阅读理解。
Long ago, there was an interesting man called Effendi (阿凡提), He was very humorous. One day
he had a joke with the Prime Minister (宰相). He said that the Minister would die the next day. Really
the next day, the Minister fell off the horse and died. When the king learned this, he got angry and sent
his men to catch Effendi at once. When Effendi was in front of the King, the king shouted angrily, “Effendi, since (既然) you know when my Minister would die, you must know the date of your own death. Say it
out, or you will die today.” Effendi looked at the king for a while, he answered, “But how can I know?
I’ll die two days earlier than you.” Because the king was afraid if he killed Effendi, he himself would die
after that. He thought he must keep Effendi alive as long as he could, so he let Effendi go.
1. The story tells us _______
A. how Effendi fooled the king
B. when the king would die
C. why the Minister died
D. Effendi knew the dates of everyone’s death
2. The Prime Minister died because _______
A. Effendi killed him
B. Effendi said he would die
C. he was badly ill
D. he fell to the ground from the horse
3. Why did the king ask Effendi to tell him the date of his own death?
A. In this way the king would know when he would die
B. He wanted to find an excuse to kill Effendi
C. He himself had known the date of Effendi’s death
D. He wanted to know when Effendi would die
4. The king let Effendi go because _______
A. he hoped to live a long life
B. he was afraid of Effendi
C. he didn’t believe Effendi’s words
D. he knew he would die two days later
5. Which of the following is not true?
A.The Minister died after the day when Effendi played a joke on him.
B. The king was afraid of death
C. Effendi didn’t know when the king would die
D. If the king killed Effendi, he himself would die two days later.
