There was once an old man who had four sons. All four of them were very 1 . One day, the old man got seriously ill. He worried a lot about his sons' future 2 the young men didn't like to work. He decided to talk to his sons about their future. 3 , his sons did not listen to him. So the old man decided to play a 4 to let his sons realize the importance of 5 .
He said he had a treasure box with gold coins and wanted to share the treasure equally 6 the four of them.
The young men were very 7 and asked where their father had placed the treasure. The old man replied, “I cannot exactly 8 the place. However, the treasure box was 9 in our land.” After a few days, the old man died. They began to dig the 10 in order to find the treasure box, without 11 any treasure box. Finally, they dug a spot deeply, but got 12 but water.
A passerby saw this and 13 to the sons about farming. Following his advice, they 14 vegetable seeds in their land. Since the land was very fertile with 15 water, within a few weeks, it became a garden with fresh 16 . The four sons sold them at a good 17 and earned a good amount of money. Then they 18 that it was hard work that was 19 as “Treasure Box” by their father. Gradually, the four sons 20 their laziness, worked hard, earned more money and lived happily.
1. A. careless B. clever C. shy D. lazy
2. A. if B. though C. until D. as
3. A. However B. Therefore C. Fortunately D. Afterwards
4. A. trick B. role C. game D. part
5. A. time B. money C. work D. honesty
6. A. between B. during C. towards D. among
7. A. happy B. slow C. angry D. worried
8. A. forget B. hide C. notice D. remember
9. A. buried B. closed C. planted D. found
10. A. place B. hole C. land D. wall
11. A. taking B. finding C. making D. opening
12. A. everything B. anything C. something D. nothing
13. A. talked B. turned C. listened D. proved
14. A. sold B. bought C. got D. sowed
15. A. equal B. enough C. clean D. little
16. A. vegetables B. fruits C. crops D. trees
17. A. income B. pay C. price D. cost
18. A. pretended B. realized C. insisted D. admitted
19. A. made up B. thought of C. dressed up D. referred to
20. A. won B. covered C. overcame D. developed