Mary didn’t understand such sentences as “She is blue today”, “You are yellow”, “He has a green thumb”, “He has told a white lie” and so on. And she went to the teacher Mrs. James for help.
Mary:    Mrs. James, there is a colour in each of the sentences. What do they mean?
Mrs. James: In everyday English, Mary, blue sometimes means sad, yellow afraid. A person with a green thumb grows plants well and a white lie is not a bad one.”
Mary:     I’m afraid I don’t understand them all. Would you give me an example for “a white
lie”?
Mrs. James: Certainly. Now I just give you some cakes. In fact you don’t like it, but you don’t want to let me know it. Instead you say, “No, thanks. I’m not hungry.” That’s a white lie.
Mary:      It sounds very interesting. Thanks very much.
Mrs. James: You are welcome. Colours are meaningful. I think you will meet more sentences like these in the future. Please come to me if you have any questions.
【小题1】Blue sometimes means sad in _______________ English.

Once there was a parrot on sale in a pet store. It was a beautiful red and blue bird. It sat on a perch ( 横杆 ) in the middle of the store, so that everyone could see it when they came in. The owner was very proud of it and asked a high price for it.  

One day a man went into the store. “ That’s a beautiful bird,” he said to the owner, “ But why is it so expensive? Is it an unusual bird?”

 “ No, it’s not very unusual. It’s expensive because it can talk.” the pet store owner said.

“ I see. How can I make it talk?” the man asked.

The owner asked him, “ Do you see those strings ( 细绳 ) tied to each of the bird’s legs?

“ Yes,” the man answered.

 “ Well, you pull those strings,” the pet store owner told him. That will make the parrot talk.”

The man asked, “ Do you mind if I try?”

 “ Not at all,” the owner said.

The man walked up to the parrot and pulled the string on its left leg. The parrot said, “ Good morning.”

The man pulled the string on the parrot’s right leg. This time the parrot said, “ How are you today?”

“ That’s not very interesting,” said the man. “ Any parrot could do that.” Then he laughed, “ But what would happen if I pulled both strings at the same time?”

 “ I’ll fall off my perch, you fool !”the parrot said.

1. The parrot was expensive because ________.

A. it was pretty beautiful         B. it could talk with people

C. it was a very unusual bird      D. it was in the middle of the store

2.The parrot would talk when ________.

A. people came into the pet store   B. it was the pet store owner

C. people said it was beautiful     D. people pulled the strings on its legs

3. Which is the first sentence that the parrot said to the man?

A. Good morning.              B. How are you?

C. That wasn’t interesting        D. I’ll fall off my perch, you fool!

4. From the story we know the parrot was ________.

A. kind       B. silly      C. clever      D. crazy

5. The best title for the passage should be ________.

Unusual Parrot   B. Parrot Talk      C. Silly Man     D. Clever Owner

—Perhaps，what I steal(偷) on the Happy Farm is not vegetables．That is “loneliness”．

  —         This year “loneliness” is very popular．

        A．I don’t think so.                     B．I quite agree with you.

        C．That’s a good idea.                   D．I’m not sure if you are right.

Last weekend, when Jack was walking in the park, he saw a woman, who lived a few miles away, sitting on a bench with a dog beside her. The dog was looking up at the woman.
Jack walked up to the woman and said, “Hello, Sue, how are you? May I sit and talk with you for a while?”
“Of course, please sit down,” Sue said.
Jack sat down next to Sue on the bench, and they talked quietly together. The dog continued to look up at Sue, as if waiting to be fed. “That’s a nice dog, isn’t he?” Jack said, pointing at the animal.
“Yes, he is. He’s handsome. He’s a bit of a mixture, but that’s not a bad thing. He’s strong and healthy.”
“And hungry,” Jack said. “He hasn’t taken his eyes off you. He thinks you’ve got some food for him.”
“That’s true,” Sue said. “But I haven’t.”
They both laughed and then Jack said, “Does your dog bite?”
“No,” Sue said. “He’s never bitten anyone. He’s always gentle and friendly.”
Hearing this, Jack decided to hold out his hand and touched the animal’s head. Suddenly it jumped up and bit him.
“Hey!” Jack shouted. “You said your dog didn’t bite.”
Sue replied in surprise. “Yeah, I did. But this is not my dog. My dog’s at home.”
【小题1】 Jack and Sue were ______.
A. friends  B. next—door neighbours    C. strangers
【小题2】 The dog looked at the woman because ______.
A. the woman wanted to feed him B. the woman was friendly   C. it was hungry
【小题3】 Jack touched to dog because he believed ______.
A. the dog was handsome    B. Sue’s dog was unfriendly     C. the dog belonged to Sue
【小题4】Do Sue’s dog bite?
A. Yes, it does.    B. No, it doesn’t. C. We don’t know.
【小题5】Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?
A. A Wrong Question B. Sue’s Dog   C. A Pleasant Meeting