Many years ago, a rich man found that someone wan taking valuable things from his house. He locked all the doors and all the windows .Still the things went. It must be one of the servants! How could he catch the servant? He thought of a good plan.

Late one evening. When it was dark, he called all the servants together, “There is a thief in the house, but I know how to catch him.”He said.”In the next room there is a square box. In that box there is a chicken which is magic. Each of you must go into the room alone. It is quite dark in the room. You must feel your way to the table and press the first finger of your right hand on the top of the box. If you are not the thief, nothing will happen. If you are the thief, the chicken will make such a loud sound that everyone in the house will hear it.”Some of the servants said that they did not want to do this. They were frightened of the magic chicken. But the man said that they must do what he said. If they had done nothing wrong. They had nothing to fear.

So the servants went into the dark room one at a time, while the rest listened carefully. Soon everyone had been in the room. but the chicken made no sound.”Good “said the man.”Now I know who the thief is! The servants looked very surprised.“Show me your right hands! The chicken did not make a sound for a very good reason. There is no chicken in the box at all! But the top of the box was covered with paint. You all have paint on your fingers, except for one person. That person is the thief, and he was afraid to put his finger on the box.”He pointed to one of the servants.”Your finger is clean! You are the thief!”

1.Were the rich man call all the servants together?

A. Yes, they were.  B. No, they weren’t.   C.I don’t know.

2.When did the rich man call all the servants together?

A. In the morning B. In the afternoon C. In the evening

3. Did the rich man catch the thief at last?

A. Yes, he did B. No, he didn’t   C. He gave up the plan

4. Which of the following is NOT true?

A. There was paint on the box.

B. All of the servants touched the box.

C. All of the servants went into the dark room

5. What do you think of the rich man?

A. Brave.   B. Clever   C. Friendly.

Rico is a dog who lives in Germany(德国). His owners trained him from a young age to find his toys. When they say the name of a certain toy, Rico can find it. In fact, he seems to know the names of 200 toys!
Some researchers in Germany wanted to test Rico. They put his toys in a room and then told him to go in the room and find a certain toy. Since nobody was in the room with Rico, he had no help from anyone finding the right toy. The researchers did this test forty times. Rico found the right toy thirty-seven times!
Then the researchers tried something else. They put seven of Rico’s toys in the room together with one new toy that Rico had never seen before. Then they told Rico to go into the room and get the new toy. This new toy had a name Rico had never heard before. Rico found the right toy seven out of ten times!
Researchers cannot really say that Rico knows words or language. However, these tests seem to show that Rico can think about what he hears and think about what he knows. In fact, Rico seems to think and remember things as well as a three-year-old child.
From these tests, animal researchers know one thing for sure. Rico has given them a lot to think about.
【小题1】From the passage we know that Rico is good at ______.

I often go shopping with my mother on Saturday afternoons. I c___1____ the shopping bags for her. Usually we have f___2___ shopping.
There is a new shopping mall near our home. It’s a l___3____ shopping mall. There are five floors of shops. We go there in the afternoon. On the f___4___ floor, we go into the shoe shop and buy my father a pair of trainers. We think t___5___ match his jeans very well. There is a b___6___ on the second floor. We buy two story books there. But when we leave the shop, we forget to p__7___ for them. Then we go up to the third floor and buy two pairs of trousers. Afterwards, we go to the r____8____ on the top floor. There we have a big dinner. F___9____, after s___10___ all our money, we go home with three heavy bags.

Can you swim? Do you like swimming? Well, how can you learn to swim? I think the best way is to go into the water and learn. I’m afraid you’ll never learn to swim just by reading books about Swimming or looking at others swimming. It’s the same with the English study. We must practice, practice and practice.

Listening and speaking are very important for beginners. We can listen to English programs on radio. You may just understand a few words. It doesn’t matter. Just be relaxed, try to catch every word.

Somebody may be a good listener, but he is afraid to speak because he’s afraid of making mistakes. You know we sometimes make mistakes when we speak Chinese. Don’t be afraid. We must be brave. If you really want to learn English well, you must try to speak with everyone as long as he knows English. When there’s nobody to talk with, you can talk to yourself in English. It’s interesting and also a good way to practice your spoken English. Remember, the more you speak, the fewer mistakes you’ll make.

Reading and writing are more important for senior（年级较高的）school students. First we must choose the books we’re interested in. A lot of reading will improve your language sense. This is very important.

It’s easier said than done. Well, let’s do more practice from now on. I’m sure you’ll learn English well in this way.

根据短文内容，从题中所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选择最佳答案。（10分）

1. What’s the best way to learn to swim?

A．Reading books about swimming.

B．looking at others swimming.

C．Going into the water and learning.

D．Listening to others’ advice.

2.According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?

A．Listening is very important while speaking is not.

B．The more you speak, the more mistakes you’ll make.

C．Listening and speaking are very important for beginners.

D．You can only learn English by listening.

3.What’s more important for senior school students?

A．Speaking and writing.                    B．Writing and listening.

C．Speaking and listening.                   D．Reading and writing.

4.Wat’s the best way to learn English well according to the passage?

A．By reading.                            B．By listening to the radio.

C．By speaking.                           D．By doing more practice.

5.Which is the best title for the passage?

A．How to Learn English.                    B．Easier Said Than Done.

C．Listen First, Speak Second.                D．How to learn to Swim.