2、   Alex stared through the cabin window at the darkness. Soon his dad would call him. And he didn’t want to go. He wished he hadn’t come to the lake for the weekend. “We’re ready,” Dad said as he came in from the porch. “ Grab your rod.”  Alex turned away from the window and slowly picked up his fishing rod. “Have fun!” Mom said. “Sure,” said Alex, trying to make his voice bright. “We should have done this before.” Dad said. “Let’s catch a big one!” Dad picked up his tackle (釣具) box, rod, and bait can from the porch. He clicked on the flashlight.

   They walked down the hill toward the lake in the narrow beam of light. The only thing Alex could see was the circle of weeds and rocks at their feet, lit by the flashlight. Insect voices filled his ears---clicks, hums, buzzes, whines. Hundreds of bugs waited in the darkness to attack. “Ow!” he blurted as he felt a sting on his arm. “Mosquitoes,” Dad said. “I have brought some spray (噴霧) to keep them off.”

 When they reached the boat, Alex stumbled as he climbed over the side. “I don’t like this much,” he said. “It’s so dark.” Dad squeezed his shoulder. “Don’t worry. It’s not as dark as you think. After a while your eyes will get used to the night.” Suddenly something rushed past Alex’s head. He gasped. “What was that?” “Probably a bat,” Dad said. How could Dad act as if it were nothing! “Will bats be flying around our heads the whole time?” “This is their time to be out catching insects,” Dad explained. “They won’t hurt you. They’re too busy grabbing dinner.” He pushed the boat off the gravel (沙礫) and jumped in. Alex gazed back at the cabin. A square of light from the window glowed in the darkness.

  Dad rowed to the middle of the lake and stopped. “We’ll just let the boat drift. Keep the flashlight in the bottom of the boat. The fish won’t bite if they see light flashing around. When we’ve done baiting our hooks(魚鉤), we’ll turn the light off.” Leaning down to get closer to the light, Alex tried to thread a worm on his hook, but he couldn’t seem to work his fingers right. So what if the worm was only partly on the hook? He didn’t want to fish anyway. He didn’t even want to be there.

 

56. Whom did Alex go fishing with?

   A. No one.        B. His mother         C. His parents          D. His father

57. They turned the flashlight off _____________________.

   A. to sleep well                                   B. not to frighten off the fish in the lake

   C. to get to used to the night                D. to catch big fish

58. What does the sentence ‘We should have done this before’ mean?

   A. We shall catch a lot of fish.             B. We have caught a big fish before.

   C. We caught a big fish before.            D. We didn’t catch any big fish.

59. From the passage you know that ________________.

   A. Alex would like to go fishing there.

   B. Alex was used to fishing in the lake.

   C. Alex regretted going fishing at night.

   D. Alex didn’t want to be there.