It's a little hard to figure out the rules for sure, but the baby African buffalo(水牛) seems to have the upper hand. The two stand a couple feet apart, staring at each other. Behind them, their mothers look on with the kind of indifference(不关心) of mothers everywhere who see their kids playing a harmless game.
The alarm went off about half an hour ago, the second time tonight. Here, one bell means “elephant”, two, “rhino” (犀牛), and three and four, I really can't remember for what, because when you're awoken by bells in the middle of the night, your first thought won't be “Animal! ”. But as soon as I realized it was the rhino alarm, I was running for the stairs.
Yet I'm the only one watching the animals stare-down. Either everyone else died of a heart attack when the bells went off, or l was the only one in the entire hotel who didn't turn the alarm switch to off before going to bed.
The Ark, a hotel shaped like the biblical ark(圣经的方舟) , lies in the highlands of Kenya's Aberdare National Park, about 100 kilometers north of Nairobi. At the Ark's prow(船首) are huge windows overlooking a waterhole. Earlier tonight, I'd watched a pack of wolves, buffalos and elephants. And now, at three or so in the morning, I'm down for rhino bells. The first time, 2. 5 hours ago, it was a single black rhino, which came down, got a drink, and left.
I'd have been sorry for the lost sleep. I've already arranged with a guide to take me out at sunrise for the so-called “should_never_miss” bird-watching, where we'll get to see 30 species, but really, how many times in your life will you get to wake up and say, “Wow! Rhino!”? Isn't that the definition of a pretty good night? Last week we went from Uganda into Kenya. Before I left home, 1 thought I'd be happy with ten elephants and five or six giraffes on the whole trip. I didn't dare to dream the rhino.
4. The message that the hotel's bells sent was ___________.
A.a very wise way the author had never heard of |
B.hard for the author to remember in detail |
C.a matter that all visitors had got used to |
D.like conditioned response training for animals |
5. What's the author's attitude toward the bell?
A.It's bothering but two bells are welcome. |
B.It should be turned off whenever it rings. |
C.It lets visitors have a chance to see buffalos. |
D.It is a very bad way to wake the guests up. |
6. What can we learn from the passage?
A.The author hates all the animals. |
B.There are lots of wild animals near the Ark. |
C.The author slept well during the whole trip. |
D.The author has no interest in thinos. |
7. What did the author see at about 3:00 a.m. ?
A.Two buffalos were fighting fiercely for food. |
B.A rhino and a buffalo were fighting for water. |
C.A rhino and a buffalo were staring at each other. |
D.A buffalo was teaching its baby to walk freely. |