smiled and said, "It's the hair thief. And he visits my head during the night when I'm asleep. One by one he pulls out my hairs, as many as he likes. And there's no way to catch him！"

　　This worried Valerie, but she was determined to help her daddy. That very night she stayed awake as long as she could. As soon as she heard her father's snoring (打鼾), she grabbed a hammer and went straight to her parents' bedroom. She slowly tiptoed in, being careful not to make a sound. She didn't want the hair thief to hear her. When she arrived at her father's side, she began watchfully inspecting his head, determined to catch the hair thief as soon as he appeared. Before long, she saw a shadow on her Daddy's head and, with all of her strength, she swung the hammer down.

　　Thwack! Her father let out a sudden cry and in a single movement jumped out of bed. The lump (肿块) on his head was already big and still growing. Trembling with shock, he turned the light on, and saw Valerie swinging her hammer in the air.

　　"I nearly got him, Daddy! I thought I hit him, but it looks like he escaped！" Meanwhile, all the noise had woken, Valerie's mother woke up. Seeing the lump on her husband's head, she burst out laughing.

　　"Well, that's what happens when you tell silly stories，" she said, highly amused.

　　语篇解读：看着爸爸头顶的头发日渐稀疏，Valerie很着急。一天，在得知爸爸掉发的原因后，她决定采取行动帮助他。

　　1.How did Valerie's father respond to her question?

　　A．He got very angry.

　　B．He told her the truth.

　　C．He told her a lie.

　　D．He was at a loss.

　　解析：选C　细节理解题。根据第二段及最后一段可知，Valerie的爸爸并没有告诉她真正的原因，而是撒了一个谎。

　　2．Which of the following words can best describe Valerie's father?

　　A．Humorous.　　　　　　 B．Careless.

　　C．Warm­hearted. D．Hard­working.

　　解析：选A　推理判断题。Valerie的爸爸将掉发的原因解释为有小偷趁他睡着时偷拔他的头发，由此可以看出他很幽默。

3．Why did Valerie enter her parents' bedroom at night?