Keepers of a zoo with gray parrots say five parrots were encouraging each other to say dirty words. Billy, Eric, Tyson, Jade and Elsie joined the parrot zoo in May 2020. And they quickly made the keepers feel it not easy to deal with their naughty(调皮的) language.

“We are quite used to parrots saying dirty words, but we’ve never had five at the same time,” said the zoo’s manager, Steve. “Most parrots keep quiet outside, but for some reason these five enjoy saying something.”

Steve said that the parrots “say dirty words to attract some attention,” so seeing people shocked or laughing only encourages the birds to swear more.“With the five, one would say and another would laugh and that would carry on,” he said.

According to Steve, none of the zoo’s visitors felt unhappy about the parrots, and most found them funny. “When a parrot tells you to ‘f*** off’, it makes people laugh a lot,” he said. “It has brought a big smile to a really hard year.”

Still, keepers thought it would be best to keep them away from children, for children learn things quickly. They were moved to different areas of the park so they don’t “cause each other to say those words more,” he said.

本时文内容由奇速英语国际教育研究院原创编写，未经书面授权，禁止复制和任何商业用途，版权所有，侵权必究！（作者投稿及时文阅读定制请联系微信：18980471698）

1. How long have the five parrots been in the zoo?

A    For eight months.

B    For one year.

C    For about two years.

D    For more than three years.

2. Who doesn’t probably say dirty words?

A    Eric.

B    Steve.

C    Billy.

D    Tyson.

3. What does the underlined word “swear” probably mean?

A    说脏话.

B    逗乐.

C    发誓.

D    下决心.

4. What do visitors think of those birds?

A    They hate them.

B    They are smart birds.

C    They bring happiness.

D    They make the year hard.

5. Why should the five parrots be kept away from children?

A    Birds don’t like children.

B    Children could hurt them.

C    Children teach them to say dirty words.

D    Children may learn dirty words from them.