Last Saturday，the Browns drove out to see the farm．Mr．Fix was standing in front of the farm house when they arrived．

“This is the place，”he said．“You're really in the country now．”He smiled as the Browns got out of their car and walked over to him．Mabel spoke first．“It's a long way from the city，”she said．“It's farther than I thought．”

“It's more peaceful that way，”said Mr．Fix．“Just smell the air．It's cleaner here than in the city．And the farm house is very attractive，don't you think？”

“It's older and smaller than in the pictures，”said Mabel．“And the barn doesn't look very solid．”“The house needs a paint job，” said Sam．“And the gate is broken．”

“You can fix it，Sam．That will be good exercise for you，”said Mr．Fix．

“You said there was a stream， Mr．Fix．Where is it？”

“Well，this is the dry season，”he explained．“It isn't very big this time of year．”

“I can't even see it，”said Jimmy．“And those fruit trees don't look very healthy．”

“They just need a little water，”said Mr．Fix．

“That horse is in pretty bad shape，”said Sam．“He looked better in the picture．”

“He just needs a little exercise，”said Mr．fix．

“I'm sorry，Mr．Fix，”said Sam．“This farm is m uch worse than I expected．I was hoping for something better and less expensive．”

“OK，”said Mr．Fix，throwing his hands up in the air．“I give up．”He was in a bad mood and left in a hurry．But when he got in the car and turned the Key，nothing happened．“Oh no，”he said．“I didn't get enough gas．The tank is empty．”

Sam looked at him severely．“You can start walking，Mr．Fix．”

“Why do you say that，Sam ？”

“Because we're a long way from town and it's later than you think．Besides，”he said， smiling，“It will be good exercise for you．”

Answer the questions：

1．Where did the Browns go last Saturday？

2．Who was standing in front of the farm house when they arrived？

3．Did the house look the sam e as in the pictures？

4．What did the house need？

5．What was wrong with the gate？

6．Did Sam decide to buy the farm？

7．Why is Mr．Fix a poor salesman？

8．Was the car out of order？

Key:

Mr．Fix was in Trouble

1．They drove out to see the farm．

2．Mr．Fix．

3．No，it didn't．

4．It needed a paint job．

5．The gate was broken．

6．No，he didn't．

7．He gave up easily．

8．No．The car was just out of gas．