Gap-fill: The Ant & The Grasshopper
Fill in the gaps:
In a bright, sunny _______ (đồng cỏ) lived an ant (con kiến) and a grasshopper (con châu chấu). The ant was always busy. She worked hard, collecting (thu gom) food and _______ (dự trữ) it in her home. "Winter is coming," she would say, "and we must be ready!"
The grasshopper loved to play. He danced and sang all day long. "Why work so hard?" he laughed at the ant. He thought she was silly (ngớ ngẩn)! "Come and dance with me!" But the ant shook her head (lắc đầu). "No, no, I must _______ (chuẩn bị) for winter," she replied and diligently (chăm chỉ) continued her work.
Summer turned to autumn (mùa thu), and _______ to winter. The air grew cold, and _______ (tuyết) covered the ground (mặt đất). The trees lost their _______ (lá cây). The grasshopper had no food and felt very cold and hungry. "I wish I had gathered (thu gom) food like the ant," he thought, walking sadly through the snow.
He went to the ant's house and saw the ant through the window near a _______ (ấm áp) fire. The ant had lots of food. He knocked (gõ cửa). "Please, can you spare some food?" he asked. The kind ant let him in and shared her food. "Thank you," said the _______ (đói lả) grasshopper. "Next year, I will work too," promised (hứa) the grasshopper.
The moral (bài học) of the story is: Always prepare for the future and work hard today to enjoy tomorrow.
This is a story by Aesop. He lived in Greece about 2,500 years ago. He wrote stories with animal characters (nhân vật) that teach life lessons. His stories are still used today, because they educate us about human nature (bản chất) and show universal truths (chân lý).