Most people think that it’s fine to be “busy as a beaver.” Little do they know that beavers may work hard, but often they don’t get very much done.

Beavers are supposed to be great tree cutters. It is true that a beaver can cut through a tree very quickly: A six-inch tree takes about 10 minutes. But then what? Often the beaver does not make use of the tree. One expert says that beavers waste one out of every five trees they cut.

For one thing, they do not choose their trees wisely. One bunch of beavers cut down a cottonwood tree more than 100 feet tall. Then they found that they could not move it.

In thick woods, a tree sometimes won’t fall down. It gets stuck in the other trees. Of course, the beaver won’t cut down the trees that are in the way. Hence, a good tree goes to waste.

Some people think that beavers can make a tree fall the way they want it to. Not true. When beavers cut a tree near a stream, it usually falls into the water, but they do not plan it that way. The fact is that most trees lean toward the water to start with.

Now what about dam building? Most beaver dams are wonders of engineering. The best ones are strongly built of trees, stones, and mud. They are wide at the bottom and narrow at the top.

Beavers think nothing of building a dam more than 200 feet long. One dam in Montana was more than 2,000 feet long. The largest one ever seen was in New Hampshire: it stretched 4,000 feet, and made a lake large enough to hold 40 beaver homes.

Beavers do build fabulous dams. But they don’t always build them in the right places. They just don’t plan. They will build a dam across the widest part of the stream. They don’t try to find a place where the stream is narrow. Hence, a lot of their hard work is wasted. Beavers should learn that it’s not enough to be busy. You have to know what you’re doing, too.

【小题1】Which of the following is NOT correct according to the passage?

A．Beavers can cut through a tree very quickly.

B．Beavers can make full use of every tree.

C．Beavers do not choose their trees wisely.

D．Beavers can cut down a cottonwood tree more than 100 feet tall.

【小题2】What can we infer about the beaver dams from the passage?

A．They are no more than 200 feet long.	B．They are also the beavers’ home.
C．They are nothing in beavers’ eyes.	D．They are always built in right places.

【小题3】What’s the meaning of the underlined word “fabulous” in the last paragraph?

A．extraordinary

B．severe

C．patriotic

D．optimistic

【小题4】What lesson can we learn from the passage?

A．Early birds catch the worm.	B．Work hard, and you will succeed.
C．You should look before you leap.	D．Don’t put the cart before the horse.