阅读理解。
Taiwan police cannot decide whether to treat it as an extremely eleven act of stealing or an even elev-ecer
cheat (诈骗). Either way, it could be the perfect crime (犯罪), because the criminals are birds-horning pigeons!
The crime begins with a telephone message to the owner of a stolen car: if you want the car back, pay up
then, the car owner is directed to a park, told where to find a bird cage and how to attach money to the neck
of the pigeon inside. Carrying the money in a tiny bag, the pigeon flies off.
There have been at least four such pigeon pick-ups in Changwa. What at first seemed like the work of a
clever stay-at-home car thief, however, may in face be the work of an even lazier and more inventive criminal
mind-one that avoid (避免) not only colleting money but going out to steal the car in the first place. Police
officer Chen says that the criminal probably has pulled a double trick: he gets money for things he cannot
possibly return. Instead of stealing cars, he lets someone else do it and then waits for the car-owner to place an
ad (启事) in the newspaper asking for help.
The theory is supported by the fact that, so far, none of the stolen cars have been returned. Also, the
amount of money demanded-under 3,000 Taiwanese dollars -seems too little for a car worth many times more.
Demands for pigeon-delivered money stopped as soon as the press reported the story. And even if they
start again, Chen holds little hope of catching the criminal. "We have more important things to do," he said.
1. After the car owner received a phone call. He _____.
A. went to a certain pigeon and put some money in the bag it carried
B. gave the money to the thief and had his car back in a park
C. sent some money to the thief by mail
D. told the press about it
2. The "lazier and more inventive" criminal refers to ______.
A. the car thief who stays at home
B. one of those who put the ads in the paper
C. one of the policemen in Changwa
D. the owner of the pigeons
3. The writer mentions the fact that "none of the stolen cars have been returned" to show _____.
A. how easily people get fooled by criminals
B. what Chen thinks might be correct
C. the thief is extremely clever
D. the money paid is too little
4. The underlined word "they" in the last paragraph refers to _____.
A. criminals
B. pigeons
C. the stolen cars
D. demands for money
5. We may infer from the text that the criminal knows how to reach the car owners because _____.
A. he reads the ads in the newspaper
B. he lives in the same neighborhood
C. he has seen the car owners in the park
D. he has trained the pigeons to follow them
