I’m a pig, and my son is a rabbit. I have snakes for daughters, and my wife, believe it or not, is a dragon! Do I live in a zoo? No, of course not! I am talking about Chinese zodiac signs（十二生肖）. Depending on the year of your birth, each person has an animal for a sign. That’s why I am a pig and my wife is a dragon. If you, like me, were born in the year of the pig, then you are brave, thoughtful and loyal. The year of the pig is filled with good fortune.
Now let’s take a closer look at this interesting animal.
Pigs were first raised by man about 9,000 years ago, and are still a very common farm animal in many parts of the world. We don’t just use pigs for their meat — almost every part of the animal is used. The hair is used for artists’ brushes. The fat is used to make floor wax, rubber and plastics.
Pigs have also been important in the world of entertainment. In 1995 the film ‘Babe’ starred a loveable talking pig as its main character. The film won an Oscar and was nominated （提名）for 6 more. In England you can even go to watch pig racing. A farmer, Rob Shepherd, has been raising money for charity by holding pig races on his farm. The events have been very successful. People don’t just want to eat pigs, it seems!
Pigs also play an important role in the English language. For example, if someone says that he will travel to the sun one day, you can say “pigs might fly!” to him. Hungry? Well then, you can “pig out” and eat lots of food. And what if someone rescues you? Well, you can say that they “saved your bacon”.
小题1: The writer wrote the first paragraph in a ______ tone.
A．sad
B．confused
C．serious
D．humorous小题2: We may know from the passage that ______.
A．people in England like pigs more than other animals
B．pigs are more useful than ordinary people imagine
C．pigs are the first animals raised by man
D．more people don’t want to eat pigs now小题3:The underlined sentence “pigs might fly!” in the fifth paragraph means “______”.
A．What you have just said is impossible
B．Pigs are great animals
C．I don’t understand your words
D．I can’t agree with you more小题4:Which diagram shows the structure（结构） of the passage?
A B C D
