The Fox in the lce

    Very early one winter morning，during a hard frost， a fox was drinking at an ice－hole， not far from the haunts of men．Meanwhile，whether by pure accident or from negligence¹ doesn's much matter，the end of its tail got wet，and froze to the ice．No great harm was done；the fox could easily remedy it．It had only to give a tolerably hard pull，and leave about a score of its hairs behind；then it could runaway² home quickly，before any one came．But how could it make upits mind to spoil its tail？Such a bushy tail as it was，so ample and golden！No；better wait a little．Surely，men are sleeping still．It's even possible that a thaw³ may，meanwhile，set in．In that case，it will be able to withdraw its tail easily from the ice-hole．So it Waits：it goes on waiting，but its tail only freezes all the more．It looks round；the day is already beginning to drawn⁴．People are stirring；voices are to be heard．Our poor fox begins to rush about widly-now this way，now that．But still it cannot free itself from the hole．Luckily，a wolf comes running the way．“Dear friend，father！”cries the fox，“do save me！I am all but lost．”
    So the wolf stopped，and set to work to rescue the fox．Its method was a very simple one：it bit the tail off．Exercises：
    判断对（T）、错（F）：
    ① The end of the fox's tail was frozen to the ice because its tail got wet．②The fox thought that he could withdraw its tail as it get swarm⁵．③ At the end，the fox was saved by a loss of a tail．

1 negligence   

n.疏忽，玩忽，粗心大意

参考例句：

• They charged him with negligence of duty.他们指责他玩忽职守。
• The traffic accident was allegedly due to negligence.这次车祸据说是由于疏忽造成的。

2 runaway   

n.逃走的人，逃亡，亡命者；adj.逃亡的，逃走的

参考例句：

• The police have not found the runaway to date.警察迄今没抓到逃犯。
• He was praised for bringing up the runaway horse.他勒住了脱缰之马受到了表扬。

3 thaw   

v.（使）融化，（使）变得友善；n.融化，缓和

参考例句：

• The snow is beginning to thaw.雪已开始融化。
• The spring thaw caused heavy flooding.春天解冻引起了洪水泛滥。

4 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

5 swarm   

n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入

参考例句：

• There is a swarm of bees in the tree.这树上有一窝蜜蜂。
• A swarm of ants are moving busily.一群蚂蚁正在忙碌地搬家。