Nothing could stop Dad. After he was put on disability for a bad back, he bought a small farm in the country, just enough to grow food for the family. He planted vegetables, fruit trees and even kept bees for honey.

And every week he cleaned Old Man McColgin's chicken house in exchange for manure(肥料). The smell really burned the inside of your nose. When we complained about the terrible smell, Dad said the stronger the manure, the healthier the crops, and he was right. For example, just one of his cantaloupes filled the entire house with its sweet smell, and the taste was even sweeter.

As the vegetables started coming in, Dad threw himself into cooking. One day, armed with a basket of vegetables, he announced he was going to make stew(炖菜). Dad pulled out a pressure cooker and filled it up with cabbages, eggplants, potatoes, corns, onions and carrots. For about half an hour, the pressure built and the vegetables cooked. Finally, Dad turned off the stove, the pot began to cool and the pressure relief valve sprayed out a cloud of steam. If we thought Dad's pile of chicken manure was bad, this was 10 times worse. When Dad took off the lid, the smell nearly knocked us out.

Dad carried the pot out and we opened doors and windows to air out the house. Just how bad was it? The neighbors came out of their houses to see if we had a gas leak!

Determined, Dad filled our plates with steaming stew and passed them around. It didn't look that bad, and after the first wave had shut down my ability to smell, it didn't offend the nose so much, either. I took a taste. It would never win a prize in a cooking competition, but it was surprisingly edible, and we drank up every last drop of soup.

1.Why did Dad clean Old Man McColgin's chicken house regularly?

A To earn some money for the family.

B To collect manure for his crops.

C To get rid of the terrible smell.

D To set a good example to us.

解析：选B。B　细节理解题。 根据文章第二段的And every week he cleaned Old Man McColgin's chicken house in exchange for manure(肥料)．可知是为了clean是为了in exchange for肥料。

2.What can we infer about Dad's stew?

A It is popular among the neighbors.

B It contains honey and vegetables.

C It looks very wonderful.

D It tastes quite delicious.

解析：选D。D　推理判断题。根据最后一段的but edible和 we drank up every last drop of soup.可知选择D。意为父亲的炖菜非常美味。

3.What does the underlined word “offend” in the last paragraph mean?

A To attract.

B To upset.

C To air.

D To shut.

解析：选B。B　词义猜测题。根据文章上文的 the first wave had shut down my ability to smell可知，此处指的是鼻子闻不到那种味道，意为搅乱。

4.What can we learn about Dad from the text?

A He is an experienced cook.

B He is a troublesome father.

C He has a positive attitude to life.

D He suffers a lot from his disability.

解析：选C。C　推理判断题。根据全文内容可知，父亲在背部受伤后，不愿意休息，而是自己经营着小农场，而且在收获后，还自己做菜。可知父亲对生活抱有积极的态度。