When I was young, I always helped my grandfather in the fields. As I worked beside him, he １ to tell a story about a man named Joe, and his wife, who moved to a new farm with their three sons. They were setting into the new place ２ a nearby farmer told Joe that there was gold in the earth. Joe was very 3 , and told his sons about it. They began to dig in one corner, and they got to the end of the field. At the same time, Joe thought he would 4 some crops where the earth had been 5 . The plants included corn, tomatoes, potatoes, etc. His sons continued to dig through the soil, made up their mind to find the gold. Since 6 soil was being turned, Joe could plant more crops. Joe had never farmed before, but it had always been his 7 . As different crops came ready to be harvested, Joe started to 8 that there were more vegetables than he and his family could ever 9 . One of Joe’s neighbors suggested that he 10 a vegetable shop. Joe and his wife did that very thing. They called it Joe and Family Vegetable. Joe even had to leave some crops in the fields, 11 he had more than enough to supply the vegetable shop. This went on for years, and Joe and his wife became quite 12 from their little vegetable shop. They were even able to 13 their sons to college. Remember the beginning of the story, when Joe was told by his new neighbor that there was gold in the land? Well, the truth is, Joe’s 14 of the English language was less than perfect. His new neighbor friend actually meant that his land had rich 15 . So you can see where the concept（概念）of gold comes from.
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小题1:C
小题2:C
小题3:A
小题4:B
小题5:D
小题6:A
小题7:D
小题8:A
小题9:D
小题10:B
小题11:D
小题12:B
小题13:C
小题14:A
小题15:C
题目分析：本文主要讲的是乔一家因为没有完全理解邻居的一句话而开始努力挖土地找黄金，后来开始种植农作物，最后通过蔬菜而变富有的故事。文章最后揭开了谜底：并不是邻居说真的有黄金，而是说那块土地很肥沃。只是乔对英语的理解不好而造成的。
小题1:短语辨析。feared to 害怕做某事；agreed to 同意做某事；used to do 过去常常做某事；failed to未能做某事.结合语境可知此处指的是，我的爷爷过去常常给我讲一个故事。所以选C
小题2:连词辨析。A.当……时，一边……一边，强调主从句中动作同时发生；B.随着，强调动作的伴随性；C. 当……时，D.接时间点，表示在……之后。联系上下文，可知此处指的是，当一个附近的农民告诉他们那儿的地里有黄金时，他们正要在入住这个地方。故选C。
小题3:联系前一句关于地里有黄金的描述，可知乔很高兴。故选A。
小题4:动词辨析。A. 收获；B.种植；C.浇水；D.喂养。联系上下文，可知此处指的是在地里面种植一些庄稼。故选B。
小题5:动词辨析。A.控制；B.燃烧；C. 毁灭；D. 转动，反过来。联系前文描述，可知此处指的是那些被翻过的地方。故选D。
小题6:联系后一句Joe could plant more crops.描述，可知此处指的是，由于更多的土地被翻过了。故选A，更多的。
小题7:名词辨析。A. 工作；B.问题，难题；C. 怜悯，遗憾；D. 梦想，愿望。联系前文，他从来没有种过田，但是……，可知此处指的是他的愿望。故选D。
小题8:动词辨析。A.认识到，了解；B. 允诺；C.涉及，符合；D.后悔，惋惜。联系下文描述，可知此处指的是，他意识到他和他的家庭将会有比以前更多的蔬菜可吃。故选A。
小题9:动词辨析。A. 喂养；B. 销售；C.种植；D.吃。联系前文描述，可知此处指的是他的家庭将会有比以前更多的蔬菜可吃。故选D。
小题10:短语辨析。A. 拿起，开始从事；B.建立，开业；C.出现，发生；D. 组成，整理。联系下文a vegetable shop 可知此处指的是开一家商店。故选B。
小题11:连词辨析。A. 由于，既然；B. 虽然，尽管；C. 因此；D. 因为；联系上下文，可知前后为因果关系，后面表示原因，now在表示原因时，常位于句首，故选D，因为他们的蔬菜店里面供大于求，他们甚至不得不把一些作物丢在地里面。
小题12:形容词辨析。A. 小心的；B.富有的；C.独自；D.快乐的，高兴的。联系上一段描述，可知此处指的是他们变得相当富有了。故选B。
小题13:动词辨析。bring带来；take拿，取，带走；send送； make制作，使得。联系下文描述，可知此处指的是送他们的儿子上大学，故选C，送。
小题14:词义辨析。Understanding of对．．．的理解； knowledge知识 学问；thinking 思考，理解；skills 技能．联系下文，可知此处指的是乔对英语的理解并不是很好。故选A。
小题15:名词辨析。Mud泥；gold黄金； soil土地，土壤；material材料，原料。联系前文描述，可知此处指的是这块土地上有富饶的土壤，故选C。
点评：这篇短文内容比较简单，理解不难。各小题与上下文联系比较紧密，答题中一定要注意联系上下文。答完后多读几遍，看看是否符合逻辑，适当修改。个别小题可以当作单独的词义辨析题来做，先区分词义，结合语境选出最能使语句通顺的答案。