Introduce the story: Today we'll talk about giving someone a fright.
Step 1: Intensive reading.
Try to answer the question below while you’re reading:
Question: What did the man expect to find under the stairs?
Answer: The electricity meter.
Vocabulary:
costume n. 化装服
storeroom n. 储藏室
consist v. 由……组成
electricity n. 电
sheet n. 被单
meter n. 电表
effective adj. 有明显效果的，有作用的
pace n. 一步
flee v. 逃走
comfortable adj. 舒适的
slam v. 砰地关上
Passage:
After her husband had gone to work, Mrs. Richards sent her children to school and
went upstairs to her bedroom. She was too excited to do any housework that morning,
for in the evening she would be going to a fancy-dress party with her husband. She
intended to dress up as a ghost and as she had made her costume the night before, she
was impatient to try it on. Though the costume consisted only of a sheet, it was very
effective. After putting it on, Mrs. Richards went downstairs. She wanted to find out
whether it would be comfortable to wear.
理查兹夫人等丈夫上班走后，把孩子送去上学，然后来到楼上自己的卧室。那天
上午，她兴奋得什么家务活都不想做，因为晚上她要同丈夫一起去参加一个化装
舞会。她打算装扮成鬼的模样。头天晚上她已把化装服做好，这时她急于想试试。
尽管化装服仅由一个被单制成，却十分逼真。理查兹夫人穿上化装服后下了楼，
想看看穿起来是否舒服。
Notes:
1 would be going, 是过去将来进行时，用来表示过去预计将要发生的动作。
2 fancy-dress party 化装舞会。
3 dress up as, 化装成……。
4 try it on, it 指 costume, try on 是“试穿”“试戴”。
Just as Mrs. Richards was entering the dining room, there was a knock on the front
door. She knew that it must be the baker. She had told him to come straight in if ever
she failed to open the door and to leave the bread on the kitchen table. Not wanting to
frighten the poor man, Mrs. Richards quickly hid in the small storeroom under the
stairs. She heard the front door open and heavy footsteps in the hall. Suddenly the
door of the storeroom was opened and a man entered, Mrs. Richards realized that it
must be the man from the Electricity Board who had come to read the meter. She tried
to explain the situation, saying ‘It's only me’, but it was too late. The man let out a cry
and jumped back several paces. When Mrs. Richards walked towards him, he fled,
slamming the door behind him.
理查兹夫人刚刚走进餐厅，前门就传来敲门声。她知道来人一定是面包师。她曾
告诉过面包师，如果她不去开门，他可直接进门，把面包放在厨房的桌上。理查
兹夫人不想吓唬这个可怜的人，便赶紧躲到了楼梯下的小储藏室里。她听见前门
被打开，走廊里响起了重重的脚步声。突然贮藏室门开了，一个男人走了进来。
理查兹夫人这才想到一定是供电局来人查电表了。她说了声“是我，别怕！”然后
想进行一番解释，但已来不及了。那人大叫了一声，惊退了几步。理查兹夫人朝
他走去，只见他“砰”的一声关上门逃走了。
Notes:
5 just as…, 正当……的时候。
6 She had told him to come straight in if ever she failed to open the door and to leave
the bread on the kitchen table. 她曾告诉过他，如果她没去开门，他可直接进来，
把面包放在厨房的桌子上。if ever 在条件句中表示强调，可译作“任何时候” 。to
come straight in 指“直接进来”。
7 Not wanting to frighten the poor man, 不想去吓唬这个可怜的人。这是现在分词
短语的否定形式，作原因状语。
13.2【阅读理解】 It's only me
Step 2: Comprehension questions.
Comprehension:
1 Where had Mrs. Richards' husband gone? (To work.)
2 Where did Mrs. Richards go after her husband and children had left? (Upstairs to
her bedroom.)
3 Why was she too excited to do any housework that morning? (Because she would
be going to a fancy-dress party with her husband in the evening.)
4 What did she intend to dress up as? ( A ghost.)
5 Had she made the costume herself? (Yes, she had.)
6 What was she impatient to do? (Try it on.)
7 What did the costume consist of? (A sheet.)
8 Where did Mrs. Richards go after dressing up as a ghost? (Downstairs.)
9 What did she hear as she was entering the dining room? (A knock on the front door.)
10 Who did she think it was? (The baker)
11 What had she told the baker to do if she didn't answer the door? (Come straight in
and leave the bread on the kitchen table.)
12 Why did Mrs. Richards hide in the storeroom under the stairs? (She didn't want to
frighten the baker.)
13 Was it the baker? (No, it wasn't.)
14 Who was it? (The man from the Electricity Board.)
15 Where did he go? (Into the storeroom under the stairs.)
16 What did he want to do? (Read the meter.)
17 How did Mrs. Richards try to explain the situation? (She said: 'It's only me.')
18 How did the man react? (He let out a cry and jumped back several paces.)
19 What did he do next? (He fled, slamming the door behind him.)
13.3【拓展写作】 It's only me
Step 3: Composition
Imagine that the man from the Electricity Board returned to Mrs. Richards’ house
with a policeman. Mrs. Richards was no longer dressed as a ghost. Expand the
following into a paragraph of about 150 words.
Mrs. Richards immediately went upstairs and... She felt sorry for the poor man from...
but at the same time, she was...Suddenly, there was a knock at the front door and Mrs.
Richards... The electricity man had returned, accompanied...so she ... The man told
Mrs. Richards that ... and that ...Though Mrs. Richards explained that... he refused to
believe her. She told him to open the storeroom door but he … So she ... While the
electricity man and the policeman ... Mrs. Richards fetched... She showed it ... and ...
Key to composition
Mrs. Richards immediately went upstairs and took off her costume. She felt sorry
for the poor man from the Electricity Board, but at the same time she was rather
amused. Suddenly, there was a knock at the front door and Mrs. Richards opened it at
once. The electricity man had returned, accompanied by a policeman, so she invited
both in. The man told Mrs. Richards that he had tried to read her meter and that there
was a ghost
in the storeroom. Though Mrs. Richards explained that she had dressed up as a ghost,
he refused to believe her. She told him to open the storeroom door, but he was too
frightened, so she opened it herself. While the electricity man and the policeman were
looking for the ghost in the storeroom, Mrs. Richards fetched her costume. She
showed it to both men and only then did they believe her. (150 words)
课外练习：
1 Mrs. Richards went upstairs because .
(a)she did not need to do any housework
(b)she still had to finish the costume she was going to wear
(c)she wanted to change her clothes before doing the housework
(d) she wanted to change into her fancy-dress costume
2 Mrs. Richards did not go to the door because .
(a)she was upstairs changing her clothes
(b)she did not want to make a bad impression on the baker
(c)she thought he baker might be taken in by her disguise
(d)the baker had already left the bread on the kitchen table
3 By saying ‘it's only me’, Mrs. Richards hoped .
(a)the man would realize she was alone
(b)to persuade the man he was seeing ghost
(c)the man would recognize her
(d) the man would not close the door of the storeroom
4 After her husband had gone to work and the children to school, she went
upstairs ...
(a) had sent
(b) were sent
(c) had been sent
(d) were sending
5 She wanted to find out how to wear.
(a) comfortable it was
(b) comfortable it would be
(c) it was comfortable
(d) it would be comfortable
6 to frighten the poor man, Mrs. Richards quickly hid under the stairs.
(a)Not anxious about
(b)Anxious not
(c)Being not anxious
(d) Not being anxious for
7 Trying to explain the situation, she ‘It's only me’.
(a)was saying
(b)said
(c)had said
(d) has been saying
8 On seeing Mrs. Richards towards him, he fled.
(a)to walk
(b) having walked
(c)walk
(d) walked
9 Mrs. Richards was entering the dining room…
(a) At the very moment
(b)So long
(c)Only when
(d) During the time
10-if she ever the door and to leave the bread...
(a)missed opening
(b)forgot to open
(c)did not succeed in opening
(d) happened not to open
11 It was the man from the Electricity Board who had come to take a
meter- .
(a) reading
(b) measurement
(c)regulation
(d) study
12 The man a cry.
(a)escaped
(b)gave
(c)left
(d) shouted
答案：1d 2c 3c 4c 5b 6b 7b 8c 9a 10d 11a 12b