2004/02（追試）
My hometown was a sleepy place, safe and clean, but far from the bright lights of New York City, which shone two hundred miles to the south. It was, I suppose, a great place to grow up. As there was little traffic, kids could ride their bicycles anywhere. There were many gardens and parks full of trees and flowers. The air was fresh, and the nights were peaceful. But my hometown bored me and some of my friends. One day, however, a very special day, all of that changed.
My mother came home shopping out of breath with excitement and announced that Mrs. Beakey had been bitten by a snake.
“What’s so unusual about that?” I asked. In the woods surrounding the town there lived many snakes, and every once in a while some unfortunate person would put a hand where it should not have gone and would soon regret it.
“Well, it happened in Marci’s Department Store, John,” she replied.
“What? Are you serious?”
“I sure am,” she said. “She put her hand into a rolled-up carpet and felt something grab her finger.”
“Why would she want to do a thing like that?” I remarked.
“Well, Mrs. Beakey is always doing strange things.”
Actually, it was pretty hard to say much about Mrs. Beakey, because she was frequently out of town. Beakey, you see, was a writer and spent a great deal of time on the road doing research for her books. She was hardly ever home.
“Where is she now, Mom?” I asked.
“Well, I suppose she’s at Hope hospital.”
Hope was the town’s only hospital, so there was really no place else for someone in Mrs. Beakey’s condition to go. I immediately regretted asking the question. But before I could change the topic, the doorbell rang. It was my best friend, Roger.
Roger and I had known each other since elementary school. He had a very good imagination, and I often thought that he would become an artist or a writer or something. He didn’t, but that’s another story.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“Did you hear about Mrs. Beaky?” he shouted.
“Yeah, she got bitten by a snake at Marci’s Department Store.”
“No way. She got bitten by a rare African spider at Merlin’s Bakery,” Roger insisted.
“Hey, something’s wrong here, Roger. I heard it was a snake.”
“Okay, let’s call Hope Hospital and check,” Roger said.
“They’re not going to give out that kind of information. It’s personal.”
“Yeah, you’re right. Maybe we should just ask to speak to her,”
“Good idea,” I replied.
We went over to the phone and made the call. The operator on the other end was polite, but she sounded slightly annoyed. “You want to know about Mrs. Beakey, too?” she said
“Is she all right?”
“Well, it depends on whether you think she has been bitten by a snake, punched by a kangaroo, kicked in the head by a horse …,” the operator answered.
“I don’t understand,” I said.
“Then I’ll explain it. You see, I happen to know Mrs. Beakey very well. She’s my next-door neighbor, and she is now in Chicago. Listen, young man, do you happen to know what day it is today?”
Being a kid, I didn’t. I did not start to be concerned about such things as dates until I got my first job. “No,” I replied.
“Well, it’s April 1st, and you know what that means, don’t you?”
At that point, the operator, my excited friend Roger, and I shouted, “April Fools’ Day!” All of us, even my usually wise mother, had been fooled. But we all learned a couple of things from all of that: stories that travel around in small towns often become wild and crazy, and facts should be checked before you believe anything.
- What made John’s mother excited when she talked about Mrs. Beakey?
① She thought she could make fun of her son.
② She thought something unusual had happened to Mrs. Beakey.
③ Mrs. Beakey did not like her very much.
④ Mrs. Beakey had always done strange things. - Why couldn’t John talk a lot about Mrs. Beakey?
① She was a very strange person.
② She was not John’s neighbor.
③ He had never read her books.
④ He did not know her well enough. - Why did John want to “change the topic”?
① His best friend, Roger, was at the door.
② He thought he had asked a stupid question.
③ His mother did not want to discuss snakes.
④ He did not know enough about the town. - Why was the operator annoyed?
① She thought John did not understand her explanation very well.
② She did not want Mrs. Beakey to go to Chicago.
③ She had received many calls from people asking about Mrs. Beakey.
④ She happened to live next to Mrs. Beakey. - What did the experience teach John?
① You cannot accept everything you hear as true.
② Stay away from “unusual” people like Mrs. Beakey.
③ You should be careful where you put your hands.
④ It is good to grow up in a small town.
