Lesson 5 Monkeys on Board Ship

The following account of a Senegal monkey was written by a lady who was a passenger on board the ship in which it was brought to England:—

“We had several monkeys on board. But Jack, the cook’s monkey, was the prince of them all. At first Jack had been kept to one part of the deck by means of a cord; but as he grew tame he got more liberty, till at last he was allowed the whole range of the ship, excepting the captain’s and the passengers’ cabins.

“I was often awakened an early hour by the quick trampling of feet on deck, and knew that it arose from a pursuit[1] of Jack for some mischief he had been doing. He would snatch the caps off the sailors’ heads, and steal their knives and other tools,which, if not very actively pursued, he would sometimes throw overboard.

“When breakfast was preparing, Jack used to take a seat in a corner, near the grate[2], and, when the cook’s back was turned, snatch up something from the fire, and conceal it. He sometimes burned his fingers by these tricks, and this kept him quiet for a few days. But no sooner was the pain gone, than the same thing was done again.

“Two days in each week, the pigs, which formed part of our live stock, were allowed to run about the deck for exercise; and then Jack was as happy as the day was long.

“Hiding himself behind a cask[3], he would suddenly spring upon the back of one of them, which then scampered round the deck in a fright. Sometimes Jack got upset,and if saluted with a laugh from the sailors, he put on a look of wonder, as much as to say, ‘What can you have got to laugh at?’

“Besides Jack, we had on board three little monkeys with red skins and blue faces,and Jack would often get them all on his back at once, and carry them about the vessel.

When, however, I began to pet these little creatures, he became jealous, and got rid of two of them by throwing them into the sea!

“One of his drollest tricks was performed on the poor little monkey that was left.One day, the men who had been painting left their paint and brushes on the upper deck.Jack enticed []4 the little monkey to him; then, seizing him with one hand, with the other he took the brush and covered him with white paint from head to foot!

“The laugh of the man at the helm[5] called my attention to this; and as soon as Jack saw that he was discovered, he dropped his dripping brother, and scampered up to the main-top, where he stood with his nose between the bars, looking at what was going on below.

“Jack was afraid to come down, and only after three days passed in his lofty place of refuge[6] did hunger force him to descend. He chose the moment when I was sitting on deck, and swinging himself by a rope, he dropped suddenly into my lap, looking so piteously[7] at me for pardon, that I not only forgave him myself, but saved him from further punishment.

“Soon after this I took another vessel, and Jack and I parted, never to meet again.”

Among the rules of the port London is one which forbids, under a heavy penalty,the firing of a gun from any vessel lying there. An armed ship had just come in from a long voyage, during which she had touched at several places, and at each of them had fired a salute on anchoring[8].

A monkey that was on board, naturally wondering why this was omitted when he saw the anchor dropped at London, resolved, rather than that it should not take place,that he would fire the salute himself!

Accordingly, while the attention of all on board was engaged with the arrival of the ship, he went to the cooking-place, and with the tongs[9] took out a live coal, which he applied to the touch-hole of one of the guns and forthwith the whole neighbourhood was startled by the roar of the cannon.

The captain of the vessel was prosecuted[10] for breaking the law; and he could only clear himself by proving that the cannon had been fired by the monkey.”

(748 words)

Exercises

Ⅰ. How well did you read?

1. How many monkeys are mentioned in this article?

A. 5. B. 6. C. 7.

2. Who did Jack belong to?

A. One of the passengers on the ship.

B. He was saved by the ship and had no master.

C. One of the crew members.

3. Jack played the following tricks on the sailors EXCEPT___________ .

A. snatching the sailors’ caps

B. making faces to the sailors

C. throwing the sailors’ knives

4. Why did Jack throw two of the other monkeys into the sea?

A. Because the writer treated them well and he was unhappy about that.

B. Because they were very bad to him.

C. Because he wanted to get more food from the sailors.

5. How did Jack escape punishment after he played a droll trick on the remaining monkey?

A. He hid somewhere until the captain decided not to punish him.

B. He turned to the writer to save him from punishment.

C. He fled to another ship to escape the punishment.

6. What did the rule of the port London forbid?

A. The stopping of any vessel without permission.

B. The firing of a gun from any vessel passing by.

C. The firing of a gun from any vessel in the port.

7. Why did the monkey on board fire the gun?

A. Because he was used to it.

B. Because he wanted to play a trick on people.

C. Because he wanted the captain to be prosecuted.

Ⅱ. Read for words.

1. Hiding himself behind a cask, he would suddenly spring upon the back of one of them... (Para. 6, Line 1)

A. 春天 B. 弹簧 C. 跳跃

2. A monkey that was on board, naturally wondering why this was omitted when he saw the anchor dropped at London... (Para. 13, Line 1)

A. repeat

B. do something in a different way

C. not include something

3. Sometimes Jack got upset, and if saluted with a laugh from the sailors, he put on a look of wonder... (Para. 6, line 3)

A. place on your body in order to wear

B. behave in a certain way

C. perform or organize

4. ...wondering why this was omitted when he saw the anchor dropped at London,resolved, rather than that it should not take place... (Para. 13, Line 2)

A. instead of B. as well as C. in addition to Language Box