You have probably heard of homing pigeons, which usually appeared in wars. From  3000 B. C. to the present, homing pigeons have        as postmen. They have been especially useful for carrying messages       wars. The telegraph is not       to carry about. Sometimes only the little pigeon can take a message where it ought to go.
In  1870，when the Prussians surrounded the city of Paris, the city was cut off from all the     means of communication. The people     many different ways of sending news. One way was to let go small balloons carrying mail.        of course, they only drifted (漂）      the wind carried them. Often they landed inside the enemy's lines. Even balloons large enough to carry a pilot could hardly be     controlled.
It was pigeons that in the end solved the      . Homing pigeons were brought into the city. Soon they were carrying letters far and wide. The enemy brought        to catch pigeons, but the little postmen could fly faster than their        Strangely enough, pigeons played an important      during the war.
During the First World War every army unit had a group of pigeons    . Many of them were     . Among them was an American pigeon with a French name Cher A mi, which meant " dear friend". A group of US soldiers were surrounded by the enemy. They had no food and no bullets. They nearly died of     . There was little hope for them. Cher Ami made his way       the bullets and succeeded. At once planes     to drop food and ammunition(军火）to them. With their strength    ，the soldiers fought back to their own army and eot saved.
    can pigeons carry the message? There were various methods. Usually the message is put into a little glass tube. The tube is tied to the leg or hidden under      or hung around the neck.
A. considered     B. served     C. regarded    D. made
A. in favour of    B. in need of  C. during      D. in time of
A. easy           B. difficult  C. necessary    D. important
A. present        B. past       C. usual       D. ordinary
A. used           B. did        C. tried       D. managed
A. And            B. Though     C. Since       D. But
A. which          B. that       C. to which    D. where
A. well           B. rather     C. only        D. just
A. questions      B. situation   C. problem     D. thing
A. dogs           B. soldiers   C. planes      D. hawks
A. enemies        B. postmen    C. balloons    D. bullets
A. action         B. part       C. ball        D. game
A. trained        B. taught     C. bought      D. fed
A. killed         B. sold       C. honoured    D. sent
A. the enemy      B. hunger     C. anger       D. war
A. for            B. to         C. in          D. through
A. landed         B. found out   C. set out     D. set about
A. recovered      B. arrived    C. lost        D. missing
A. Why            B. How        C. When        D. Where
A. the head       B. the body   C. the foot    D. a wing