学进去

Once there was a famine（饥荒）. A rich old man sent for 20 of the poorest children in the town and said to them, “In this basket there is a steamed bread（馒头）for each of you. Take it, and come back to me every day at this hour till we live through this famine.”

The hungry children quickly gathered around the basket and started to fight over the bread. But Gretchen, a poorly-dressed little girl, did not join in the fighting. She stood far away quietly and waited until the children left. Then, she took the only steamed bread in the basket, kissed the old man’s hand, and went home.

The next day the children acted the same as before, and poor Gretchen got an even smaller steamed bread. When she came home and her mother cut the steamed bread open, many pieces of silver（银子）fell out of it. Her mother was very much ashamed, and said, “Take the money back to the good old man at once. It must have got into the bread by accident.”

As the little girl gave the money to the old man, he said, “No no, my child, it was no mistake. I put the silver pieces into the smallest steamed bread to reward（奖赏）you. Always stay as happy and thankful as you are right now. Go home now, and tell your mother that the money is your own.”

1．How did the rich old man help the poorest children live through this famine?
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2．What did Gretchen do when the other children fought over the steamed bread?
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3．Who asked Gretchen to take the money back to the old man?
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4．Do you agree with what Gretchen did? What have you learned from the story?
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5．Please write a short paragraph about it.（at least 30 words）
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