单选题 Taiwan police cannot decide whether to treat it as an extremely clever act of stealing or an even cleverer cheat (诈骗). Either way, it could be the perfect crime (犯罪), because the criminals are birds—homing pigeons!
The crime begins with a telephone message to the owner of a stolen car. if you want the car back, pay up then. The car owner is directed to a park, told where to find a bird cage and how to attach money to the neck of the pigeon inside. Carrying the money in a tiny bag, the pigeon flies off.
There have been at least four such pigeon pick-ups in Changwa. What at first seemed like the work of a clever stay at-home car thief, however, may in fact be the work of an even lazier and more inventive criminal mind one that avoids (避免) not only collecting money but going out to steal the car in the first place. Police officer Chen says that the criminal probably has played a double trick, he gets money for things he cannot possibly return. Instead of stealing cars, he lets someone else do it and then waits for the car-owner to place an ad (启示) in the newspaper asking for help.
The theory is supported by the fact that, so far, none of the stolen cars have been returned. Also, the amount of money demanded—under 3,000 Taiwanese dollars—seems too little for a car worth many times more.
Demands for pigeon-delivered money stopped as soon as the press reported the story. And even if they start again, Chen holds little hope of catching the criminal. "We have more important things to do," he said.

单选题 After the car owner received a phone call, he ______.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[考点] 细节理解题
[解析] 从文章第二段“The crime begins with a telephone message to the owner of a stolen car: if you want the car back, pay up then, the car owner is directed to a park, told where to find a bird cage and how to attach money to the neck of the pigeon inside. Carrying the money in a tiny bag, the pigeon flies off.”可以选出正确答案。
单选题 The "lazier and more inventive" criminal refers to ______.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[考点] 细节理解题
[解析] 这里指的是鸽子主人的一些特性,所以选D。
单选题 The writer mentions the fact that "none of the stolen cars have been returned" to show ______.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[考点] 细节理解题
[解析] 文章第三段提到“Police officer Chen says that the criminal probably has pulled a double trick: he gets money for things he cannot possibly return.”故正确答案应为B。
单选题 The underlined word "they" in the last paragraph refers to ______.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[考点] 代词的指代
[解析] 按照就近原则去找。前面提到“Demands for pigeon-delivered money”,故正确答案应为D。
单选题 We may infer from the text that the criminal knows how to reach the car owners because ______.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[考点] 细节理解题
[解析] 文章第三段提到“Instead of stealing cars, he lets someone else do it and then waits for the car-owner to place an ad(启事)in the newspaper asking for help.”故正确答案应为A。