故事概述
第二天的早晨非常奇怪。希臘聯軍的戰艦突然揚帆離開了。平時喧鬧的戰場變得寂靜無聲。特洛伊人以為希臘人撤軍回國了，他們跑到城外，卻發現海灘上留下一隻巨大的木馬。 特洛伊人驚訝地圍住木馬，他們不知道這木馬是乾什麼用的。有人要把它拉進城裡，有人建議把它燒掉或推到海里。正在這時，有幾個牧人捉住了一個希臘人，他被綁著去見特洛伊國王。這個希臘人告訴國王，這個木馬是希臘人用來祭祀雅典娜女神的。希臘人估計特洛伊人會毀掉它，這樣就會引起天神的憤怒。但如果特洛伊人把木馬拉進城裡，就會給特洛伊人帶來神的賜福，所以希臘人把木馬造得這樣巨大，使特洛伊人無法拉進城去。特洛伊國王相信了這話，正準備把木馬拉進城時，特洛伊的祭司拉奧孔跑來制止，他要求把木馬燒掉，並拿長矛刺向木馬。木馬發出了可怕的響聲，這時從海里竄出兩條可怕的蛇，撲向拉奧孔和他的兩個兒子。拉奧孔和他的兒子拚命和巨蛇搏鬥，但很快被蛇纏死了。兩條巨蛇從容地鑽到雅典娜女神的雕像下，不見了。 希臘人又說，“這是因為他想毀掉獻給女神的禮物，所以得到了懲罰。”特洛伊人趕緊把木馬往城裡拉。但木馬實在太大了，它比城牆還高，特洛伊人只好把城牆拆開了一段。當天晚上，特洛伊人歡天喜地，慶祝勝利，他們跳著唱著，喝光了一桶又一桶的酒，直到深夜才回家休息，做著關於和平的美夢。 深夜，一片寂靜。勸說特洛伊人把木馬拉進城的希臘人其實是個間諜。他走到木馬邊，輕輕地敲了三下，這是約好的暗號。藏在木馬中的全副武裝的希臘戰士一個又一個地跳了出來。他們悄悄地摸向城門，殺死了睡夢中的守軍，迅速打開了城門，並在城裡到處點火。隱蔽在附近的大批希臘軍隊如潮水般湧入特洛伊城。10年的戰爭終於結束了。希臘人把特洛伊城掠奪成空，燒成一片灰燼。男人大多被殺死了，婦女和兒童大多被賣為奴隸，特洛伊的財寶都裝進了希臘人的戰艦。海倫也被墨涅依斯帶回了希臘。 特洛伊戰爭就此結束。
英文概述
原文
The Night of the Horse ( 木馬之夜 )
The soldier came down the stairs(樓梯)—two at a time. ’Captain(長官), they’ve gone,’ he cried. ‘They’ve disappeared(消失)—all of them. The plain(平原) is …’ But the captain was no longer(不再) listening. He was going up the stairs—three at a time.
Seconds later, the captain stood on the high wall of the city of Troy. He looked down at the empty(空曠的) plain and, beyond(在……較遠的一邊) it, at the empty sea. ‘They’ve gone and we’ve won(勝利).’ he said. ‘The Greeks have tried for ten years to capture(攻占) our city. Now they’ve sailed(航海) away. And they’ve taken everything with them.’
‘Not everything, sir,’ the soldier said, ‘They’ve left their horse.’ Outside the main(主要的) gates of the city stood a huge wooden(木製的) horse.
‘Ah, yes,’ the captain said, ’that wooden horse. It’s so big that they couldn’t take it with them. Well, it’s ours now. Get some help and pull(拉) it into the city. That won’t be difficult(困難的). It’s on wheels(帶輪子的).’
‘But why is it on wheels?’ the soldier asked. ‘I think that maybe the Greek want us to…’
The captain interrupted(插嘴) him. ‘You’re a soldier,’ he said. ‘You don’t have to(不必) think. You have to*(必須)obey(遵守) orders(規則), and I’m giving you one now. Move that horse.’ So the Trojans dragged(使勁地拉) it into the city with ropes(繩子).
That night, in the main square, all the citizens of Troy celebrated(慶祝). They sang and danced around the horse, and make jokes(玩笑) about their enemies(敵人), the stupid(愚蠢的) Greek. Then the Trojans made sure(確信) all the gates of the city were securely(牢牢地) locked(鎖住), and they all went to sleep, including(包括) the gate guards(哨兵).
By midnight(半夜), the square was empty, except for the giant horse. The six Greek soldiers waited for another(額外的) hour, to be sure. Then, very quietly, they opened the secret(秘密) door on the side of the horse and climbed out.
No guards stopped them as they opened the main gates. Outside stood the Greek army. It had returned(返回) in the darkness(黑暗) when the citizens were celebrating inside.
Now the army entered the city. The Greek seized(俘獲) the captain. For ten years, they could not capture the city by fighting(戰爭), but in one night, they succeeded in(成功於) capturing it through a trick.
註：本文選自上海教育出版社《英語》（牛津上海版）九年級 第一學期（試用本）Unit1 Reading “The night of the horse”
相關練習及答案
47. The solider thought that maybe the Greeks wanted them to _____.
A. throw the wooden horse to the sea
B. take the wooden horse to the city
C. let the six Greek soldiers out
D. do nothing
48. The underlined word ‘giant’ means _____.
A. big B. large C. small D. huge
49. That night, the citizens of Troy celebrated the success not by _____.
A. dancing B. singing
C. sleeping D. making jokes
50. The six Greek soldiers waited for another hour, to be sure _____.
A. the guards were falling asleep
B. nobody were attracted by them
C. every Trojans were celebrating
D, the secret door on the side of the horse was open.
51. The war between Greece and Troy had taken place for about _____ months.
A. 120
B. 100
C. 10
D. 60
52. At last, _____ was the winner.
A. Troy
B. Greece
C. both Troy and Greece
D. neither Troy nor Greece
47.B 48.D 49.C 50.B 51.A 52.B
