Waller was a liked-by-all fellow full of fun who often went to coffee houses to tell people interesting stories, of which some even brought him money．One day, asked by an office secretary who told Waller that his boss was a never-seen-before serious man and he never even smiled, Waller would tell a most funny story．“Well, sir, ” Waller said before he began the story．“What will be given in return if I succeed? ” “＄100, ” replied the secretary．“I haven't seen him have a bright face since I worked in his office．”
“Then let's makeit．” Waller went to the man's table and whispered to him, “Please tell your boss that the funny man Waller's hen gave birth to a baby．”
Three days later a letter reached Mr．Waller in which were ＄100 and a piece of yellow paper with the words：“Mr．Waller, you have succeeded．When I repeated your ＄100-worth sentence, my boss burst into frightening laughter, saying that：“whoever has managed to make me laugh during the business hours will get dismissed! ”
(1)
The secretary asked Waller for a most funny story because he ________．
[ ]
A．
was tired of his boss seriousness
B．
tried to please his serious boss with it
C．
wanted to improve his working conditions
D．
wanted to see his boss’ laughing face
(2)
Saying “Let's make it, ” Waller ________．
[ ]
A．
was sure of his success
B．
thought of nothing but the 100-dollar return
C．
knew that his hen had really given a birth to a baby
D．
wondered whether he could make the boss smile or not
(3)
Which of the following ends is true according to the passage?
[ ]
A．
The boss was never so strict with the secretary from then on．
B．
The secretary lost his job in office．
C．
The secretary dare not make his boss laugh any longer．
D．
Mr．Waller was dismissed at last．
(4)
Which sentence can describe the theme of the story?
