Question

I heard the following curious story from a railway acquaintance (相识的人). He was a gentleman of more than seventy years of age, and his good face and sincere manner put the stamp of truth on everything he said.

“You know, in Siam the royal white elephant is very important. It is sacred to kings, and only kings can have a white elephant. And white elephants are more important than the king.”

Very well…five years ago…

After a misunderstanding between the countries, the King of Siam decides to send the Queen of England a present. This present must be a royal one. And what present can be as royal as a white elephant? It is my job to deliver the present to her Majesty the Queen. I travel with my servants, and the officers and helpers of the elephant, in a ship. Soon we arrive in New York harbour and I find a place for my royal elephant to stay in Jersey City. The elephant is not well and we must stay in New York until the doctors say he is better and can travel again.

_________________________________. I get a phone call in the middle of the night: the white elephant is stone! For some moments I feel helpless. Then I become calmer. There is only one thing I can do. I hurry to New York City and ask the first policeman that I meet to bring me to the headquarters (总部) of the police force. I am fortunate. The chief of the force, the well-known Inspector Blunt, is there. I tell him everything. He does not seem at all surprised. He asks me to sit down and says calmly, “Let me think for a moment, please.”

Then he sits down at his office table and leans his head on his hand. Some people are working at the other end of the room. For the next six or seven minutes the only sound I can hear is the sound of their pens. The inspector sits quietly, thinking. Finally he raises his head, and I can see from his face that he has a plan.

--- From The Stolen White Elephant

1.Why does the King of Siam decide to send a present to the Queen of England?

A. Because he wants to fight against England.

B. Because he wants to show he is friendly.

C. Because the Queen’s birthday is coming.

D. Because there is a misunderstanding between them.

2.What does the phrase put the stamp of truth on everything he said mean?

A. His words are just jokes. B. His words are not all true.

C. People can believe his words. D. He often posts the letters with stamps.

3.Which of the following sentence can be put in the blank?

A. The day passes without any other result.

B. It all started with a very simple idea.

C. Everything seems to be all right and they arrive there.

D. All goes well for two weeks --- then my problems begin.

4.According to the passage, we can infer that__________________.

A. inspector Blunt seems to know who the thief is

B. inspector Blunt is very famous in New York City

C. the white elephant is dead in the middle of the night

D. people can own white elephants besides kings in Siam

Answer 1