A Lesson Learnt

“Once bitten twice shy” is an old adage. In my case, it

(1)______________________. I was very mischievous as a
young boy. I (2)______________________ on people. I also
liked to chase cats and used a hand-made catapult to shoot at
birds on the trees. My parents (3)______________________
my behaviour and (4)______________________ me for the
mischief I caused. I (5)______________________ my father
from time to time. However, I (6)______________________
until this incident.
I had just finished lunch at home and I
(7)______________________. My brothers and sisters, all of
them older than I, had not returned home from school. I
decided to walk around the neighbourhood and I
(8)______________________.
Soon, I came to Mr. Lingam’s house. His pet dog, a mini
Schnauzer, (9)_______________________ outside his house.
I looked around and (10)______________________. I
decided to (11)______________________ and picked a few
small pebbles from the ground and aimed at the dog. A few of
the pebbles hit the poor dog and it began to
(12)______________________. Eventually, the dog’s anger
(13)______________ and it (14)_______________________
while it (15)______________________ to free itself. I
laughed at the dog, (16)______________________.
Suddenly, the rope that secured the dog snapped and the
dog (17)______________________. With a few powerful
strides the dog was on me. Its teeth
(18)_______________________. I
(19)_______________________ while falling to the ground.
Luckily, my screams brought Mr. Lingam running out of
the house and he managed to free the dog’s teeth from my
calf. He brought the dog into his house and quickly brought
me to the clinic. The doctor gave me an injection and
(20)______________________.
I (21)______________________ to the doctor and Mr.
Lingam. The doctor (22)______________________ and
asked me to be kind and considerate to all creatures in future.
I learnt my lesson that day. I have since stopped playing
pranks and (23)______________________.
became a literal truth 成为事实
began growling and barking fiercely at me 开始对我咆哮和吠
being needlessly cruel to helpless creatures 不必要地对无助的生物残忍
brought along my trusty catapult 带着我的弹弓
chided me for being cruel to a helpless animal 责骂我对无助的动物残忍
constantly berated 不断地责备
did not approve of 不赞同
did not mend my ways 没有改掉我的方式
dressed the wound 清洗伤口
enjoyed playing pranks and practical jokes 享受恶作剧
feeling amused at my cruel deed 对于我残忍的作为感到好笑
howl and yelp in pain 因疼痛的嚎叫
make good use of my catapult 好好利用我的弹弓
related the incident 叙述那事件
sank into the flesh of my calf 进入我的小腿
saw that no one was in sight 看到没人在附近
screamed in pain and fright 痛和害怕的喊
strained against the ropes 用力拉扯绳子
was aroused 被激起
was bored to death 很无聊
was even given a good thrashing from 甚至被痛打一顿
was free from its bonds 摆脱它的捆绑
was tied to a post 被绑在柱子
“Once bitten twice shy” is an old adage. In my
case, it became a literal truth. I was very
mischievous as a young boy. I enjoyed playing
pranks and practical jokes on people. I also liked to
chase cats and used a hand-made catapult to shoot
at birds on the trees. My parents did not approve of
my behaviour and constantly berated me for the
mischief I caused. I was even given a good
thrashing from my father from time to time. But I
did not mend my ways until this incident.
I had just finished lunch at home and I was
feeling very bored. My brothers and sisters, all of
them older than I, had not returned home from
school. I decided to walk around the
neighbourhood and I brought my trusty catapult
with me.
Soon, I came to Mr. Lingam’s house. His pet
dog, a mini Schnauzer, was tied to a post outside
his house. I looked around and saw that no one was
in sight. I decided to make good use of my catapult
and picked a few small pebbles from the ground
and aimed at the dog. A few of the pebbles hit the
poor dog and it began to howl and yelp in pain.
Eventually, the dog’s anger was aroused and it
began growling and barking fiercely at me while it
strained against the ropes to free itself. I laughed at
the dog, feeling amused at my cruel deed.
Suddenly, the rope that secured the dog
snapped and the dog was free from its bonds. With
a few powerful strides the dog was on me. Its teeth
sank into the flesh of my calf. I screamed in pain
and fright and fell to the ground.
Luckily, my screams brought Mr. Lingam
running out of the house and he managed to free
the dog’s teeth from my calf. He brought the dog
into his house and quickly brought me to the clinic.
The doctor gave me an injection and dressed the
wound.
I related the incident to the doctor and Mr.
Lingam. The doctor chided me for being cruel to a
helpless animal and asked me to be kind and
considerate to all creatures in future. I learnt my
lesson that day. I have since stopped playing
pranks and being needlessly cruel to helpless
creatures.