I had just gone to bed after a very hard day when

the phone rang. It was an eccentric (怪僻的) farmer. I had never met him before although I had often heard people talk about him. He sounded quite nervous and he had been talking for a minute or so before I understood anything. Even then all I couldmake outwas that someone called Milly had had a very bad accident. I hadn't the slightest idea who she was but I obviously had to go.

It had been snowing heavily that day and I didn't know the way. I had been driving for at least an hour when I finally found his place. He was standing there waiting for me. It seemed Milly had died. "She meant more to me than anyone ... even my own wife." he said. I could see that he had been crying. I thought something terrible had taken place, a possible scandal (丑闻 ). I was even more shocked when he told me he had put her in the barn (厩 ). "I wouldn't leave her out in the cold." he said.

Milly had clearly been a secret lover of his. I was about to tell him he could not expect me to cover anything up when he opened the barn door. He lifted his candle and I saw a dark figure on the ground. "She was such a good cow. I wouldn't let anyone but a doctor touch her." he said and burst into tears again.

1. The underlined phrase make out in the first paragraph means __________.

A. expect.

B. understand.

C. see clearly.

D. hear clearly.

2. Before he arrived at the farmer's house, the writer expected to see Milly lying ___________.

A. on the ground of a barn.

B. on the floor of a room.

C. in bed in a room.

D. in bed in a barn.

3. What do we know about Milly from the story？

A. She had met with an accident.

B. She had caused a scandal.

C. She was seriously ill.

D. She was hidden somewhere.

4. The farmer wished that the writer might __________.

A. look into the matter.

B. bring Milly back to life.

C. free him from a scandal.

D. keep the whole thing a secret.

5. The person who told the story is probably a __________.

A. farmer.

B. policeman.

C. country doctor.

D. newspaper reporter.It was an eccentric (怪僻的) farmer.