There was an old pear tree in a man’s garden. In the past, the tree fruited every year, so the man would get many pears. But now, the tree got old. There were no more pears for the man. So the ungrateful man decided to cut the tree down. When he walked toward the tree with an axe in his hand, the tree said to him, “Please don’t cut me down. I have borne so many pears for you in the past years. Now I will die soon. I only have a short time to live. Please don’t kill a dying tree that has done so much for you.”

“I’m sorry. I have to do so,” the man said, “because I need wood to make a chair.” Then he began to wave his axe. At that moment, a bird in the old tree shouted at him, “Don’t cut it down! Every time you go out and your wife feels lonely, she will come out to the garden and sit under the tree to enjoy its cool shade, and I sing songs to make her happy. We give much pleasure to your wife when you are away from home.”

The man didn’t listen to the bird and drove it away. Just when he was about to cut the tree, some bees flew out of it and said, “Listen! If you agree not to kill this tree, we will give you delicious honey every day. Would you please leave the tree with us？”

The man got moved. He said, “You are so kind to the tree, although it has become old. Now I see that I shouldn’t cut it down. It has done so much for me and my wife. Let the tree stay here, and let the bird continue its songs here.” With these words, the man left. And the old tree lived there to its last day.

1.Which can be the best title of the story？

A. The Singing Bird　　　　　　　　　　　　   B. The Man’s Wife

C. The Old Tree　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　  D. The King Bees

2.The most important reason for the man to cut down the tree isn’t that the man couldn’t get any pears from it, is it？

A. No, it isn’t.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. Yes, it isn’t.

C. No, it is.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. Yes, it is.

3.What made his wife happy when the man was not at home？

A. The tree and its shade.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　    B. The tree and the bird.

C. The bird and its songs.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　    D. The bees and their honey.

4.In the story, the underlined word “continue” means ______.

A. start　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　   B. go on

C. take　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　   D. speak again

5.What can we learn from the story？

A. People should never be ungrateful.　　　　　　　　  B. Good wood comes from pear trees.

C. Old people are kind and friendly.　　　　　　　　    D. Birds and bees are always helpful.