The Wolf and the Crane

    A wolf was eating his supper one day when a bone stuck in his throat．Choking and coughing，he howled about the countryside asking every animal he met to help him．“There's a good reward for anyone who can save me，”he spluttered．A crane heard about this promise and offered to help．“Open your mouth wide，wolf，”she said，and poked¹ her long beak² deep into his throat．” Here is the bone that has been troubling you，“she added politely as soon as her head was out of the wolf's mouth“I trust you will now be able to give me the reward you promised．”
    “Reward，”laughed the wolf，showing all his gleaming³ teeth in a mean smile and quite forgetting his sore throat．”You are lucky I didn't snap⁴ your head off with one bite ．That should be enough of a reward for you，ungrateful bird．And it is certainly all you will get from me．”
    If you only help people because you can get something out of it for yourself，you'll be disappointed．Exercises：
    回答下列问题：
    ① What was the wolf doing one day when a bone struck in his throat？
    ② Who heard about the promise and offered to help？

1 poked   

v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交

参考例句：

• She poked him in the ribs with her elbow. 她用胳膊肘顶他的肋部。
• His elbow poked out through his torn shirt sleeve. 他的胳膊从衬衫的破袖子中露了出来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 beak   

n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻

参考例句：

• The bird had a worm in its beak.鸟儿嘴里叼着一条虫。
• This bird employs its beak as a weapon.这种鸟用嘴作武器。

3 gleaming   

n. 微弱的闪光, 瞬息的一现 v. 闪烁, 隐约地闪现

参考例句：

• His teeth were a gleaming flash of white against his tan. 他的牙齿在他棕褐色皮肤的映衬下白得发亮。
• Cabs and carriages, their lamps gleaming like yellow eyes, pattered by. 公共马车和私人马车嗒嗒地驶过，车灯像一双双黄色的眼睛闪闪发亮。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

4 snap   

n.啪地移动，突然断掉；v.猛咬，咬断，谩骂，砰然关上

参考例句：

• He broke off the twig with a snap.他啪地一声把那根树枝折断了。
• These earrings snap on with special fasteners.这副耳环是用特制的按扣扣上去的。