《2026年授之以渔河北各地市中考试题汇编英语》

B
When I was a little boy, I lived on Maple Street in a small town. My neighbor, Mr. David, was a most interesting person. He liked to plant trees in his large yard on weekends. But the way he planted trees was quite different. Every morning, while other yards were filled with the sound of watering cans, Mr. David's yard remained strangely quiet. He never watered his new trees.
"Mr. David?" I called out, "Aren't you going to water your new trees?"
He looked up, "Ah, young Alex! Come closer and I'll tell you a secret."
When I entered through the gate, he pointed at the baby trees. "Water is like easy answers—too much makes roots lazy. These trees need to search for water deep underground to grow strong. Watering trees will spoil them," he added. "If you water the trees, each baby tree will grow weaker and weaker," said David.
He told me that watering these new trees would make roots shallow, but deep roots were very important for trees. I didn't understand his words at that time.
Several years after I left home, I came back to visit my parents. When I walked by David's house, I stopped and watched the trees. The trees he planted years ago, tall and strong, tower over his yard like giants.
I suddenly realize planting a tree is just like bringing up a child. Their roots, like children's independence, grow strongest when given space to struggle. And in that struggle, they make roots deep and find their own way to sunlight. As a father of two children, I shouldn't care for them too much. Instead, they should depend on themselves. In that case, whatever happens, they can make their own decisions.
59. What does the underlined word "spoil" probably mean in Paragraph 4?
A. Be bad for.
B. Be famous for.
C. Be similar to.
D. Be thankful to.
60. Why did David never water his new trees?
A. Because he didn't have enough water.
B. Because he was too weak to water trees.
C. Because he wanted to make roots deep.
D. Because he didn't know how to plant trees.
61. What does the writer learn from his experience?
A. Children should plant more trees.
B. Parents should water trees all the time.
C. Children should depend on themselves.
D. Parents should care for children a lot.

答案： 59—61 ACC