| 完形填空 | ||||
| Years ago a farmer owned land along the Atlantic seacoast. He constantly advertised for _ 1__ hands. Most people were reluctant（不情愿） to work on __2__ along the Atlantic. They dreaded the awful ____3__that raged across the Atlantic, wreaking havoc（浩劫，灾难） on the buildings and crops. As the farmer 4 applicants for the job, he 5 a steady stream of refusals. 6 , a short, thin man， well past middle age, approached the farmer. "Are you a good farmhand? "the farmer asked him. "Well, I can __7__ when the wind blows," answered the__8 _ man. Although __9__ by this answer, the farmer, desperate（不顾一切的） for __10_, hired him. The man worked well around the farm, __11_ from dawn to dusk, and the farmer felt satisfied with the man's work. Then one night the wind howled loudly in from offshore. __12_ out of  bed， the farmer grabbed（抓起） a lantern and __13_ next door to the hired hand's sleeping quarters. He__14_ the little man and yelled, "Get up! A storm is coming! Tie things down before they blow away!" The little man __15__ in bed and said __16__, "No sir. I told you, I can sleep when the wind blows." Enraged by the response， the farmer was tempted to __17__ him on the spot. Instead， he hurried outside to prepare for the storm. To his __18__, he discovered that all of the haystacks（干草垛） had been covered with tarpaulins（油布）. The cows were in the barn, the chickens were in the coops（鸡笼）, and the doors were barred. The shutters were tightly secured. Everything was tied down. Nothing could blow away. The farmer then understood what his hired hand __19__, so he returned to his bed to also sleep __20_ the wind blew. | ||||
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