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高中英文(五) Outside Reading
Cowherd and Weaving Maiden
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Once upon a time in ancient China there lived a cowherd. No one has
recorded what his real name was, and he is referred to simply as Cowherd.
Cowherd grew up under the care of his elder brother, for both his parents had
died when he was very young. Few others lived close to Cowherd and his
brother, so Cowherd did not have a chance to learn the corrupt practices of
society. He remained simple and kind and was content with little. He woke up at
sunrise and retired at sunset, and, indeed, he had no other plans than to spend
the rest of his life on the farm. When it was time for him and his brother to divide
the inheritance, Cowherd requested only a small piece of farmland, just enough
for him to support himself. In addition, he made an unusual request. He wanted
to keep an old, decrepit ox (called Old Ox) that no one else would ever consider
to be of any value.
Old Ox, however, was not what he seemed to be. In fact, he was a divine
being, who had once fed on the pastures in Heaven. Cowherd was not aware of
this when he asked for Old Ox; he only wanted to be able to provide his dear
friend and companion with a place to spend his old age in peace. These
considerations touched Old Ox very deeply. In his heart, Old Ox resolved that
one day he would repay his master’s kindness.
Soon an opportunity presented itself. Old Ox had heard that a group of
heavenly goddesses would descend to earth that evening to bathe in a nearby
*cowherd [`kZU"hRd] n. 牛郎
weave [wiv] v.t. 編織
divine [dJ`vZIn] adj. 神仙的
maiden [`medN] n. 姑娘
repay [rI`pe] v.t. 報答
elder [`EldK] adj. （年紀）較大的
heavenly [`hEvJnlI] adj. 天國的
corrupt [kJ`rVpt] adj. 腐敗的
descend [dI`sEnd] v.i. 降臨
retire [rI`tZIr] v.i. 就寢；退休;退卻
bathe [beT] v.t. 洗澡
request [rI`kwEst] v.t. 要求
farmland [`farm"lAnd] n. 農地
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decrepit [dI`krEpIt] adj. 衰老的
be content with
滿足於
Unit 5
Cowherd and Weaving Maiden
river. Old Ox decided he would speak to Cowherd. “Cowherd!” he said, as he
looked at Cowherd with his soft and gentle eyes. Before Cowherd had time to
compose himself (for he was extremely shocked to hear Old Ox suddenly
speaking to him in human language), Old Ox told him that he would have to go
to the river that night. “There you will see a group of maidens bathing
themselves. Their clothes will be lying by the banks of the river. Grab the purple
garment and wait.” Cowherd was completely bewildered. But when he tried to
ask questions, Old Ox ignored him and reverted to silence.
Cowherd did not believe Old Ox could possibly mean any harm, so that
night he went to the river. There he took the purple garment and waited. After a
while, all the maidens put on their clothes and went back to Heaven. One of
them, however, could not find her clothes, for they were in Cowherd’s hands.
She searched everywhere to find them, until she finally caught sight of Cowherd.
She was very embarrassed, but managed to put her clothes back on. Afterwards,
she said to Cowherd, “Now that you have seen me naked, I must marry you.”
Her name, she said, was Weaving Maiden.
Cowherd and Weaving Maiden lived together happily. He tended the farm,
while she wove the most beautiful garments one could possibly imagine. Years
passed. Cowherd and Weaving Maiden had two beautiful children. One day,
however, Weaving Maiden appeared before Cowherd in a state of great distress.
She told him her father, the Emperor of Heaven, was upset with her and did not
want her to stay on earth anymore. And if she did stay on, he would be angry and
cause a great famine. Anyway, she had to go back to her father to appease his
wrath. When Cowherd heard this, he began to weep. Soon he was overcome
with sorrow and fainted. By the time he woke up, Weaving Maiden had already
left. Old Ox told Cowherd to run after her.
bank [bAGk] n. 河岸
weep [wip] v.i. 哭泣
garment [`garmJnt] n. 衣裳
sorrow [`saro] n. 傷心
bewildered [bI`wIldKd] adj. 大惑不解的
faint [fent] v.i. 昏蹶
naked [`nekId] adj. 裸體的
compose oneself
distress [dI`strEs] n. 焦慮；憂心
revert to
emperor [`EmpJrK] n. 皇帝
manage to
famine [`fAmIn] n. 飢荒
be overcome with
鎮定下來
回復到
好不容易才
崩潰
appease [J`piz] v.t. 平息
wrath [rAH] n. 怒氣
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高中英文(五) Outside Reading
A strange thing happened. Cowherd discovered that, as he was running with
his two children, suddenly the three of them had left the earth and risen into the
sky. He saw many stars shining brightly, he saw the blue earth floating below
him, and then he saw Weaving Maiden not too far ahead. He was about to catch
up with her when Weaving Maiden’s mother suddenly cast a river between
them, a river so wide that it was impossible to cross. Cowherd and Weaving
Maiden would remain forever separated.
There is a silver lining to the story, however. Out of pity for the two lovers,
the Emperor of Heaven agreed to allow Weaving Maiden and Cowherd to meet
once every year, on the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar.
On this day, all the magpies fly up to heaven carrying twigs. With these twigs
they form a bridge allowing Weaving Maiden and Cowherd to cross the mighty
river that separates them. And so it is that, every year for one brief day, Cowherd
and Weaving Maiden are united. Here on earth, all lovers pledge their love to
each other on this day, as they gaze towards the sky and remind themselves of
the eternal love between Cowherd and Weaving Maiden.
cast [kAst] v.t. 丟
brief [brif] adj. 短暫的
lunar [`lunK] adj. 月亮的
pledge [plEdj] v.t. 信誓旦旦
*magpie [`mAg"pZI] n. 青鳥；喜鵲
twig [twIg] n. 小樹枝
mighty [`mZItI] adj. 巨大的
catch up with
追上
a silver lining 〔喻〕否極泰來
out of pity 歸於憐憫
讀後練習- Post-reading Practice
True or False: Mark T for a true statement and F for a false
statement.
Ｆ 1. When it was time to divide the inheritance, Cowherd requested two
____
large mansions and twelve oxen.
Ｆ 2. Cowherd wanted to be with Old Ox because he knew the ox was a
____
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Unit 5
Cowherd and Weaving Maiden
divine being.
Ｔ 3. One day, Old Ox suddenly began speaking to Cowherd.
____
Ｆ 4. Weaving Maiden came from a village not too far from where Cowherd
____
lived.
Ｔ 5. Magpies help Cowherd and Weaving Maiden see each other once a year.
____
Multiple Choice: Choose the best answer based on the reading.
Ｃ 1. Cowherd’s elder brother
____
.
(Ａ) thought Old Ox was of great value
(Ｂ) helped Cowherd marry Weaving Maiden
(Ｃ) took care of Cowherd since their parents died
(Ｄ) taught Cowherd how to get involved in the society
Ｃ 2. Which of the following is true about Old Ox?
____
(Ａ) Everyone except for Cowherd thought it priceless.
(Ｂ) Cowherd asked it to work all day long on the farm.
(Ｃ) It helped Cowherd meet and marry Weaving Maiden.
(Ｄ) It suggested Cowherd to give up getting his wife back.
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高中英文(五) Outside Reading
Ｂ 3. The Emperor of Heaven
____
.
(Ａ) married his daughter to Cowherd
(Ｂ) was the father of Weaving Maiden
(Ｃ) made a river to separate Cowherd and Weaving Maiden
(Ｄ) allowed Cowherd and Weaving Maiden to meet once a decade
Ｄ 4. In the second paragraph, the word “resolved” means mostly close to
____
.
(Ａ) decoded
(Ｂ) despaired
(Ｃ) destructed
(Ｄ) determined
Ｃ 5. Which of the following is NOT true between Cowherd and Weaving
____
Maiden?
(Ａ) They enjoyed their life after getting married.
(Ｂ) They had two children who were both good-looking.
(Ｃ) Weaving Maiden married Cowherd because Cowherd was an
honest person.
(Ｄ) Cowherd lost consciousness when he knew that Weaving Maiden
had to leave.
字彙練習- Vocabulary Practice
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Unit 5
Cowherd and Weaving Maiden
Match the words: Please fill in the blanks using the following words.
divine
content
distress
However
weaving
who
requesting
that
garments
catch up with
Once upon a time in ancient Greek, there was a beautiful woman named
Arachne, _______
who could weave the most beautiful __________
garments in her village.
However ○,1 she was so __________
content
with her achievement _______
that
she
___________
○2
became a proud, arrogant girl. She bragged that no one in the world could
catch up with her skills of weaving. One day, a beautiful woman showed up
______________
○3
in front of her, ____________
requesting that she would like to compete with Arachne.
They both took three days to make the most beautiful product as they could. But
this time, Arachne bore the taste of failure in __________
distress
for the first time.
Originally, the beautiful woman was the __________
divine
goddess, Athena. To
punish the arrogant Arachne, Athena turned Arachne into a spider. Even till now,
we can still see Arachne, the spider, __________
weaving in the dark corner of our
houses.
○4
解析：
○1 此為非限定的關係子句，先行詞為人名 Arachne，故使用 who。
○2 此句使用了 so…that S＋V 的句法，意為「因為如此…以致於…」。
○3 此處為分詞構句，原句為：
One day, a beautiful woman showed up in front of her. The beautiful woman requested that she
would like to compete with Arachne.
主詞相同的兩句要合併的方法為 S1＋V1, and S2＋V2
如不想用連接詞 S1＋V1, V2-ing（主動）/V2-p.p.（被動）
○4 感官動詞 (see, hear, …)＋O＋VR/V-ing
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