Alex knew colors and shapes．He learned about 150 English words．With his language ability he made himself known as perhaps the world’s most famous talking bird．

But Alex．a parrot，died two weeks ago when he was 31．Irene，a psychologist（心理学家）at Harvard University，studied and worked with the parrot for nearly 30 years．

In 1977, Irene, then an excellent student in chemistry at Harvard, bought Alex from a pet store．At that time, scientists were not quite sure whether birds could learn to communicate with humans．

But using the methods of teaching, Irene helped Alex to learn about 150 words, and to count small numbers, as well as colors and shapes．

In experiments, Irene would give Alex a small reward （奖励）, like a grape．Alex learned to ask for the grape by watching what the trainer was doing to get it．The researchers then worked with the bird to help him with pronunciation．

Alex showed a surprising ability to learn．For example, when he was shown a blue paper circle, he could tell what color the paper was, what shape it was, and after touching it what it was made of．

Like other parrots, he also picked up some words when staying in the lab, like "calm down" and "good morning"．He could also show his happiness and sadness．

Even before the week he died, Alex was working with Irene on difficult words． As she put him into his cage for the night that Thursday, Irene said that Alex looked at her and said," You be good．See you tomorrow．I love you．"

He was found dead in his cage the next morning．

根据短文内容，选择正确答案。

1．Alex is the name of_______

A．an excellent student                       B．a clever bird

C．a trainer                               D．a psychologist

2．How did Irene get the parrot?

A．A friend gave it to her．                     B．She caught it in a forest．

C．She bought it from the market．               D．The passage doesn't mention it．

3．The underlined words "picked up" in the seventh paragraph mean_______

A．捡到                    B．挑选                    C．举起                   D．学到

4．The best title of the passage can be _______．

A．A Thinking Parrot                                    B．The Owner of a Parrot

C．How to Teach a Parrot to Speak                  D．Parrots，Our Close Friends

5．The passage is probably taken from a_______．

A．history textbook                                      B．novel（小说）

C．newspaper                                                D．dictionary

Stephen will finish school this summer. He plans to find a job in UNICEF. Now he is being interviewed by a UNICEF worker.

(S: Stephen                   W: worker in UNICEF)

W: So, Stephen, please say something about yourself.

S: Well, I love children so much. My mother works in a primary school, so I learn a lot about children and I think this might be useful.

W: I’m sure it is. Do you speak many languages? Ours is an international organization and it’s quite often that we meet children from different countries.

S: Yes. I’m good at French and English. I’m taking Chinese at evening classes. I learned Japanese at school, too.

W: Excellent. 告诉我你为什么想得到这份工作。

S: Well, it sounds interesting, worker, like, experience, I, as , some, would, a , to, charity, get . Maybe one day I’ll set up my own charity.

W: I see. What are your characteristics, may I ask?

S: I’m patient, generous and easy-going.

W: Good. What do you think you could offer us, Stephen?

S: I think my knowledge of languages and personalities would be useful. I enjoy working with children and you can always believe me. I’m also fit and healthy.

W: What do you think your disadvantages are?

S: I’m not outgoing. I’m very shy when I first meet people. I find it difficult to talk to them and make conversation, but when I know people quite well I’m much more self-confident.

W: Thank you very much. Stephen. We’ll call you next week.

51. Where does Stephen’s mother work?                                         ________

52. Which language is Stephen taking at evening classes.  English, Chinese or Japanese?  _______

53. 将文中划线部分的单词组成一个通顺的句子。        ______________________________

54. 将文中汉语“告诉我你为什么想得到这份工作。”译成英语。  ________________________

55. What are Stephen’s advantages in asking for this job?(列出四个方面) _______