My phone rings a lot. But most of the time it's not for me. It's for my cat! Well, the caller doesn't want to talk to my cat. He wants to talk about him.

　　You see, my cat really gets around!

　　I met him three years ago. I was walking home one cold winter night. As I went by a row of houses, I saw something orange on a stoop(门前台阶). Then I heard a little cry. I went closer. It was a kitten.

　　He was sitting in the snow. As I watched, the ball of orange fur tried to stand up. But he wobbled－and fell down a step.

　　“You need to get warm.” I said. “My coat is big enough for both of us.” I picked up the shaking kitten. “I found you on a stoop.” I went on. “So that will be your name.” At once I heard a soft purr(咕噜声).

　　At home, Stoop lapped (舔) up some milk. He was warm and happy. In a week, he was running all over the apartment(一套房间).

　　But Stoop was not going to let himself be just an apartment cat. In the spring, he found his way to the streets of the city. How? By climbing down a tree outside my window!

　　I wanted to make sure that Stoop would always come home. I bought a little collar(颈圈) with a tag (标签). The tag said:“I have a home. If I look lost, phone Fred Sparks XY9－8809.”

1．The writer's telephone rings a lot because ________ .

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A．the writer has so many friends all over the world

B．the writer has much business to do with others

C．the caller wants to talk about the writer's books

D．the caller wants to talk to the writer's about his cat

2．If we say that somebody gets around, we means that ________ .

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A．he travels a lot from place to place

B．he is not active and always stays at home

C．he becomes as round as a big ball

D．he is very famous and everybody seems to know him

3．In the story “the ball of orange fur” refers to (指) ________ .

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4．An apartment cat must be a cat that ________ .

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A．is living with a family in an apartment

B．is born and grows up in an apartment

C．stays in an apartment, never goes out to play

D．has no place to live in and no master to attend him

5．How did all those callers know the writer's telephone number?

[　　]

Try, Try Again

   There was a king whose name was Tamerlane．He wanted to become the king of the whole world．So he started wars against other countries．He got many cities, but at last his army was beaten．Tamerlane left his own country．

   For a long time he moved from place to place．His enemies（敌人）were looking for him．He was about to lose all hope．

   One day he was lying under a tree, thinking about his life．Suddenly he saw a small thing climbing up the tree．He looked more closely and saw that it was an ant．The ant was carrying a grain（一粒）of wheat as large as itself．

   As Tamerlane looked, he saw that there was a hole in the tree．That was the home for the ant．

“You are brave, Mr. Ant,” he said, “but you have a heavy thing to carry．”

   Just as he spoke, the ant couldn’t hold onto the tree and fell to the ground．A second time it still tried to carry its food up the tree, and a second time it failed．

   Tamerlane watched the brave little ant．It tried three times, four times, a dozen times, twenty times—but always with the same result．

   Then it tried the twenty—first time．Slowly, one little step at a time, it climbed up safely into its home with its food．

   “Well done!” said Tamerlane． “You have taught me a lesson．I, too, will try and try again until I succeed．”

根据文章内容，回答下列问题。

1．Why did Tamerlane start wars against other countries?

2．What did Tamerlane find when he was lying under a tree one day?

3．How big was the grain?

4．How many times did the ant try?

5．What did you learn from the story?