The Bundle of Sticks

    A man once had four sons who never stopped quarrelling withone another．He was always telling them how much easier life wouldbe if they worked together but they took absolutely no notice of him．One day he decided¹ to show them what he meant．He called all the sons together and put a tightly² tied bundle of sticks on the floor in front of them．“Can you break that？”he asked the yonngest son．They boy put his knee on the bundle but though he pressed and pulled with his arm she could not bend the wood．The father asked each son in turn to try to break the bundle，but none of them could do it．Then he untied³ the string and scattered⁴ the sticks．“Now try，”he said．Th boys broke the sticks easily in their hands．“Do you see what I mean？”asked the father．“If only you stand together no one can hurt you．If you all disagree the whole time and insist on going your separate ways，the first enemy you meet will be able to destory you．”
    United we stand；divided we fall．Exercises：
    回答下列问题：
    ① How did four sons get on with among themselves？
    ②How did the old man show his sons？What he meant？
    ③ What did the old man want to show his sons？
    ④ What do you learn from the story？

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 tightly   

adv.紧紧地，坚固地，牢固地

参考例句：

• My child holds onto my hand tightly while we cross the street.横穿马路时，孩子紧拉着我的手不放。
• The crowd pressed together so tightly that we could hardly breathe.人群挤在一起，我们几乎喘不过气来。

3 untied   

松开，解开( untie的过去式和过去分词 )； 解除，使自由； 解决

参考例句：

• Once untied, we common people are able to conquer nature, too. 只要团结起来，我们老百姓也能移山倒海。
• He untied the ropes. 他解开了绳子。

4 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。