Indian's snake charmers (耍蛇者) are to be retrained as wildlife teachers under a plan to prevent their unique skills and knowledge from being lost. The charmers, who make snakes dance to the sound of flutes (笛子), used to be a traditional feature of Indian life, performing in towns and villages, until they were forbidden in 1972 to control the trade in snake skins.

The government is now considering a plan to train the charmers, as they are known, to visit schools and zoos to tell children about forests and wildlife. There is also a proposal to set up a “dial a snake charmer” service to help householders to deal with unwelcome intruders.

“For generations they have been a feature of Indian life but now they can't earn a living for fear of arrest,” said Behar Dutt, a conservationist behind the plans, “if a policeman doesn’t catch them, animal rights activists report them.”

Many snake charmers have continued to work clandestinely since the ban, despite the threat of up to three years in prison. But their cloth-covered baskets, hung from a bamboo pole carried across their shoulders, make them an easy target for police.

The fate of Shisha Nath, 56, from Badarpur, a village just outside of Delhi, is typical of practitioners (从业者) of the dying art. “I used to earn enough to support my family and send my children to school,” he said. “Now it's hard to earn any money a day. My children want to be snake charmers. It’s our identity. We love the work. But it’s become impossible.”

Next month Dutt’s project to train 30 snake charmers will begin at a snake park in Pune, western India, where experts will enrich their home-grown skills with some formal knowledge.

More than the law, though, it is the dishonest attitude of their fellow countryman that angers many snake charmers.

“We’re disturbed all the time but when people want a snake removed from the house, they rush to us,” said Prakash Nath, who was ordered recently to the home of Sonia Gandhi, the Congress party leader.

1．According to the passage, snake charmers will be retrained as wildlife teachers mainly because___.

A．schools need large numbers of such teachers

B．most of them cannot support their families

C．their performances on the street are banned

D．the government plans to save the dying art

2．The purpose of the proposed “dial a snake charmer” telephone service is ___.

A．to give performance of snake dancing

B．to teach householders how to catch and kill snakes

C．to offer cleaning service to wealthy householders

D．to help remove unwanted snakes from the houses

3．The word “ clandestinely ” in paragraph 4 can be best replaced by the word “___”.

       A．secretly              B．publicly              C．unwillingly          D．diligently

4．Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

A．Snake charmers can easily be recognized by the police on the street.

B．Children of snake charmers would not like to continue their fathers’ job.

C．Snake charmers are quite angry with the attitude of their fellow countrymen.

D．The animal rights activists take a negative attitude towards snake charmers.

　　A king cobra (眼镜蛇) is an ugly-looking snake at any time. But when he is 1 and is crawling through the grass towards your face, your terror becomes terrific. Shells from the enemy's guns were bursting around us, I was 2 flat behind a big rock. The snake, too, was looking for a safe place. When he saw the rock, he 3 straight for it, and me. I didn't move, 4 he would pass by. He didn't.

　　The cobra's head was 5 two feet of my face when he saw me. He 6 back a little, then lifted his head, 7 to strike.

　　The ride was long and hard. 8 over rough roads hurt my leg 9 . But it has been over an hour since the 10 struck, and I was still 11 . And life was sweet…

　　When we reached the field hospital, they rushed me into the operating room, 12 several cuts in my leg, and gave me some dope. From their 13 , I could tell they were getting ready to cut off my leg. I begged them not to.

　　“Sir,” I said to the oldest doctor, “I made up my mind 14 I was going to die, I would rather die than be sent home 15 pieces.”

　　He was a pretty good man. He smiled and said they wouldn't take it off.

　　They did 16 they could do for me. For sixty days my leg 17 rotted off. But eight months later I walked a shore at San Francisco. You 18 never know how good it was.

　　Later they gave me the Purple Heart (紫心勋章). I laughed when the man 19 it on me. I told him that I wasn't wounded. I was snake 20 .

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书面表达

用英文简要地写出“画蛇添足”的故事. 字数: 80—140个词。

故事大意: 主人给佃户们一壶酒, 不够大家喝。有人提出在地上画蛇, 先画完者 喝酒。一人先画完, 取过壶, 并往蛇身上添足, 另一人画毕, 夺过酒壶, 道:“ 蛇本无足, 为何添足?”

　　By far the most common snake in Britain is the adder (蝰蛇)．In Scotland, in fact, there are no other kinds of poisonous snake．It can be found almost anywhere, but it prefers sunny hillsides and rough open country, including high ground．In Ireland there are no snakes at all．

　　Most people regard snake bites as deadly, but not all bites are serious, and very few are deadly．Sometimes attempts at emergency treatment turn out to be more dangerous than the bite itself, with someone heroically, but mistakenly, trying do-it-yourself surgery (外科手术) and other unnecessary measures．

　　All snakes have small teeth, so it follows that all snakes can bite, only the bite of the adder presents any danger．British snakes are shy animals and are far more frightened of you than you could possibly be of them．The adder will attack only if it feels threatened, as can happen if you take it by surprise and step on it accidentally, or if you try to catch it or pick it up, which it dislikes strongly．If it hears you coming, it will normally get out of the way as quickly as it can, but adders cannot move very rapidly and may attack before moving if you are very close．

　　The effect of a bite changes considerably．It depends upon several things, one of which is the body-weight of the person bitten．The bigger the person, the less harmful the bite is likely to be, which is why children suffer far more seriously from snake bites than adults．A healthy person will also have better resistance against the poison．

　　Very few people actually die from snake bites in Britain, and though these bites can make some people very ill, there are probably just as many cases of bites having little or no effect, as there are of serious illness．

1．Where do you know adders are to be found?

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A．In many parts of Britain and Ireland．

B．Everywhere in Britain except in Scotland．

C．On wild land throughout Britain．

D．In shady fields in Scotland．

2．If you are with someone who is bitten by an adder, you should________．

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A．try to catch the adder

B．make no attempt to treat the bite by yourself

C．not worry about the victim (受害者)

D．operate on him as soon as possible

3．We are told that adders are________．

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A．normally friendly towards people

B．unlikely to bite except in self-defence

C．fond of attacking anyone in their territory

D．not afraid of human beings

4．If an adder hears you coming, it will usually________．

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A．take no notice of you at all

B．attack you before moving away

C．wait until you are close and then attack

D．move out of your path