When Major， the most respected pig， saw all the animals were present， he cleared his throat and began：

    "Now， comrades （同志们） ， I don't think I shall be with you for many months． Before I die， let me ask you a question． What is the nature of this life of ours？ Let us face it： our lives are miserable and short． We are born， we are given just so much food as will keep the breath in our bodies， and those of us who are able to do it are forced to work to the last

    "Why then do we continue in this miserable？ Because nearly the whole of the produce of our hard work is stolen from beings． There， comrades， is the answer to all our problems． It is summed up in a single word﹣ Man． Man is the only real enemy we have． Remove （消灭） Man from the scene， and the basic cause of hunger and overwork is ended for ever． "

    "And now， comrades， I will sing an old song that came into my dream last night to you． I am sure， it was a song sung by the animals of long ago and have been lost to memory for marry years． It is called Animals of England．"

    His voice was hoarse （沙哑的）， but he sang well enough to throw the animals into the wildest excitement． Almost before Major had reached the end， they had begun singing it for themselves．

    Unluckily， the singing woke Mr． Jones， the farm owner， who jumped out of bed， thinking that there was a fox in the yard． He took the gun which always stood in a comer of his bedroom， and let fly 6 shots （射击） into the darkness． The pellets （子弹） flew into the wall of the yard and the meeting broke up hurriedly． Everyone ran to his own sleeping place． The birds jumped onto their trees， the animals settled down in the straw， and the whole farm was asleep in a moment．

（1）Why did Major make the speech？　　

A． To encourage the animals to fight against Man．

B． To teach the animals to sing an old song．

C． To say goodbye to the animals before death．

D． To complain about his personal miserable life．

（2）What does the underlined word " miserable" in the second paragraph most probably mean？　　

A． common

B． boring

C． lonely

D． painful

（3）Which of the following is true according to the passage？　　

A． The animals on the farm were brave．

B． Major's speech was nearly successful．

C． Major and Mr． Jones were friendly to each other．

D． Mr． Jones forced his animals to work from birth to death．

（4）Why did Mr． Jones fire his gun？　　

A． To break up the animals' meeting．                   ′

B． To kill the fox he saw in the yard．

C． To make sure his gun was in good condition．

D． To protect the animals he raised on his farm．