Lesson 12 Cheater, Cheater

Madeline sat patiently in her seat as Mr. Borth handed out the spelling tests.Madeline had prepared by studying for hours, but she still felt unsure. Mr. Borth took his seat at the head of the class and told the class to begin the test. Just then,Madeline saw Jeff staring at his own hand. He was writing with his right hand,but his left hand was resting on the other, palm^① facing him. Madeline wondered what he was doing. A moment later, she looked over at Jeff again, and she saw him glance at his hand, then quickly write something on his test page.

Madeline had no doubt that Jeff was cheating. She shook her head, annoyed^② that he would do that. Then she focused her attention on her own test. But Madeline felt disappointed. She thought what if he got a better grade. I studied very hard,and he seemed that he didn’t bother to study. That’s so unfair! Just as Madeline was losing herself in these matters, she heard Mr. Borth loudly call Jeff’s name.Mr. Borth called Jeff out of the room. They were gone for just a moment, then Mr.Borth returned, but Jeff did not.

Madeline finished the spelling test. As she handed her test to Mr. Borth, she asked, “Was Jeff cheating on the spelling test?” Mr Borth looked at Madeline in surprise and asked, “Did you see him, too?” Madeline nodded and then asked, “Why do people cheat? It doesn’t seem fair to cheat.”

Mr. Borth smiled and said, “No, it doesn’t seem fair, does it? You see, some kids cheat because they are lazy and don’t want to work hard. But others cheat because they feel like, even if they did study, they still might not do as well as they want. I think that’s the trouble with Jeff. I think he wants to make his parents happy by getting good grades, but school is hard for him.”

Madeline looked thoughtfully at Mr. Borth and said, “As long as students do their best, they are good students. That’s what I think. You are a very good teacher, Mr. Borth.” Mr. Borth turned a little red and patted her shoulder. “Thanks,Madeline. Now off to lunch.”

（375 words）

Notes

① palm [pɑːm] n. 手掌；棕榈树；掌状物

vt. 将……藏于掌中

② annoy [ə'nɔɪ] vt. 骚扰；惹恼；打搅

vi. 惹恼；令人讨厌；打搅

n. 烦恼（等于annoyance）

Exercises

Ⅰ. How well did you read?

1. [Check the details] What did Madeline see Jeff doing?

A. She saw Jeff cheating.

B. She saw Jeff playing with his hand.

C. She saw Jeff coming back.

2. [Evaluate the information] How did Madeline feel about her classmate’s cheating?

A. She thought it was good for every one.

B. She thought it was lucky for other people.

C. She thought it was unfair for other people.

3. [Check the details] What did Madeline do after the test?

A. She talked with Jeff.

B. She told the teacher what she saw.

C. She went for lunch in a hurry.

Ⅱ. Read for words.

1. Choose one best paraphrase or Chinese meaning for the underlined words.

（1） Madeline sat patiently in her seat as Mr. Borth handed out the spelling tests. （Para. 1, line 1）

A. 认真地 　B. 耐心地 　C. 焦急地

（2） I studied very hard, and he seemed that he didn’t bother to study. （Para. 2,line 4）

A. pay attention 　B. talk about 　C. have time

（3） You see, some kids cheat because they are lazy and don’t want to work hard. （Para. 4, line 2）

A. copy others’ paper

B. help others write

C. don’t do exercises

2. Choose one best paraphrase or Chinese meaning for the underlined expressions.

（1） A moment later, she looked over at Jeff again, and she saw him glance at his hand, then quickly write something on his test page. （Para. 1, line 7）

A. hand out 　B. look at 　C. play with

（2） Then she focused her attention on her own test. （Para. 2, line 2）

A. 集中她的注意力

B. 分散她的注意力

C. 注视她的前方

Ⅲ. Writing practice.

1. What do you think how Madeline defined （定义） “good student”?

2. What do you think happened between Mr. Borth and Jeff outside the classroom?

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