A German company was concerned about talks in Moscow trying to sell some 100 million dollars worth of equipment to a Russian State company. Talks went smoothly but differences remained. So Martin Bayer himself, the CEO of the German Company, decided to come to Moscow to head the talks. Besides caring about his business, the CEO wanted to go to Russia to hunt bears.
Martin Bayer was one of the greatest hunters of our time (and the Russians knew about it). He went to the Sahara more than hundred times and hunted lions, crocodiles; he hunted polar bears in the North Pole and tigers in the rain forests of India. But he had never hunted Russian bears.
So the Russians decided to organize a bear hunt for Mr. Bayer to sweeten the talks. This wasn't a simple task. Some people in the west still believe that bears may be found and seen everywhere in Russian cities just like squirrels may be seen in our back yards. This is not true. The closest place one may find bears in the wild is maybe 2,500 miles away from Moscow. However, a solution was quickly found. The Russian businessmen went to Moscow Circus（馬戲團）and for $2,000 bought a very old bear. This bear used to amuse and amaze audiences in many countries for 30 years, but got and looked too old, and was retired.
“Be careful, the Russian bears are very dangerous, and frightening,” they told to Mr. Bayer. “If compared to the Russian bears, your African lions are nothing more than harmless cats.” The bear was brought to a forest 50 miles from Moscow and was left there. Mr. Bayer was told that bears were plentiful in that forest and that many cattle and even people had been eaten in the surrounding villages.
Meanwhile, an 18-year old female drove through the forest on a motorcycle and suddenly saw a bear (no bears had been seen in those places for 200 years). She was frightened, fell, left her helmet and her motorcycle and ran away.
Mr. Bayer was excited and ready to hunt. This could become the most successful part of his extraordinary hunting experience. The next moment Mr. Bayer saw a bear in a helmet driving on a motorcycle through the forest in front of him. The bear had a happy expression on his face, as he was doing something he had been doing in the circus for 30 years: circling on a motorcycle!
Mr. Bayer lives in a private mental institution near Hamburg happily ever after. The equipment was never sold to Russia. It was sold to Iraq instead.
1. Why did the Russians invite Mr. Bayer to hunt bears?
A. Russian bears are famous for their cruelty.
B. They managed to find a bear for hunting.
C. They expected the trade to be successful.
D. There was a bear in Moscow Circus.
2. Why did the Russians say “Be careful, the Russian bears are very dangerous, and frightening”?
A. To tell Mr. Bayer that many people had been killed by bears.
B. To make Mr. Bayer feel the hunting really challenging.
C. To warn Mr. Bayer to mind his safety while hunting.
D. To tell Mr. Bayer that the bear is really dangerous.
3. We can infer from the last paragraph that __________.
A. Mr. Bayer has gone ma
B. the bear injured him badly
C. he has worked in a mental institution since then
D. the trade has gone smoothly between Russian and Iraq
4. Which would be the best title of the passage?
A. Mr. Bayer, a Brave Hunter B. Russian Bears, Dangerous Animals
C. Don’t Hunt in Russia D. Don’t Deal with the Russians
battery D. a special equipment
costs less money
little excited. As the day of the party came near, Merlin began to think how to make a grand entrance at the party. He had an idea. He thought he would get a lot of attention if he could skate into the room.
y proud of his invention and dreamed of arriving at the party on wheels while playing the violin.
in rolled into the room playing his violin. Everyone was astonished to see him. There was just one problem. Merlin had no way to stop his roller skates. He rolled on and on. Suddenly, he ran into a huge mirror that was hanging on the wall. Down fell the mirror, breaking to pieces. Nobody forgot Merlin’s grand entrance for a long time!
