Lesson 1 Mamma’s Present
Jessie played a good joke on her mamma. This is the way she did it.
Jessie had gone to the woods with Jamie and Joe to get green branches to trim up he house for Christmas. She wore her little cap, her white furs, and her red leggings①.
She was a merry little girl, indeed; but she felt sad this morning because her mother had said, “The children will all have Christmas presents, but I don’t expect any or myself. We are too poor this year.”
When Jessie told her brothers this, they all talked about it a great deal. “Such a good, kind mamma, and no Christmas present! It’s too bad.”
“I don’t like it,” said little Jessie, with a tear in her eye.
“Oh, she has you,” said Joe.
“But I am not something new,” said Jessie.
“Well, you will be new, Jessie,” said Joe, “when you get back. She has not seen you for an hour.”
Jessie jumped and laughed. “Then put me in the basket, and carry me to mamma, and say, ‘I am her Christmas present.’”
So they set her in the basket, and put green branches all around her. It was a jolly ide. They set her down on the doorstep, and went in and said, “There’s a Christmas present out there for you, mamma.”
Mamma went and looked, and there, in a basket of green branches, sat her own ittle laughing girl.
“Just the very thing I wanted most,” said mamma.
“Then, dear mamma,” said Jessie, bounding out of her leafy② nest③, “I should hink it would be Christmas for mammas all the time, for they see their little girls every day.”
(291 words)
① leggings ['leɡɪŋs] n.（通常用复数）绑腿，裹腿，护胫
② leafy ['liːfɪ] adj. 多叶的，叶茂的，多树木的
③ nest [nest] n.（鸟）窝；温床
Exercises
Ⅰ. How well did you read?
1. [Grasp the main idea] What is the passage about?
A. How did the family spend the Christmas Eve?
B. How did Jessie play a good joke on her mamma?
C. How did Jessie play with Joe?
2. [See the result] What did the mother get as Christmas present?
A. Nothing.
B. Branches.
C. Her daughter.
3. [Give the reason] Why did Jessie feel sad that morning?
A. Because she didn’t have a Christmas present.
B. Because her brother didn’t give her a Christmas gift.
C. Because her mother didn’t have a Christmas gift.
4. [Check the details] Who helped Jessie become a Christmas present?
A. Her mother.
B. Her brother.
C. Her friends.
Ⅱ. Read for words.
Choose the best paraphrase or Chinese meaning for the underlined words or expressions.
1. Jessie had gone to the woods with Jamie and Joe to get green branches to trim up the house for Christmas. (Para. 2, Line 1)
A. build
C. protect
2. She was a merry little girl, indeed; but she felt sad this morning because... (Para. 3,Line 1)
A.而且
B.的确是
C.到底，究竟
3. It was a jolly ride. (Para. 10, Line 1)
A. happy
B. sad
C. very bad
4. When Jessie told her brothers this, they all talked about it a great deal. (Para. 4,Line 1)
A. a lot
B. a great number
C. a good business
5. “Just the very thing I wanted most,” said mamma. (Para. 12, Line 1)
A.就是这个
B.非常的
C. 很重要的
Ⅲ. Writing practice.
Answer these questions in note form to get your points:
1. What did Jessie wear to trim up the house for Christmas?
2. What did Jessie do when she heard her mother’s words?
3. What did her brothers do to help her?
4. What did the mother feel when she saw this Christmas present?
_____________________________________________________