52. Mari Andre was killed when he ______.

A. went to Brazil B. entered the mountains

C. tried to catch a butterfly D. raised a net

53. Needlefish comes out ______.

A. sometimes at night B. usually in the daytime

C. only when boats appear D. both at night and in the daytime

54. According to the story, each year needlefish kills ______.

A. twice more than sharks do

B. about 10 more persons than sharks do

C. fewer persons than sharks do

D. 24 times more persons than sharks do

55. The best title for the passage is ______.

A. Brazil Home of Dangerous Butterflies

B. New Guinea—No Fit to Live in

C. Killer Butterflies and Needlefish

D. Deaths Caused by Butterflies and Needlefish

D

Some time ago I discovered that one of my chairs had a broken leg. I didn’t think there would be any difficulty in getting it mended, as there are a whole lot of antique(古董) shops near my home. So I left home one morning carrying the chair with me. I went into the first shop expecting a friendly reception. I was quite wrong. The man wouldn’t even look at my chair.

The second shop, though slightly more polite, was just the same, and the third and the fourth, so I decided that my approach must be wrong, and I should try another way.

I entered the fifth shop with a plan in my mind. I placed the chair on the floor and said to the shopkeeper,“Would you like to buy a chair?” He looked it over carefully and said,“Yes, not a bad chair. How much do you want for it, sir?” “Twenty pounds,” I said. "OK,” he said,“I’ll give you twenty pounds.” “It’s got a slightly broken leg,” I said. “Yes, I saw that, it’s nothing.”

Everything was going according to plan and I was getting excited. “What will you do with it?” I asked. “Oh, it will be easy to sell once the repair is done.” I’ll buy it,” I said.“What do you mean? You’ve just sold it to me,” he said.“Yes, I know but I’ve changed my mind. I am sorry. I’ll give you twenty-seven pounds for it.” “ You must be crazy,” he said. Then, suddenly the penny dropped. “I know what you want. You want me to repair your chair.” “You’re right,” I said.“And what would you have done if I had walked in and said, “Would you mend this chair for me?” “I wouldn’t have agreed to do it,” he said.“We don’t do repairs, not enough money in it and too much trouble. But I’ll mend this for you, shall we say for a fiver(五英镑钞票)?” He was a very nice man and was greatly amused by the whole thing.