105 學年度學測英文 第 18 題

Bill and Sam decided to kidnap the son of a banker to compensate for their business loss. They kidnapped the boy and hid him in a cave. They asked for a ransom of $2,000 to return the boy. **16**, their plan quickly got out of control. Their young captive **17** to be a mischievous boy. He viewed the kidnapping as a wonderful camping trip. He demanded that his kidnappers play tiring games with him, such as riding Bill as a horse for nine miles. Bill and Sam were soon desperate and decided to **18** the little terror. They lowered the price to$1,500. Yet, knowing perfectly well 19 a troublemaker his son was, the father refused to give them any money. 20, he asked the kidnappers to pay him $250totaketheboyback\mathrm{.}Topersuadetheboytoreturnhome,BillandSamhadtotellhimthathisfatherwastakinghimbear-hunting\mathrm{.}Thekidnappersfinallyhanded$250 to the banker and fled town as quickly as they could.