Question

Pets are no strangers to the White House. Many of America’s presidents have been animal lovers. In recent times, White House pets have been tame dogs and cats. Long ago, however, presidential pets, like our nation itself, were wilder!

In 1806, President Thomas Jefferson lived in the White House. Passersby often caught sight of his pet bears. Explorers had discovered these fierce bears, caught a pair of small ones, and sent them to Jefferson. While the President was excited about his bears, his enemies in Congress constantly laughed at his pets, calling the White House “The President’s Bear Garden.”

By 1825, the bears were long gone from the White House scene. Now the building was home to President John Quincy Adams and his crocodile. The green beast actually belonged to General Lafayette, a French hero who had helped the United States win the Revolutionary War. When Lafayette asked Adams babysat the huge crocodile. First lady Louisa Adams was busy raising thousands of silkworms. She used the silk from the silkworms to make cloth for her dresses.

When President Martin Van Buren moved into the White House in 1837, he brought his tigers with him. At least, Van Buren said the tigers were his. The Sultan of Oman had sent the tigers when Van Buren was elected, so Congress argued the tigers belonged to the American people. A fight over the tigers continued for months. In the end, Congress sent someone to seize the tigers and put them in a zoo.

Twenty years later, President James Buchanan received another valuable gift when he was in his first year in the White House. This time, the King of Siam sent several elephants! Buchanan had no desire to share his building with the big creatures, so he sent them to the zoo. Buchanan did, however, keep another gift－a pair of birds. They were a fitting symbol of presidential power.

1．According to the passage, we can infer that ____.

       A．the pets the Presidents raised were all huge ones

       B．the Presidents owned were all for their favorite ones

       C．the Presidents kept the pets not only at home but in the zoo

       D．the Presidents’ pets were not only cared about by their families

2．How did the presidents mentioned get their unusual pets?

       A．They got them in the forest.                  B．They bought them at the market.

       C．The pets were given to them by others.  D．Their family members offered them the pets.

3．What similar political effect did Jefferson’s bears and Van Buren’s tigers have?

       A．The pets made them happy and gay.     

       B．It took them too much time to look after them.

       C．It made people believe that they were animal lovers.

       D．It brought about dissatisfaction with them in Congress.

4．President James Buchanan got elephants, while President Bill Clinton, who came to power about ____ years later, kept dogs as pets.

       A．nearly two handed                               B．over one hundred and forty

       C．about one hundred                             D．around forty-five

Answer 1

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