A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package. “What food might this contain?” the mouse wondered. He was shocked to discover it was a mousetrap.

Returning to the farmyard, the mouse warned in a loud voice, “There’s a mousetrap in the house!” The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, “Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is a major concern to you, but it is of little significance to me. I cannot be bothered by it.”

The mouse turned to the pig and told him, “There’s a mousetrap in the house! There’s mousetrap in the house!” The pig showed sympathy, but said, “I am so sorry, Mr. Mouse, but there’s nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured you are in my prayers.”

The mouse turned to the cow and said, “There’s a mousetrap in the house! There’s a mousetrap in the house!” The cow said, “Wow, Mr. Mouse. I’m sorry for you, but it’s none of my business.”

So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer's mousetrap alone.

That very night a sound was heard throughout the house -- like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey. The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer's wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital, and she returned home with a fever.

Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient （配料）

But his wife's sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig. The farmer's wife did not get well; she died. So many people came for her funeral, the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them.

The mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness.

And so, the next time you hear that someone is facing a problem and think it doesn’t concern you, remember: when one of us is threatened, we are all at risk. We are all involved in this journey called life. We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to encourage one another.

1．Which statement best fits the theme of this passage?

      A．Our lives are woven together for a reason.

       B．Don’t poke your nose into others’ affairs.

       C．Stay away from danger, and you’ll be safe.

       D．When a mouse runs across the street, everyone cries, “Kill it!”

2．Which of the animals first suffered death?

       A．Chicken              B．Pig                      C．Cow                   D．Mouse

3．Which is similar in meaning to the underlined word “slaughtered”?

       A．cooked                B．served                 C．beaten                 D．killed

4．According to the last paragraph, what situation does the writer hope to see most?

      A．Humans must stay in harmony with animals.

       B．Animals, including the mouse, should be well protected.

       C．Seeing others in trouble, we should lend a hand.

       D．We mustn’t associate with those who behave like the mouse.

A mouse looked through a crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife opening a package: What food might it contain? He was astonished to discover that it was a mouse trap!

 Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse declared the warning, “There is a mouse trap in the house, there is a mouse trap in the house.”

 The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, “Mr Mouse, I can tell you this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me, I cannot be bothered by it.”

 The mouse turned to the pig and told him, “There is a mouse trap in the house.” “I am so sorry, Mr Mouse,” sympathized the pig, “but there is nothing I can do about it but pray; be assured that you are in my prayers.”

 The mouse turned to the cow, who replied, “A mouse trap, am I in grave danger, huh?”

 So the mouse returned to the house, head down and depressed to face the farmer’s mouse trap alone.

 That very night a sound was heard throughout the house, like the sound of a mouse trap catching its prey. The farmer’s wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see that it was an evil snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer’s wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital. She returned home with a fever. Now everyone knew to treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup’s main ingredient. His wife’s sickness continued so that friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig. The farmer’s wife did not get well, in fact, she died, and so many people came for her funeral. The farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide meat for all of them to eat.

 So the next time you hear that someone is facing a problem and think that it does not concern you, remember that when the least of us is threatened, we are all at risk.

47．We may infer that the passage is most probably a ______.

A. fairy tale (神话)     B. Fable (寓言)      C. science fiction        D. news report

48．We could see from the passage that the mouse was ______.

A. kind and warm-hearted      B. well-informed

C. good at cheating others     D. foolish and rude

49． The underlined word “ingredient” (Paragraph 7) refers to ______.

A. the mouse      B. the pig      C. the snake      D. the chicken

50．What can we learn from the story?

A. Better safe than sorry.

B. Traps are usually well disguised.

C. To help others is just to save you.

D. To keep the balance of nature is the duty of us all.

A mouse looked through a crack(缝隙) in the wall to see the farmer and his wife opening a package; what food might it contain? He was astonished to discover that it was a mouse trap!

Running to the farmyard, the mouse shouted, warning everyone, “There is a mouse trap in the house, there is a mouse trap in the house.”

The chicken, with her head high, glared at the mouse and said, “Shut up. Little Ugly. This is a great concern to you, but it has nothing to do with me; I can’t be troubled by it.

The mouse turned to the pig and told him, “There is a mouse trap in the house.” “I am so sorry, Mr. Mouse,” said the pig sympathetically, “but there is nothing I can do about it but pray; you are always in my prayers.”

The mouse turned to the cow, who relied, “ A mouse trap, am I in great danger, huh?”

Now the mouse had to face the farmer’s mouse trap alone.

The very night a sound was heard through the house, like that of a mouse trap catching its prey. The farmer’s wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see it was a big poisonous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer’s wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital. She returned home with a fever. It is said that drinking fresh chicken soup will help treat fever, so the farmer took his sharp knife to the farmyard for the soup’s main ingredient. His wife’s sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer killed the pig. The farmer’s wife did not get well, in fact, she died, and so many people came for her funeral. The farmer had the cow killed to provide for all of them to eat.

So next time when someone is facing a problem, don’t say that it has nothing to do with you. Remember: when the least of us is threatened, we all might be at risk.

1.We could see from the passage that the mouse was _____.

2.Which of the following is False according to the passage?

3.What can we learn from the story?

A mouse looked through a crack(缝隙) in the wall to see the farmer and his wife opening a package; what food might it contain? He was astonished to discover that it was a mouse trap!
Running to the farmyard, the mouse shouted, warning everyone, “There is a mouse trap in the house, there is a mouse trap in the house.”
The chicken, with her head high, glared at the mouse and said, “Shut up. Little Ugly. This is a great concern to you, but it has nothing to do with me; I can’t be troubled by it.
The mouse turned to the pig and told him, “There is a mouse trap in the house.” “I am so sorry, Mr. Mouse,” said the pig sympathetically, “but there is nothing I can do about it but pray; you are always in my prayers.”
The mouse turned to the cow, who relied, “ A mouse trap, am I in great danger, huh?”
Now the mouse had to face the farmer’s mouse trap alone.
The very night a sound was heard through the house, like that of a mouse trap catching its prey. The farmer’s wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see it was a big poisonous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer’s wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital. She returned home with a fever. It is said that drinking fresh chicken soup will help treat fever, so the farmer took his sharp knife to the farmyard for the soup’s main ingredient. His wife’s sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer killed the pig. The farmer’s wife did not get well, in fact, she died, and so many people came for her funeral. The farmer had the cow killed to provide for all of them to eat.
So next time when someone is facing a problem, don’t say that it has nothing to do with you. Remember: when the least of us is threatened, we all might be at risk.

1. 1.

   We could see from the passage that the mouse was ______.

   1. A.
      good at cheating others
   2. B.
      honest
   3. C.
      kind and warm-hearted
   4. D.
      foolish
2. 2.

   Which of the following is False according to the passage?

   1. A.
      The others help the farmer kill the cow.
   2. B.
      The mouse trap was very practical
   3. C.
      The pig is more friendly than the other animals.
   4. D.
      The farmer’s family was very poor and they had no friends
3. 3.

   What can we learn from the story?

   1. A.
      Better safe than sorry
   2. B.
      Traps can always cause chain reactions
   3. C.
      To keep the balance of nature is the duty of us all
   4. D.
      What you think impossible to happen to you might come at you unexpectedly

A mouse looked through a crack(缝隙) in the wall to see the farmer and his wife opening a package; what food might it contain? He was astonished to discover that it was a mouse trap!
Running to the farmyard, the mouse shouted, warning everyone, “There is a mouse trap in the house, there is a mouse trap in the house.”
The chicken, with her head high, glared at the mouse and said, “Shut up. Little Ugly. This is a great concern to you, but it has nothing to do with me; I can’t be troubled by it.
The mouse turned to the pig and told him, “There is a mouse trap in the house.” “I am so sorry, Mr. Mouse,” said the pig sympathetically, “but there is nothing I can do about it but pray; you are always in my prayers.”
The mouse turned to the cow, who relied, “ A mouse trap, am I in great danger, huh?”
Now the mouse had to face the farmer’s mouse trap alone.
The very night a sound was heard through the house, like that of a mouse trap catching its prey. The farmer’s wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see it was a big poisonous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer’s wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital. She returned home with a fever. It is said that drinking fresh chicken soup will help treat fever, so the farmer took his sharp knife to the farmyard for the soup’s main ingredient. His wife’s sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer killed the pig. The farmer’s wife did not get well, in fact, she died, and so many people came for her funeral. The farmer had the cow killed to provide for all of them to eat.
So next time when someone is facing a problem, don’t say that it has nothing to do with you. Remember: when the least of us is threatened, we all might be at risk.
【小题1】We could see from the passage that the mouse was _____.