Lesson 3 The Widow’s Lamp

Once there was a poor widow^① who lived on a hill near the sea-shore. She had no children, and she passed a lonely life. She was so poor that she had to work hard every day.

But one night as she sat at her work the widow said to herself, while the winds blew and the waves dashed^② on the rocks, “I wish I could be of some use in the world. Can I not do good to someone besides myself?”

At last she bethought that ships were sometimes wrecked on the coast near her house, as there was no light-house to warn^③ them of their danger at night.

From her window she could look out on the sea. Why might she not keep a lighted lamp at the window every night, so as to warn the poor sailors when their ships came near to the rocks on the coast.

The widow felt glad when the thought flashed through her mind. She found that, if she worked an hour later each night, she could earn enough to pay for the oil to feed the lamp.

So she sat up and earned money to buy the oil; and then she trimmed^④ the lamp, and placed it at the window each night, and in this way she saved many lives.

She had been doing this for five years without reward or the hope of reward; but good deeds, even in this world, are often found out.

The sailors whose 1ives had been saved now began to send gifts to her from far-off lands. They sent her tea from China and shawls^⑤ from India, silks from France and grapes from Spain.

But the poor widow did not need these gifts to make her happy. She used to give many of them to the poor and the sick.

She was happy with the thought that she was doing good; and so, as long as she lived, she lit her lamp each night, and put it at the window.

Notes

① widow ['w?d??] n. 寡婦；遺孀

② dash [d??] vi. 猛沖；趕緊離開

③ warn [w??n] vt. 警告；告誡；通知；預告

vi. 發出警告

④ trim [tr?m] vt. 修剪；整理；裝飾

adj. 整齊的，整潔的；修長的；苗條的

n. 整齊；修剪；健康狀態；裝束

⑤ shawl [???l] n. 圍巾；披肩

Exercises

Ⅰ. How well did you read?

1. [Give the reason] What made her think of the idea to do something good to others?

A. The fact that she was poor herself.

B. Her loneliness.

C. When she saw the winds and the waves.

2. [See the result] How did the widow help the ships passing by?

A. She built a light-house to warn them of the danger.

B. She kept a lighted lamp at the window.

C. She trimmed the lamp.

3. [Note the fact] How was she able to help the ships?

A. She worked for one more hour every day.

B. She bought some oil for the lamp.

C. She fed the lamp every day.

4. [Evaluate the information] Which of the following statements is true?

A. The widow got no reward for what she did.

B. The widow was happy to receive the gifts given by those who were saved.

C. She saved a lot of lives.

Ⅱ. Read for words.

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

1. At last she bethought that ships were sometimes wrecked on the coast near her house. (Para. 3, Line 1)

A. 毀滅了                  B. 丟失了                      C.孤獨的

2. The widow felt glad when the thought flashed through her mind. (Para. 5, Line 1) 

A. 沖過               B.閃亮                   C.一閃而過

3. She had been doing this for five years without reward or the hope of reward. (Para. 7, Line 2)

A. 補償                     B.回報                       C.獎勵

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