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 _ . 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. 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
A


YUZHOU, HENAN -An accident in a central China coal mine killed 21 miners Saturday and left another 16 trapped underground , the government said. The death rose to 26 Sunday morning as rescuers were battling to reach the 11 miners who were still trapped underground, rescue headquarters said. Rescuers were battling to reach the 11 miners still trapped underground, but chances for them to survive were very slim, said Du Bo, deputy chief of the rescue headquarters. "Based upon past experience, the remaining 11 miners could be buried in coal dust, so the survival chances are frail," Du said. More than 2,500 tons of coal dust smothered  the pit after the gas leak , which hampered  the rescue, said Du. The gas outburst happened at 6:03 a.m. Saturday when 276 miners were working underground in the mine in Yuzhou City. A total of 239 workers escaped but 21 were found dead and 16 trapped. An initial  investigation showed that 173,500 cubic meters of gas leaked out in the accident. Liu Wenbin, a deputy chief engineer of the company that owns the mine, was in the pit  when the accident happened. He organized the escape. "At around 6 a.m., I felt there was something wrong with the airflow in the shaft, and one of the team captains told me he also felt it and had already reported the problem," said Liu The mine is owned by Pingyu Coal & Electric Co. Ltd., a company jointly established by four investors, including Zhong Ping Energy Chemical Group and China Power Investment Corp. According to the writer, which of the following is not true? A) The mine was owned by more than one company B) There was at least one more similar accident happening in Central China before C) Before the accident happened there was no sign of something wrong D) When the accident happened one of the mine owners was in the pit
C


It was Mother's Day. John was so busy with his work that he couldn't go back home. When he passed by a flower shop in the evening, an idea came to his mind. "I'll send Mum some roses  . "       While John was picking his flowers, a young man went inside. "How many roses can I get for only five dollars, Madam?" he asked. The assistant was trying to tell him roses were as expensive as forty dollars a dozen  . Maybe he would be happy with carnations .      "No, I have to have red roses. " He said, "My mum was badly ill last year and I didn't get to spend much time with her. Now I want to get something special, it has to be roses as rose is her favourite. "       After hearing it, John said he would pay the rest of the money for the young man. Moved by both of them, the assistant said, "Well, lovely young men, thirty dollars a dozen, only for you. "Taking the roses, the young man almost jumped into the air and ran out of the shop. It was well worth twenty-five dollars John paid to see the exciting moment. Then John paid for his dozen of roses and told the assistant to send them to his mother.       As he walked out, he felt nice. Suddenly he saw the young man crossing the street and going into a park. But soon he realized it was not a park but a cemetery  . Crying, the young man carefully laid the roses," Mum, oh, Mum, why didn't I tell you how much I loved you ? God, please help me find my mum and tell her I love her. "      Seeing this, John turned and quickly walked to the shop. He would take the flowers home himself. The assistant tried to ask the young man to buy carnations instead of roses because  _  . A) carnations were nicer than roses B) roses were saved for John C) roses were more expensive than carnations D) carnations were special flowers for Mother's Day

C