The Load

    After the French had left Moscow，two peasants went out to search for treasures．One was wise，the other stupid．They went together to the burnt part of the city，and found some scorched¹ wool．They said：“That will be useful at home．”
    They gathered up as much as they could carry，and started to re-turn home with it．On the way they saw lying in the street a lot of cloth．The wise peasant threw down the wool，seized as much Of the cloth as he could carry，and put it on his shoulders．The stupid one said，“Why throw away the wool？It is nicely tied up，and nicely fastened on．”And so he did not take any of the cloth．They went farther，and saw lying in the street some ready-made clothes that had been thrown away．The wise peasant unloaded² the cloth，picked up the clothes，and put them on his shoulders．The stupid one said，“Why should I throw away the wool？It is nicely tied up and securely³ fastened on my back．”
    They went on，and saw silver plate scattered⁴ about．The wise peasant threw down the clothes，and gathered up as much of the silver as he could，and started off with it；but the stupid one did not give up his wool，because it was nicely tied up and securely fastened on．Exercises：
    判断对（T）、错（F）：
    ①Two wise peasants went out to search for treasures after the American had left Moscow．②They gathered up as much as they could carry．③In the end，the wise peasant got nothing while the stupid one got a lot of money．

1 scorched   

烧焦，烤焦( scorch的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（植物）枯萎，把…晒枯； 高速行驶； 枯焦

参考例句：

• I scorched my dress when I was ironing it. 我把自己的连衣裙熨焦了。
• The hot iron scorched the tablecloth. 热熨斗把桌布烫焦了。

2 unloaded   

从…卸下货物( unload的过去式和过去分词 )； 摆脱； 拆掉； 脱手

参考例句：

• The lorry had been blacked by strikers and could not be unloaded. 那辆货车遭到罢工者抵制而无法卸货。
• They unloaded books from a car. 他们从车上把书卸下来。

3 securely   

adv.安心地，安全地；牢固地；被妥善保管地

参考例句：

• She chained the wolf securely to the post.她用铁链把那只狼锁在那根柱子上。
• The straps hold the baby in securely.带子把婴儿安全地系在里面。

4 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。