The owl(猫头鹰) always sleeps during the day. There was a certain old owl who had become very hard to please as she grew older, especially if anything disturbed(妨碍) her sleep. One warm summer afternoon as she slept in an old tree, a grasshopper(蚱蜢) began a song. The song woke the old owl up and the old owl became very angry.

“Get away from here, sir,” she said to the grasshopper. “Have you no manners? You should at least respect(尊重) my age and leave me to sleep in quiet!”

But the grasshopper said that he had as much right to his place in the sun as the owl had to her place in the old oak(橡树). Then he sang more loudly.

The smart old owl knew quite well that it would do no good to argue with the grasshopper. What was more, her eyes were not good enough by day to let her kill the grasshopper. So she stopped all hard words and spoke very kindly to him. “Well sir,” she said, “if I must stay awake, I am going to enjoy your singing. Now that I think of it, I have a wonderful wine(葡萄酒) here. I hear Apollo drinks before he sings to the high gods. Please come up and taste this delicious drink with me. I know it will make you sing like Apollo himself.”

The stupid grasshopper believed in the owl’s words, so he jumped near the owl. As soon as he was near enough and the old owl could see him clearly, she caught him and ate him up.

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1.What is the best title of this passage?

A Good friends.

B A smart owl.

C A grasshopper’s party.

D A big tree.

解析：选B。B文章标题题。本文介绍了一只猫头鹰机智地在白天抓住了蚱蜢的故事。故选B。

2.What did the grasshopper do when the owl slept on a warm summer afternoon?

A He laughed at her.

B He ate her family.

C He sang a song.

D He visited her.

解析：选C。C 细节理解题。根据第一段的“One warm summer afternoon as she slept in an old tree, a grasshopper began a song.”可知，当猫头鹰睡觉的时候，蚱蜢开始唱歌。故选C。

3.Why did the owl speak kindly to the grasshopper later? ①Because arguing with him wasn’t helpful. ②Because the grasshopper had a knife. ③Because her eyes were not good enough by day. ④Because the grasshopper agreed not to disturb her.

A ①③.

B ②③.

C ①④.

D ②④.

解析：选A。A 细节理解题。根据第四段的“The smart old owl knew quite well that it would do no good to argue with the grasshopper. What was more, her eyes were not good enough by day to let her kill the grasshopper.”可知，猫头鹰认为和蚱蜢争论没什么好处(起不了作用)，并且她的视力在白天不太好，所以她停止了辱骂蚱蜢，开始对他说好话。故选A。

4.How did the owl catch the grasshopper at last?

A By inviting him to sing with Apollo.

B By offering him a wonderful wine.

C By taking his knife away.

D By singing with him.

解析：选B。B 细节理解题。根据第四段的“I have a wonderful wine here”和第五段的“As soon as he was near enough and the old owl could see him clearly, she caught him and ate him up.”可知，猫头鹰通过骗蚱蜢过去喝酒将他制服。故选B。

5.What does the underlined word “manners” mean in Chinese?

A 广告.

B 礼貌.

C 辐射.

D 缺点.

解析：选B。B 词义猜测题。根据第二段的“You should at least respect my age and leave me to sleep in quiet!”可知猫头鹰认为蚱蜢不尊重自己，即她认为蚱蜢没有礼貌。故选B。