The Bear，the Monkey and the Pig

    A bear，with which a piedmontese earned his living，was trying out on two feet a dance which he had not learned very well．Wishing to act like a man，he said to a monkey，“How is it？”The monkey，who was a connoisseur，answered，“Very bad．”
    “I believe，”replied the bear，“that you are not very kind to me．What，my appearance is not graceful¹？I do not do the step accurately²？”
    The pig was present and said，“Bravo！You are doing well．Amore excellent dancer has never been seen，nor will be seen．”
    The bear，on hearing this，took stock of himself，and in a modest manner，exclaimed thus：
    “When the monkey disapproved³ of me，I began to doubt；but since the pig praised me，I must have danced very badly．”
    Let an author keep this maxim⁴ as his gift：If the wise man does not approve，bad！If the fool applauds，worse！
    Exercises：
    回答下列问题：
    ① What did the bear want to do？
    ② What did the monkey think about his dancing？
    ③ What did the pig think about his dancing？
    ④ What did the bear think of his dancing after he heard what the pig and the monkey said？

1 graceful   

adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的

参考例句：

• His movements on the parallel bars were very graceful.他的双杠动作可帅了!
• The ballet dancer is so graceful.芭蕾舞演员的姿态是如此的优美。

2 accurately   

adv.准确地，精确地

参考例句：

• It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
• Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。

3 disapproved   

v.不赞成( disapprove的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• My parents disapproved of my marriage. 我父母不赞成我的婚事。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She disapproved of her son's indiscriminate television viewing. 她不赞成儿子不加选择地收看电视。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 maxim   

n.格言，箴言

参考例句：

• Please lay the maxim to your heart.请把此格言记在心里。
• "Waste not,want not" is her favourite maxim.“不浪费则不匮乏”是她喜爱的格言。