I Never Work after Supper

    A penny-pinching farmer didn't want his hired hand to stop working. One morning, he told the farmhand, "It's such a nuisance¹ to come in from the field,, wash up for lunch and take time to eat. Why don't we save time and eat lunch now?"The hired man agreed. The farm's wife brought in some cold meat and fried² potatoes, and the two men ate again.
    When they had finished, the cheap farmer said, "While we're still at the table, let's have supper too. " They were now served steak, boiled potatoes and mixed vegetables, and they ate once more.
    "Now that the meals are out of the way, " the farmer announced, we can go out and work all day without interruption³. ""Oh, no, " the farmhand answered. " I never work after supper.
    Notes:
    (1) penny-pinching adj.吝啬的(2) hired hand n. 帮手(3) nuisance n. 讨厌的事物、人、行为等(4) wash up洗(5) be out of the way解决某事(6) interruption n.打断某人Exercises:
    根据短文选择正确答案：
    ①How many people did the farmer hire to work in his field?
    A. OneB. TwoC. ThreeD. Four② What, according to the farmer, was a nuisance?
    A. to come back from the fieldB. to wash up for lunchC. to take time to eatD. All of the above.
    ③ Why did the farmer urge the farmhand to eat three meals together?
    A. Because the farmhand was always hungry.
    B. Because the farmer's wife prepared three meals at one time.
    C. Because he was not willing to let the farmhand have a rest.
    D. Because the crops in the field had to be harvested in no time.
    ④ We can see from the passage that the farmerA. was too viciousB. did not like the farmhandC. was too meanD. was very hospitable⑤ We can infer⁴ from the passage that the farmhandA. was slow-wittedB. was very greedyC. was very lazyD. was a clever man19.我晚饭后从不工作  一位农场主非常吝啬，不想让他雇佣的帮手停下来休息。一天早上，他对帮手说：“从地里回来，又要洗手吃饭，又花时间，真是太不方便了。我们何不省点时间，现在就吃午饭呢？”
    雇员同意了。农场主的妻子端进来一些冷肉和油炸土豆。于是，两个人又开始吃起来。
    吃完后，吝啬鬼说：“既然我们还在桌子边，让我们连晚饭也吃了吧。”这次上桌的有排骨、煮土豆和杂烩青菜。于是两个人又吃起来。
    “现在三顿饭都吃过了，”农场主宣称道，“我们便可以出去一整天不停地干活了。”
    “哦，不，”那帮手回答说，“晚饭后我从不工作。”

1 nuisance   

n.讨厌的东西，讨厌的人

参考例句：

• The dog is a terrible nuisance.这只狗真令人讨厌。
• What a horrid nuisance!真讨厌！

2 fried   

adj.油煎的；油炒的

参考例句：

• I ate everything fried.所有油炸的我都吃。
• I prefer fried peanuts.我选择炸花生。

3 interruption   

n.打扰；干扰；中止；阻碍

参考例句：

• Never mind the interruption;proceed with your story.不要理睬别人的插话，继续讲你的故事。
• The day passed by without further interruption.这一天过去了，没有再发生什么意外的事。

4 infer   

vt.推论，推断；猜想

参考例句：

• People usually infer an unknown fact from a known fact.人们通常从已知的事实中推断未知的事实。
• From your smile I infer that you're pleased.从你的笑容，我断定你很高兴。