Passage Three

　　Taiwan police cannot decide whether to treat it as an extremely clever act of stealing or an even cleverer cheat.Either way,it could be the perfect crime,because the criminals are birds�瞙oming 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�瞮ps in Changwa.What at first seemed like the work of a clever stay�瞐t�瞙ome car thief,however,may in fact be the work of an even lazier and more inventive criminal mind—one that avoids not only collecting money but going out to steal the car in the first place.Police officer Chen says that the criminal probably has pulled 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 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�瞕elivered 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.

　　() 11.After the car owner received a phone call,he.

　　A.went to a certain pigeon and put some money in the bag it carried

　　B.gave the money to the thief and had his car back in a park

　　C.sent some money to the thief by mail

　　D.told the press about it

　　() 12.The “l(fā)azier and more inventive” criminal refers to

　　A.the car thief who stays at home

　　B.one of those who put the ads in the paper

　　C.one of the policemen in Changwa

　　D.the owner of the pigeons

　　() 13.The writer mentions the fact that“none of the stolen cars have been returned”to show.

　　A.how easily people get fooled by criminals

　　B.what Chen thinks might be correct

　　C.the thief is extremely clever

　　D.the money paid is too little

　　() 14.The underlined word “they” in the last paragraph refers to.

　　A.criminalsB.pigeons

　　C.the stolen carsD.demands for money

　　() 15.We may infer from the text that the criminal knows how to reach the car owners because.

　　A.he reads the ads in the newspaper

　　B.he lives in the same neighborhood

　　C.he has seen the car owners in the park

　　D.he has trained the pigeons to follow them