The Boy Who Cried Wolf

    There was once a shepherd boy who looked after sheep for all the people in the village where he lived．Every morning he collected the sheep from their owners and drove them out onto the hills to feed．Every evening he rounded them carefully up and brought them home again．Some days it was pleasant on the hillside and the time passed quickly．On other days the boy grew bored and restless with nothing to do but watch the sheep nibbling¹ at the short grass from morning till night．One day he decided² to amuse himself．“Wolf！Wolf！”he shouted at the top of his voice．“A wolf is taking the sheep！”
    The villagers all came rushing out of their houses to help him drive the wolf away—only to find the shepherd boy laughing till tears rolled down his cheeks at the sight of their angry faces．The boy tried the same trick again and again and each time thevillagers rushed to his aid．Then，late one winter evening，just as the boy was thinking of gathering³ the sheep together to take them home，a wolf really came prowling around．He realized from the frightened baaing of the sheep that a wolf was coming．Peering into the gloom he saw a long，grey and vague shape creeping towards the flock．The shepherd boy was very frightened．The wolf looked very big in the half darkness and he had only his crook⁴ to fight with．Shouting“Wolf！Wolf！A wolf is taking the sheep！”at the top of his voice，her aced⁵ towards the village．This time，however，the villagers did not come running out of their houses to fight the wolf．One or two of them looked up from what they were doing to grumble⁶ at the noise but most of them shrugged⁷ and said：“He has played that trick too often．”
    Before the boy could find anyone to help him，the wolf had run off with all the sheep．No one believes a liar—even when he tells the truth．Exercises：
    回答下列问题：
    ①What did the boy do everyday？
    ②What did the boy do when he grew bored？
    ③What was the wolf like？
    ④What happened at last？
    ⑤What can you learn from the story？

1 nibbling   

v.啃，一点一点地咬（吃）( nibble的现在分词 )；啃出（洞），一点一点咬出（洞）；慢慢减少；小口咬

参考例句：

• We sat drinking wine and nibbling olives. 我们坐在那儿，喝着葡萄酒嚼着橄榄。
• He was nibbling on the apple. 他在啃苹果。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

4 crook   

v.使弯曲；n.小偷，骗子，贼；弯曲(处)

参考例句：

• He demanded an apology from me for calling him a crook.我骂他骗子，他要我向他认错。
• She was cradling a small parcel in the crook of her elbow.她用手臂挎着一个小包裹。

5 aced   

vt.发球得分（ace的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• I don't know how I aced in, I was lucky enough. 我不知道这好事怎么让我给碰上了，我够幸运的。 来自互联网
• He aced every physical fitness test they gave him. 他顺利通过了他们对他所作的每项体格检查。 来自互联网

6 grumble   

vi.抱怨；咕哝；n.抱怨，牢骚；咕哝，隆隆声

参考例句：

• I don't want to hear another grumble from you.我不愿再听到你的抱怨。
• He could do nothing but grumble over the situation.他除了埋怨局势之外别无他法。

7 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》