B

Domestic (驯养的) horses now pull ploughs, race in the Kentucky Derby, and carry police. But early horses weren’t tame (驯服的) enough to perform these kinds of tasks. Scientists think the first interactions humans had with horses were far different from those today.

Thousands of years ago, people killed the wild horses that lived around them for food. Over time, people began to catch the animals and raise them. This was the first step in domestication.

As people began to tame and ride horses, they chose to keep those animals that had more desirable characteristics. For example, people may have chosen to keep horses that had a gentle personality so they could be ridden more easily. People who used horses to pull heavy loads would have chosen to keep stronger animals. Characteristics like strength are partly controlled by the animals’ genes. So as the domesticated horses reproduced, they passed the characteristics on to their young. Each new generation of houses would show more of these chosen characteristics.

Modern day horse breeds come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. This variety didn’t exist in the horse population before domestication. The Shetland horse is one of the smallest breeds—typically reaching only one meter tall. With short, strong legs, the animals were bred to pull coal out of mine shafts (矿井) with low ceilings. Huge horses like the Clydesdale came on the scene around 1700. People bred these heavy, tall horses to pull large vehicles used for carrying heavy loads.

The domestication of horses has had great effects on societies. For example, horse were important tools in the advancement of modern agriculture. Using them to pull ploughs and carry heavy loads allowed people to farm more efficiently. Before they were able to ride horses, humans had to cross land on foot. Riding horses allowed people to travel far greater distance in much less time. That encouraged populations living in different areas to interact with one another. The new from of rapid transportation helped cultures spread around the world.

Before domestication horses were ______.

A. caught for sports                B. hunted for food  

C. made to pull ploughs             D. used to carry people

The author uses the Shetland horse as an example to show ______.

A. it is smaller than the Clydesdale horse       B. horse used to have gentle personalities

C. some horses have better shaped than others

    D. horses were of less variety before domestication

Horses contributed to the spread of culture by ______.

A. carrying heavy loads           B. changing farming methods

C. serving as a means of transport     D. advancing agriculture in different areas

The passage is mainly about _______.

A. why humans domesticated horses     B. how humans and horses needed each other

C. why horses came in different shapes and sizes

D. how human societies and horses influenced each other

Mr. Brown’s horse was stolen at night. All of his friends were very sorry about it and came to see him together. After they had been told about it, one of them said, “Why did not you lock the door of your stable (马房)that night? I think it is your fault.”
“You aren’t deaf, are you?” the second man said, “Didn’t you hear anything at that moment? The thief must have driven the beast out of the gate, and couldn’t have carried it on his back.”
“I agree with them!” Blamed the third, “How careless you are! Every evening before I go to bed, I lock my stable first and hide the key in my box. Why didn’t you do so?”
The more they said, the more excited they became. At last Mr. Brown couldn’t bear it any more and said, “I am glad that you have come to see me. But none of you would help me either look for my horse or catch the thief. Do you think that it’s all my fault? Why don’t you blame the thief?
【小题1】 The first man thought it’s Mr. Brown’s fault because _______.

A.let the door openB.locked the door
C.had the door unlockedD.had the horse locked up
【小题2】 The second man thought Mr. Brown _________________.
  1. was a deaf                        
B. was very careful
C. must hear something when the thief stole the horse     
D. couldn’t hear anything at that time
【小题3】 The third man thought ________________.
A.the horse must be driven outB.Mr. Brown did hide his key in his box
C.Mr. Brown wasn’t blamed by the thirdD.Mr. Brown wasn’t careful.
【小题4】 The more his friends said the more Mr. Brown ______________.
A. became excited    B got angry    C could bear       D blamed them
【小题5】____________ should be blamed.
A. Mr. Brown      B his friends       C The thief      D All of them

Joey is loyal, encouraging and self-sacrificing, always putting others’ interests ahead of his own. He is a hard worker, who also loves to run and play. In short, he’s an ideal friend and a heroic character.
Here is the thing: Joey is a horse, who appears as the main character in Steven Spielberg’s new film War Horse.
It is based on Michael Morpurgo’s 1982 novel, which also caused the same-titled Tony Awards winning play.
The film follows the saga of Joey, a racehorse that’s trained for farm work under the loving care of Albert (Jeremy Irvine )after Albert’s drunk father Ted(Peter Mullan ) overpays for the animal at auction(拍卖会).
Then the World War I tears Albert and Joey apart. Joey is sold into the war effort for the British and starts his episodic adventures in Europe.
Splendidly staged, the battle plots in the film are visually astounding and impressive.
And with Spielberg’s unique, top-notch direction and storytelling skills, War Horse cannot escape its episodic nature, calling to mind another Spielberg film about the horrors of war and its effects upon soldiers and civilians—Saving Private Ryan.
While that film shocked with horrific scenes of bleeding, it relied on a company of easily-described characters and a focused storyline to present heroic themes.
Like Saving Private Ryan, War Horse clings to a series of characters, not only Albert, but also British officers, French civilians and German soldiers, who display courage in the face of danger. Everyone who comes in contact with Joey is either already in touch with their inner angel or is quickly moved to become more humane.
Although none of this covers the fact that we’ve seen this stuff elsewhere before, the lovely sentiment will steal your heart.
And the emotional signature of Spielberg can be felt as he establishes the relationship between the boy and the horse and the mood of the piece – there will be tears.
Therefore, calling this beautiful, dramatically incomplete film “ Saving Private Joey”, is entirely justifiable.
【小题1】In common with “ Saving Private Ryan”, the film  War Horse _________ .

A.is full of terrifying scenes of bleeding and killing
B.received the title of Tony Awards Winning Play
C.covers a lot of characters
D.tells the story happening in the Second World War
【小题2】Which statement is true according to the passage?
A.War Horse is based on the same-titled novel by Steven Spielberg.
B.Joey is a heroic character because he saved many people’s lives.
C.Albert sold Joey into the war effort for Europe.
D.Joey came to Albert’s care after Ted paid a lot of money for it.
【小题3】According to the passage, what does the underlined word astounding mean?
A.astonishingB.confusingC.satisfyingD.disappointing
【小题4】What is the best title for the passage?
A.Joey ─ a heroic race horseB.Albert and Joey
C.Saving Private JoeyD.Spielberg’s Joey

Thirteen, for me, was a challenging year. My parents divorced and I moved to a new town with my father, far from my old family and friends. I was terribly lonely and would cry myself to sleep each night. To ease my sadness, my father purchased an old horse for me at a local auction. I named him Cowboy.

Cowboy was without a doubt the ugliest horse in the world. But I didn’t care. I loved him beyond all reason. I joined a riding club and suffered rude comments and mean snickers about Cowboy’s looks. I never let on about how I felt, but deep inside, my heart was breaking. The other members rode beautiful, registered horses.

When Cowboy and I entered the events where the horse is judged on appearance, we were quickly shown the gate. No amount of preparation and love would turn Cowboy into a beauty. My only chance to compete would be in the speed events. I chose the jumping race.?

One girl named Becky rode a big brown horse in the race events. She always won the blue ribbons.  Needless to say, she didn’t feel threatened when I competed against her at the next show. She didn’t need to. I came in next to last.

The stinging memory of Becky’s smirks made me determined to beat her. For the whole next month I woke up early every day and rode Cowboy five miles to the arena (赛马场). We practiced running and jumping for hours in the hot sun and then I would walk Cowboy home totally exhausted. All of our hard work didn’t make me feel confident by the time the show came. I sat at the gate and sweated it out while I watched Becky and her horse charge through the course and finish in first place.

My turn finally came. I put on my hat, rubbed Cowboy’s neck and entered the arena. At the signal, we dashed toward the first fence, jumped it without trouble and raced on to the next one. Cowboy then flew over the second, third and fourth fences like a bird and I turned him toward the finish line. As we crossed the line the crowd was shocked into silence. Cowboy and I had beaten Becky and her fancy horse by two seconds!

I gained much more than a blue ribbon that day. At thirteen, I realized that no matter what the odds, I’d always come out a winner if I wanted something badly enough to work for it.

63. 1.The underlined expression "shown the gate" (paragraph 3) most probably means ______.

A. told how to enter the arena

B. shown how to make the horse beautiful

C. removed from the competition early

D. told to enter the timed-speed events

64. 2. When the final race finished, nobody cheered because        .

A. the audience didn’t like Cowboy             B. people envied the writer

C. the win was unexpected?            D. the writer bad run out of time

65. 3.Why was the writer not confident of victory?

A. He was an inexperienced rider.

B. He had not practiced enough.

C. He believed he was unpopular with the crowd.

D. He thought his horse wasn’t so good as the others.

66. 4.What did the writer learn from his experience?

A. Life can sometimes be unfair.

B. Anything is possible if one tries hard enough.

C. A positive attitude will bring success.

D. One should not make judgments based on appearance.

 

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