A man took his old duck to the Doctor，concerned because the duck wouldn't eat。The Doctor explained to the man that as duck's age their upper bills grow down over their lower bills and make it difficult for the animal to pick up its food。“What you need to do is gently file the upper bill down even with the lower bill。But you must be extra careful because the duck's nostrils are located in the upper bill and if you file down too far，when the duck takes a drink of water，it'll be drown。”
The man went about his business and about a week later the Doctor run into his patient。“Well，how is that duck of yours？”the Doctor inquired。“He's dead。”declared the heartbroken man。
“I told you not to file his upper bill down too far！He took a drink of water and drowned didn't he？”insisted the Doctor。
“No。”lamented the man。“I think he was dead before I took him out of the vise。”
一只老鸭不吃食，主人十分担心，于是带他去看医生。医生解释道，随着鸭子年龄的增长，他们的上嘴甲不断往下生长，和下嘴甲合到一起，就很难吃东西了。“你需要做的是，轻轻地把上嘴甲和下嘴甲锉平。但是必须要格外小心，因为鸭子的鼻孔就在上嘴甲中，如果锉得过多的话，鸭子一喝水就会淹死的。”
这个人照做了，一周之后，医生遇到了他。“您那鸭子怎么样了？”医生问道。“他死了”，此人宣布。“我告诉你不要把他的上嘴甲锉得太多！他是不是一喝水就死了？”医生质问道。
“不是”，此人惋惜地说，“我把他从老虎钳中抽出来之前他就已经死了……”
1.concern v。使担心，使不安
The boy's poor health concerned his parents。（那男孩健康状况不佳，使他的父母亲忧虑。）
2.bill n。鸟嘴，喙
3.file v。把……锉平，把……锉光
I've filed the surface smooth。（我已把表面锉光。）
4.nostril n。鼻孔
5.inquiry n。询问，打听，质询
Make your inquiries at the office。（请去办公室询问。）
1.run into 偶然碰见
I ran into an old friend in a pub。（我在酒吧碰到了一位老朋友。）自我测验24：
1.I think the washing machinecast me 4000 Yuan is worth the money。
A。the thingB。itC。oneD。that
2.The reasonwe don't make friends with her isshe is always rude to people。
A。why；whyB。which；becauseC。why；thatD。that；why
3.Can you tell me？
A。how do you think about the filmB。what you think about the film
C。how do you like the filmD。what you like the film
4.It was not truehe murdered the manager。
A。whyB。whatC。whichD。that
5.he said at the meeting astonished everyone present。
A。WhatB。ThatC。The factD。It
6.If I had had enough time，Imy work。
A。would finishB。must have finished
C。would have finishedD。had finished
7.Ten minutes earlier，theythe plane。
A。will catchB。would catch
C。would have caughtD。will have caught
8.Had he studied hard，hethe exam。
A。would passB。could passC。had passedD。would have passed
9.I wish Iwhat is happening there in his room。
A。knowB。knownC。knewD。should know
10.If there were no water in the world，everything。
A。willB。would die
C。would have diedD。would have been dead
key：1-56-10