【正文】 Pencil B. What It Takes To Help Me Out C. The Most Scenic Drives in America D. Our Brother39。s Keeper 23. From the book I Am A Pencil， we can learn that Sam Swope39。s students . A. are homeless children B. have the same beliefs C. are in different grades D. like writing poetry B It was New Year’s Eve. Everyone in the city was getting ready for the threeday celebration, including the gardener of the king’s garden. There was a large group of monkeys living in the garden. They always followed the advice of their leader, the monkey king. The gardener wanted to celebrate the New Year’s holiday, just like everybody else, so he decided to hand over his duties to the monkeys. He went to the monkey king and said, My honorable friend, would you do a little favor for me? New Year is ing. I wish to celebrate it. So I must be away for three days. Here in this lovely garden. There are plenty of fruits and berries and nuts to eat. You and your subjects may e and eat as much as you wish. In return, please water the young trees and plants while I’m gone. The monkey king replied, Don’t worry, my friend! We will do a terrific job! Have a good time! The gardener showed the monkeys where the buckets were kept. Feeling confident, he left to celebrate the holiday. The monkeys called after him, Happy New Year! The next day, the monkeys filled up the buckets, and began watering the young trees and plants. Then the king of the monkeys addressed them,It is not good to waste water. Therefore, pull up each young tree or plant before watering. Inspect（檢查） it to see how long the roots（根）are. Then give more water to the ones with long roots, and less water to the ones with short roots. That way we will not waste water, and the gardener will be pleased! Without a second thought, the other monkeys followed their king’s orders. Meanwhile, a wise man was walking by the garden. He saw the monkeys pulling up all the lovely young trees and plants, measuring their roots, and carefully pouring water into the holes in the ground. He said, Oh foolish monkeys, what do you think you’re doing to the king’s beautiful garden? They answered, We are watering the trees and plants, without wasting water! We were manded to do so by our king. The man said, If this is the wisdom of the wisest among you — the king — what are the rest of you like? Intending to do a worthwhile deed, your foolishness turns it into disaster! 24. Why did the gardener hand over his duties to the monkeys? expected to meet his wife and children. wanted to spend a threeday holiday. king asked him to attend a celebration. monkey king offered to water the garden. 25. Why were the trees and plants pulled up? plant new ones. move them to a new place. pick up the fruits. check their roots. 26. How do you guess the gardener would feel when he returned? ( 后悔的 ). ( 放松的 ). ( 高興的 ). . 27. The lesson we can learn from the story is that . fate lies in our own hands are always thoughtless all pay a price for the mistakes we make is unwise to believe others easily C If you want to see a thing well, reach out and touch it! That may seem a strange thing to say. But touching things can help you to see them better. Your eyes can tell you that a glass ball is round. But by holding it in your hands, you can feel how smooth and cool the ball is. You can feel how heavy the glass is. When you feel all these about the ball, you really see it. With your skin, you can feel better. For example, your fingers can tell (辨別 ) the difference between two coins in your pocket. You can feel a little drop of water on the back of your hand, too. You can even feel sounds against your skin. Have you ever wanted to know why some people like very loud music? They must like to feel the sounds of music. All children soon learn what Don39。t touch! means. They hear it often. Yet most of us keep on touching things as we grow up. In shops, we touch things we might buy: food, clothes. To see something well, we have to touch it. The bottoms of our feet can feel things, too. You know this when you walk on warm sand, cool grass or a hard floor. All feel different under your feet. There are ways of learning to see well by feeling. One way is to close your eyes and try to feel everything that is touching your skin. Feel the shoes on your feet, the clothes on your body, the air on your skin. At first, it is not easy to feel these things. You are too used to them! Most museums are just for looking. But today some museums have some things to touch. Their signs say, Do touch! There you can feel everything on show. If you want to see better, reach out and tou