the poor man went to his brother for a gift, what did he get? A fine ham (3) On the way home with the ham, the poor met with a greybeard __B___. A. at the skirt of the forest B. at the thickest part of the forest C. at the very centre of the great forest (4) The poor didn't know the old man but greeted him, so the poor was  __A___. A. kind B. too talktive C. eager to enter the land of the dwarfs (5) The poor exchanged the ham for an old hand mill, which was  __C___. (not half so large as the ham) A.  much larger B. of the same size C. much smaller (6)  What kind of mill was it? A mill that can grind anything that comes to mind (7) Summarize the main plot of each section （选做） Para. 1-2The poor man asked his rich brother for a ham for Christmas dinner Para. 3-5The poor man came across an old man who told him to go to the land of the dwarfs to trade ham for a hand mill Para. 6-10After bargaining, the poor man succeeded in getting a hand mill and learned how to use it Para. 11-13The poor man ground food and furniture at home, and spent a happy Christmas with his wife II. Critical Thinking 1. Try to compare the characters and personalities of the two brothers. Use some adjectives. The rich man ill-natured, mean, selfish The poor man good-natured, kind, polite, firm（经得住诱惑、坚定的） 2.How did the poor man find the way to the land of the dwarfs? Do you think the old man would have told him if the poor man had not been so polite? What can be learned from this? The old man told him the way to the land of the dwarfs. The old man wouldn’t tell him. We learned to be polite and kind. 学会了善良、礼貌、热心等 学科网（北京）股份有限公司 $$