Taiwan police cannot decide whether to treat it as an extremely clever act of stealing or an even clever cheat．Either way，it could be the perfect crime （犯罪），because the criminals are birds-horning pigeons!

    The crime begins with a telephone message to the owner of a stolen car： if you want the car back，pay up then，the ear owner is directed to a park，told where to find a bird cage and how to attach money to the neck of the pigeon inside．Carrying the money in a tiny bag，the pigeon flies off．

    There have been at least four such pigeon pick—ups in Changwa．What at first seemed like the work of a clever stay—at—home car thief，however，may in fact be the work of an even lazier and more inventive criminal mind—one that avoid not only collecting money but going out to steal the car in the first place．Police officer Chen says that the criminal probably has pulled a double trick：he gets money for things he cannot possibly return．Instead of stealing cars, he lets someone else do it and then waits for the car—owner to place an ad（启事）in the newspaper asking for help．

    The theory is supported by the fact that，so far， none of the stolen cars have been returned．Also，the amount of money demanded—under 3，000 Taiwanese dollars-seems too little for a car worth many times more．

    Demands for pigeon—delivered money stopped as soon as the press reported the story．And even if they start again，Chen holds little hope of catching the criminal．“We have more important things to do．”he said．

1．After the car owner received a phone call, he ________．

    A．went to a certain pigeon and put some money in the bag it carried

    B．gave the money to the thief and had his ear back in a park

    C．send some money to the thief by mail

    D．told the press about it

2．The “lazier and more inventive criminal” refers to ________．

    A．the ear thief who stays at home

    B．one of those who put the ads in the paper

    C．one of the policemen in Changwa

    D．the owner of the pigeons

3．The writer mentions the fact that “none of the Stolen cars have been returned” to show ________

    A．how easily people get fooled by criminals

    B．what Chen thinks might be correct

    C．the thief is extremely clever

    D．the money paid is too little

4．The underlined word “they” in the last paragraph refers to ________．

A．criminals                         B．pigeons

C．the stolen cars                                                  D．demands for money

5．We may infer from the text that the criminal knows how to reach the car owners because_____

    A．he reads the ads in the newspaper

    B．he lives in the same neighborhood.

    C．he has seen出e car owners in the park

    D．he has trained the pigeons to follow them

　　Until recently, a smudge pot with heavy oil burning in it has been one of the few weapons a farmer could use to save his crops from frost． A canopy over plants also reduces heat loss, but canopies can't cover fields． Some farmers use smoke screens, but they make the leaves sooty and the smoke usually wafts onto the next farm． Large rotating fans above trees are used in orchards． The idea behind the fans is to create turbulence so that the frosty air cannot settle near the ground．

　　Now, researchers in Canada have made a product that looks stranger than any of these, but it works． When frost is forecast, a farmer jumps on his tractor and zips up and down his rows of strawberries, tomatoes, tobacco, or small fruit trees, spraying a protein foam that is up to four feet wide and three inches thick． The foam is so soft and light that not a stem or leaf is damaged． The air trapped in the bubbles insulates plants against the cold． In about eighteen hours the foam breaks down and scatters．

1．The author obviously considers the best frost -fighting weapon to be the_____．

A．smudge pot B． protein foam C． canopy D． smoke screen

2．Smudge pots burn______．

A． light oil B． heavy oil C． crude oil D．refined oil

3．Smudge pots attempt to prevent frost by creating______．

A．turbulent air B． still air C． warm air D． cold air

4．Whatever their size, canopies are probably______．

A．difficult to erect　　B．cumbersome to take down

C．a storage problem D．All of the above

5．Protein foam sounds as if its consistency resembles______．

A． milk B． whipped cream C． butter D． cheese

6．Implied but not stated:

A．Protein foam protects against frost for about eighteen hours．

B．Protein foam covers the plants to a depth of four inches．

C．Protein foam is white．

D．Protein foam is soft and light．

7．Protectors against frost operate by______．

A．dispersing cold air from plants　　B．maintaining warm air around plants

C．Either A or B　　　　D．Neither A nor B

8．None of the methods for protecting crops would be effective if the farmer did not_____．

A．possess a tractor B．pay attention to the weather

C．Both A and B　　 D．Neither A nor B