6．
阅读理解
In ancient China, a woman told the best
stories. She married an emperor(皇帝).Sadly, one
day, this woman became ill and died. Everyone thought the emperor would soon
find another favourite among his wives, but the emperor was very sad. He spent
more and more time in his garden, and less and less time caring for the needs
of his people. Everyone in the kingdom was worried.
One day, a priest(牧师)passed when some children were playing with their dolls. The dolls
made dancing shadows on the wall. This gave the priest an idea. He knew the
stories the emperor's wife used to tell. What if he could bring those stories
to life？
The priest made a puppet(木偶)out of bits of clay(黏土).He painted the
puppet to look somewhat like the emperor's wife. When the puppet was finished, the
priest silently walked into the emperor's garden, carrying his puppet, a candle
and a curtain. He placed the curtain near the emperor's chair. He placed his
candle, his puppet and himself behind the curtain. He waited for the emperor to
appear.
The emperor did not even notice the curtain
at first. The dancing shadow drew his eyes. As the priest moved the puppet
behind the curtain, he told wonderful stories as the emperor's wife. It seemed
as if his wife had been spending time with him. The emperor was no longer sad.
At the end of each busy day, the emperor went into his garden to visit his
shadow wife and hear her stories once again. That is how shadow puppets first
began.
