Return of the Native

    A man who was born in the state of Yan grew up in the state of Chu．At his old age he decided¹ to return to the state of Yan．On his way he passed the state of Jin．His fellow travellers played a trick on him．They pointed² at a city of the state of Jin．“This is a city of the state of Yan，”they said．His face saddened．They pointed at a tiny temple housing a village god．“This is the temple of your native village，”said they He heaved a big sigh．They pointed at a house．“This is the house of your ancestors，”they said．Tears ran down his cheeks．They pointed at a mound³ of earth．“This is your ancestors' grave，”said they．He could not restrain his sobs⁴．His fellow travellers burst into laughter．“We were just putting you on．This is still the territory of the state of Jin．”He was mortified⁵．As it turned out，when he reached the state of Yan and really saw the city and the village temple as well as his ancestors' house and grave，he was less sentimental⁶ than before．Exercises：
    判断对（T）、错（F）：
    ①A man who was born in the state of Chu grew up in the state of Chu．②When they said this was a city of the state of Yan，his face saddened．③When he really saw the city and the village temple of the state of Yan，he was sentimental．

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

3 mound   

n.土墩，堤，小山；v.筑堤，用土堆防卫

参考例句：

• The explorers climbed a mound to survey the land around them.勘探者爬上土丘去勘测周围的土地。
• The mound can be used as our screen.这个土丘可做我们的掩蔽物。

4 sobs   

啜泣（声），呜咽（声）( sob的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She was struggling to suppress her sobs. 她拼命不让自己哭出来。
• She burst into a convulsive sobs. 她突然抽泣起来。

5 mortified   

v.使受辱( mortify的过去式和过去分词 )；伤害（人的感情）；克制；抑制（肉体、情感等）

参考例句：

• She was mortified to realize he had heard every word she said. 她意识到自己的每句话都被他听到了，直羞得无地自容。
• The knowledge of future evils mortified the present felicities. 对未来苦难的了解压抑了目前的喜悦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 sentimental   

adj.多愁善感的，感伤的

参考例句：

• She's a sentimental woman who believes marriage comes by destiny.她是多愁善感的人，她相信姻缘命中注定。
• We were deeply touched by the sentimental movie.我们深深被那感伤的电影所感动。