The Thief and His Mother

    A schoolboy stole a book from one of his school-fellows，and brought it home to his mother．Instead of chastising¹ him，she rather encouraged him in the deed．As time went by the boy，now grown up into a man，began to steal things of greater value，till at length being caught in the very act，he was bound and led to execution．Perceiving his mother following among the crowd on the way，wailing and beating her breast，he begged the executioners to be al-lowed to have a word with her in private．When she quickly drew near and applied² her ear to her son's mouth，he seized the lobe³ of it tightly between his teeth and bit it off．Upon this she cried out lustily，and the crowd joined her in upbraiding⁴ the unnatural⁵ son，as if his former evil ways had not been enough，that his last act must be a deed of impiety⁶ against his mother．But he replied，“It is she who is the cause of my ruin，for if when I stole my school fellow's book and brought it to her，she had given me a sound flogging，I should never have so grown in wickedness as to come to this untimely end．”
    Exercises：
    判断对（T）、错（F）：
    ① When the mother got to know that her son stole a book from his classmate，she scolded him bitterly．②The son was caught because of stealing．③ The son bit his mother's lobe off because he hated his mother．④ If the mother had given him a sound flogging at his first steal-ing，the son should never have so grown in wickedness．

1 chastising   

v.严惩（某人）（尤指责打）( chastise的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Jo was chastising his teddy bear in the living room. 乔在起居室里严厉地惩罚他的玩具小狗熊。 来自辞典例句

2 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

3 lobe   

n.耳垂，（肺，肝等的）叶

参考例句：

• Tiny electrical sensors are placed on your scalp and on each ear lobe.小电器传感器放置在您的头皮和对每个耳垂。
• The frontal lobe of the brain is responsible for controlling movement.大脑前叶的功能是控制行动。

4 upbraiding   

adj.& n.谴责（的）v.责备，申斥，谴责( upbraid的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• His wife set about upbraiding him for neglecting the children. 他妻子开始指责他不照顾孩子。 来自辞典例句
• I eschewed upbraiding, I curtailed remonstrance. 我避免责备，少作规劝。 来自辞典例句

5 unnatural   

adj.不自然的；反常的

参考例句：

• Did her behaviour seem unnatural in any way?她有任何反常表现吗？
• She has an unnatural smile on her face.她脸上挂着做作的微笑。

6 impiety   

n.不敬；不孝

参考例句：

• His last act must be a deed of impiety. 他最后的行为就是这一种不孝。
• His remarks show impiety to religion.他的话表现出对宗教的不敬。