The story begins with the handsome but poor orphan who lived with his elder brother and sister-in-law. After his parents passed away, the boy’s brother got the house and land. But all he had was an old ox. As a cowherd (牧牛人), the boy had to work the farm fields with his ox every day.
The seventh daughter of the Emperor, also known as the Weaving Maid, was good at handcrafting, especially weaving clothes. The Emperor particularly appreciated her skills of weaving clouds with rainbows to make the world more beautiful.
The cowherd’s ox, which was actually an immortal (神仙) from heaven, made mistakes in heaven and was reincarnated (使转世) as an ox to toil on earth. One day, the ox suddenly said to the cowherd: “You are a nice person. If you want to get married, go to the river and your wish will come true.”
The cowherd went to the river and watched the seven pretty daughters of the Emperor come down from heaven. Fascinated by the youngest and the most beautiful one, the cowherd hid her fairy clothes. When the other six fairies went away, the youngest could not fly back to heaven without her fairy clothes.
The cowherd then appeared and told the Weaving Maid that he would keep her clothes until she agreed to be his wife. After a slight hesitation, mixed with shyness and eagerness, the maid accepted the handsome man’s proposal. The couple was then married and had a son and a daughter two years later.
Meanwhile, up in heaven, the Emperor missed the beautiful skies once woven by his seventh daughter. He ordered the Goddess of Heaven to find her and bring her back to him. As the seventh princess was flying to heaven with the Goddess of Heaven, the cowherd put their children into two bamboo baskets with his wife’s magical fairy clothes to chase after his love.
But the Goddess of Heaven created a milky way (银河) in the sky. The seventh princess was forced to move to the star Vega. And the cowherd and their two children stayed on the star Altair. They were only allowed to meet once a year on the day of the seventh day of the seventh lunar month — Chinese Valentine’s Day.
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1.What does the underlined word “toil” probably mean?
A Do tiring tasks.
B Enjoy a wonderful life.
C Repay someone’s kindness.
D Accompany the lonely boy.
解析：选A。A词义猜测题。根据第一段中的“As a cowherd (牧牛人)”和第三段的“was actually an immortal (神仙) from heaven, made mistakes in heaven and was reincarnated (使转世) as an ox”可知，牛郎的牛其实是天上的神仙，在天上犯了错误，转世而来的。由此可知，牛是在接受惩罚，因此需要像牛一样辛苦地工作。故选A。
2.The cowherd fell in love with the Weaving Maid ________.
A because of her shyness
B for her handcraft skills
C to become richer
D at first sight
解析：选D。D细节理解题。根据第四段中的“The cowherd went to the river and watched”“Fascinated by the youngest and the most beautiful one”可知，牛郎对织女一见钟情。故选D。
3.What can we know about the couple?
A The cowherd was good at farm work.
B The weaving maid brought wind to the earth.
C The cowherd lived near a lake in the mountain.
D The weaving maid had six sisters and two children.
解析：选D。D细节理解题。根据第二段中的“The seventh daughter of the Emperor, also known as the Weaving Maid”和倒数第三段中的“The couple was then married and had a son and a daughter two years later.”可知，织女有6个姐姐，2个孩子。故选D。
4.In which part of a magazine can we most probably read the text?
A Entertainment.
B Education.
C Culture.
D History.
解析：选C。C推理判断题。根据全文内容，尤其是最后一段最后一句“They were only allowed to meet once a year on the day of the seventh day of the seventh lunar month — Chinese Valentine’s Day.”可知，文章讲述了牛郎和织女的故事，即七夕节的起源。属于中国的传统文化。故选C。
