Page 33 - New intake 2023 version
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2023年新生入学指南
NEW INTAKE 33
One day, a deity, Er Lang Shen, saw the Earth from Heaven. He was shocked to see
so many men suffering - having to work under the scorching sun while being whipped
and beaten by their supervisors. Thus, he turned himself into an old man with a long
beard. With the aid of clouds, he flew to a site of the Great Wall. There, he requested
the supervisors to be lenient to the workers and promised to pay back for whatever 10
losses they faced.
One of them looked scornfully at the thin and wrinkled old man and said, “Are you
sure you can manage it? If there is any delay to the project, we will have you buried
under the wall!”
Er Lang Shen was glad to hear that, and so he leapt unto a stone and shouted, “Ev-
erybody, take a good rest! Drink some water to quench your thirst!”
The men were overjoyed. They threw down their poles, which were used to carry
the baskets of rocks, and no sooner had they lain on the ground that they all fell asleep. 15
While the men were enjoying the long overdue nap, Er Lang Shen used a big and
strong pole to carry two huge baskets, each containing a mountain, on both ends.
Airborne by clouds, he chased the suns. He caught them and pressed them under the
mountains in the huge baskets. Soon, eight of the suns vanished. Then Er Lang Shen
reached out for the ninth sun. However, his pole snapped. The mountain in one of the 20
baskets fell to the earth and buried the supervisors alive.
The sound of the snapping pole woke the sleeping men, who were startled to see
the old man transform into the deity, Er Lang Shen, who quickly ascended to Heaven.
From then on, there has been only one sun. People were happy as the weather was
good, and crops were abundant. It has been said that the deity’s broken pole could still
be found halfway up the mountain of Huang Zi Men, in Hebei province. 25
26. The emperor Qin Shi Huang can be described as one who ______.
A. loved challenges
B. was cruel and evil
C. enjoyed being tortured
D. wanted to be respected
