Lion is a special animal to Chinese people. A couple of stone lions, a male (雄性) and a female (雌性), can often be seen in front of the gates of old buildings. The male lion is on the left with his right paw (手掌) on a ball, and the female on the right. And her left paw is touching a baby animal.
The lion is the king in the animal world because he is powerful. The ball shows the country or the family will be together forever, and the baby animal with the female shows that you will have many children.
The stone lions were also used to show the families were powerful. If you had no money or power, you couldn’t put the stone lions in front of your houses.
It was also popular to make bridges with stone lions. The best known of this is the Lugou Bridge (also as Marco Polo Bridge), built from 1189 to 1192. The stone lions on the bridge are most famous. Maybe there are 485 lions in all, maybe there are 498 or 501. A famous saying is that “the lions on the Lugou Bridge are uncountable(不可数的).”
【小题1】What is a special animal in Chinese people?

A long time ago there were no donkeys in Gui Zhou. One day a merchant from another part of the country went there and took a donkey with him. Later the donkey got sick and the merchant left it behind and went on his journey. When the donkey was well again, it ran away into the nearby forest.

   The tigers in the forest thought that the donkey was a strange animal and they were afraid of it. Whenever it brayed they all ran away as fast as their feet could carry them.

   After a few months, the tigers became friendly with the donkey. They played many games with it, but they still afraid of it.

   One day the donkey became angry. It kicked one of the tigers with its hind legs. The tigers were very surprised.

   “That must be all it can do when it is angry.” They said. Then all the tigers jumped on the monkey and killed it.

（  ） 1. Why did the monkey stay in Gui Zhou?  Because            .

A. he got fat              B. he got tall              C. he got wet                   D. he got ill

（  ） 2. Dogs bark, donkeys            .

A. brayed                 B. mow                  C. say                  D. shout

（  ） 3. Who became friendly with the donkey?

A. The dogs              B. The tigers             C. The lions              D. The cats

（  ） 4. What did the donkey do when he was well again?  He went        .

A. to the river             B. to the tree              C. into the forest         D. home

（  ） 5.      jumped on the donkey and killed it.

A. All the tigers            B. All the dogs             C. All the donkeys        D. All the lions

A long time ago there were no donkeys in Gui Zhou. One day a merchant from another part of the country went there and took a donkey with him. Later the donkey got sick and the merchant left it behind and went on his journey. When the donkey was well again, it ran away into the nearby forest.

   The tigers in the forest thought that the donkey was a strange animal and they were afraid of it. Whenever it brayed they all ran away as fast as their feet could carry them.

   After a few months, the tigers became friendly with the donkey. They played many games with it, but they still afraid of it.

   One day the donkey became angry. It kicked one of the tigers with its hind legs. The tigers were very surprised.

   “That must be all it can do when it is angry.” They said. Then all the tigers jumped on the monkey and killed it.

1 Why did the monkey stay in Gui Zhou?  Because            .

    A. he got fat   B. he got tall  C. he got wet   D. he got ill

2 Dogs bark, donkeys            .

       A. brayed      B. mow      C. say       D. shout

3Who became friendly with the donkey?

    A. The dogs     B. The tigers    C. The lions     D. The cats

4 What did the donkey do when he was well again?  He went        .

       A. to the river   B. to the tree  C. into the forest   D. home

5     jumped on the donkey and killed it.

 A. All the tigers  B. All the dogs  C. All the donkeys  D. All the lions

In northern Scotland there is a deep lake called Loch Ness. It is more than 200 metres deep and it is the deepest lake in the United Kingdom. People say a huge monster (妖怪) lives in the dark, cold water. It weighs more than 1,000 kilos and is at least ten metres long. It has a dark gray colour. Some people say that it looks like a snake. Many people travel to Loch Ness to look for this strange monster, but only a few people say that they saw it. No one knows whether (是否) these people really saw it or not.

The Loch Ness Monster is a famous story. People first told it over 500 years ago, but it became popular only in the twentieth century (世纪). In 1993, a couple reported that they saw a big monster in the middle of the lake. From then on, many people said that they saw a monster in Loch Ness. A few people took photos, but some of them weren’t real photos. During the 1960s, people set up an organization to find out the truth. They took many photos and made movies, but they weren’t able to find a monster.

There is no real evidence (证据) that there is a monster in Loch Ness, but there is also no evidence that there is not. One thing is true about Loch Ness: there are lots of curious (好奇的) people going there every year.

1. From the passage, we know Loch Ness is the name of _______.

A．a huge monster                         B．a lake

C．a river                                D．a country

2. The second paragraph (段) mainly talks about ______.

A．who first told the story of the Loch Ness Monster

B．when people took photos of the Loch Ness Monster

C．why people set up an organization in the 1960s

D．how the story of the Loch Ness Monster became popular

3. Which of the following is NOT true?

A．The Loch Ness monster weighs less than 1,000 kilos.

B．People began to tell the story more than five centuries ago.

C．People are not sure whether there is a monster in Loch Ness.

D．Many visitors are interested in the story of the Loch Ness monster.