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 horses would show more of these chosen characteristics.
Modern-day horse breeds(种类) 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, horses 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 form of rapid transportation helped cultures spread around the world.
【小题1】Before domestication horses were ______.

A.caught for sports B.hunted for food
C.made to pull ploughsD.used to carry people
【小题2】The author uses the Shetland horse as an example to show ______.
A.it is smaller than the Clydesdale horse
B.horses used to have gentle personalities
C.some horses have better shapes than others
D.horses were of less variety before domestication
【小题3】Horses contributed to the spread of culture by ______.
A.carrying heavy loadsB.changing farming methods
C.serving as a means of transportD.advancing agriculture in different areas
【小题4】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

"If you want to see a thing well, reach out and touch it!"

That may seem a strange thing to say. But touching things can help you to see them better.

Your eyes can tell you that a glass ball is round. But by holding it in your hands, you can feel how smooth and cool the ball is. You can feel how heavy the glass is. When you feel all these about the ball, you really see it. With your skin, you can feel better. For example, your fingers can tell the difference between two coins in your pocket. You can feel a little drop of water on the back of your hand, too. You can even feel sounds against your skin. Have you ever wanted to know why some people like very loud music? They must like to feel the sounds of music.

All children soon learn what "Don't touch!" means. They hear it often. Yet most of us keep on touching things as we grow up. In shops, we touch things we might buy: food, clothes. To see something well, we have to touch it. The bottoms of our feet can feel things, too. You know this when you walk on warm sand, cool grass or a hard floor. All feel different under your feet.

There are ways of learning to see well by feeling. One way is to close your eyes and try to feel everything that is touching your skin. Feel the shoes on your feet, the clothes on your body, the air on your skin. At first, it is not easy to feel these things. You are too used to them!

Most museums are just for looking. But today some museums have some things to touch. Their signs say, "Do touch!" There you can feel everything on show.

If you want to see better, reach out and touch. Then you will really see!

1.By touching things ______.

A. you will have a strange feeling

B. you will learn how to reach out your hand

C. you can learn more about them

D. you can tell what colors they really are

2.Which of the following can be the best title of the story?

A. Touching by Feeling                 B. To See or to Feel

C. To See Better-Feel                    D. Ways of Feeling

3.Which of the following parts can tell you the difference between two coins in your pocket?

A. Your fingers.   B. Your eyes.        C. Your foot.        D. Your back.

4.What can't your skin feel?

A. Sounds.                  B. Darkness. C. Water.              D. Coins.

5.Which of the following is NOT true?

A. Touching is helping us to see better.

B. Our skins may help us enjoy music.

C. Feeling is a good way to learn.

D. Visitors can't feel the things on show in any museums.

 

B

Two new studies suggest that modern running shoes could increase the risk of injuries to runners.

One study involved sixty-eight healthy young women and men who ran at least twenty-four kilometers a week. The runners were observed on a treadmill machine. Sometimes they wore running shoes. Other times they ran barefoot.

Researchers from the JKM Technologies Company in Virginia, the University of Virginia and the University of Colorado did the study.

They found that running shoes create more stress that could damage knees, hips and ankle joints than running barefoot. They observed that the effect was even greater than the effect reported earlier for walking in high heels.

The study appeared in the official scientific journal of the American Academy of Physical Medicine.

The other study appeared in the journal Nature. It compared runners in the United States and Kenya. The researchers were from Harvard University in Massachusetts, Moi University in Kenya and the University of Glasgow in Scotland.

They divided the runners into three groups. One group had always run shoeless. Another group had always run with shoes. And the third group had changed to shoeless running.

Runners who wear shoes usually come down heel first. That puts great force on the back of the foot. But the study found that barefoot runners generally land on the front or middle of their foot. That way they ease into their landing and avoid striking their heel.

Harvard’s Daniel Lieberman led the study. He says the way most running shoes are designed may explain why those who wear them land on their heels. The heel of the shoe is bigger and heavier than other parts of the shoe, so it would seem more likely to come

down first. Also, the heel generally has thick material under it to soften landings.

60. How many organizations are involved in the two studies?

A. Three.                          B. Four.                      C. Five.                      D. Six.

61. What can we learn from the text?

A. Most running shoes are designed improperly.

B. The design of high heels is better than that of running shoes.

C. No one will run with running shoes in the future.

D. Both of the studies are done in America.

62. Why do running shoes increase the risk of injuries to runners?

A. They could create stress. 

B. They’re too big and heavy.

C. They can affect the way the runners land.   

D. Their heels can soften landings.

63. How did the researchers do the two studies?

A. By practising.         B. By comparing.      C. By questioning.     D. By reasoning.

 

Would you like to be a king or queen? To have people waiting on you hand and foot? Many Americans experience this royal treatment every day. How? By being customers. The American idea of customer service is to make each customer the center of attention. Need proof? Just listen to the commercials. Most of them sound like the McDonald’s ad: “We do it all for you.” Actually, not all stores in America roll out the red carpet for their customers. But wherever you go, good customer service means making customers feel special.

People going shopping in America can expect to be treated with respect from the very beginning. Most places don’t have a “furniture street” or a “computer road” which allow you to compare prices easily. Instead, people often “let their fingers do the walking” through the store hot lines. From the first “hello”, customers receive a satisfying response to their questions. This initial contact can help them decide where to shop.

When customers get to the store, they are treated as honored guests. Customers don’t usually find store clerks sitting around watching TV or playing cards. Instead, the clerks greet them warmly and offer to help them find what they want. In most stores, the clear signs that label each department make shopping a breeze. Customers usually don’t have to ask how much items cost, since prices are clearly marked. And unless they’re at a flea market or a yard sale, they don’t bother trying to bargain.

When customers are ready to check out, they find the nearest and shortest checkout lane. But as Murphy’s Law would have it, whichever lane they get in, all the other lanes will move faster. Good stores open new checkout lanes when the lanes get too long. Some even offer express lanes for customers with 10 items or less. After they pay for their purchases, customers receive a smile and a warm “thank you” from the clerk. Many stores even allow customers to take their shopping carts out to the parking lot. That way, they don’t have to carry heavy bags out to the car.

1. By quoting (引用) the McDonald’s ad: “We do it all for you”, the author intends to_______.

A. suggest that customers believe what commercials say deeply

B. show readers the American idea on good customer service

C. express all the stores pay much attention to the customers

D. persuade readers to choose the stores with ads correctly

2. In the USA, what may you do at first if you want to do some shopping?

A. To visit a professional street with lots of similar stores.

B. To compare prices in many shops in the same street.

C. To make phone calls and get better shopping choices.

D. To receive other customers’ answers to the questions.

3. The Underlined words “a breeze” in Para.3 most probably means _________.

A. an easy job    B. a trouble      C. a funny thing      D. a boring task

4. Which of the followings shows American stores offer convenience to customers in this passage?

A. The store clerks don’t usually sit around watching TV or playing cards.

B. Some stores offer price bargain to the customers like a yard sale.

C. The clerks give customers a smile and a warm “thank you” after paying.

D. Some stores open new checkout lanes when the lanes are crowded.

 

 

America’s greatest technological achievement, the Hoover Dam, now has a companion piece, a bridge held up by the longest arch in the Western Hemisphere(半球). The Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, which opened this month and connects the U.S. states of Arizona and Nevada, crosses the vast chasm(峡谷)890 feet above the Colorado River that is controlled by the dam.

The striking 1,900-foot-long structure will improve traffic in the region and help protect the dam from being destroyed. It is the seventh highest bridge in the world, behind four in China, one in Papua New Guinea and one in the US state of Colorado.

“The Hoover Dam is the greatest civil engineering achievement in America’s history,” said the bridge project manager Dave Zanatell. “Our goal was not to outdo or outshine it. Our goal was to, in a respectful way, do something that would be great for our generation and that would stand besides Hoover Dam in a respectful and quality way that would become a part of Hoover’s legacy(遗产).”

Just as the Hoover Dam was built in the heart of the Great Depression(大萧条)and was seen as an example of the nation’s can-do spirit, some hope this project can also provide some uplift.

The bridge is surprising: at 1,050 feet, its support arch holds up a roadway that lies on 300-foot-long concrete pillars(柱子), some of the tallest in the world. It contains 16 million pounds of steel.

  The idea of the bridge came into being in the 1960s because the top of the Hoover Dam has been a narrow two-lane road that is the fastest route from Arizona to Las Vegas and then the Pacific Northwest and Canada.

   Access to the dam from each direction is a dangerously winding route, but massive trucks and passenger vehicles shared it for decades. During the day, when thousands of tourists travel to the dam from Las Vegas three times as many accidents as on a normal road will happen.

   The bridge has a sidewalk on the side facing the dam. The wall on both sides is 54 inches high, so walkers can take photos there.

1.Which of the following is true of the Hoover Dam?

   A. It was completed recently.

   B. It was built during the hard times.

   C. It has the longest arch.

   D. It’s the seventh highest dam in the world.

2.What is one of the purposes of building the bridge?

   A. To protect the dam.                                            B. To save the cultures.

   C. To outdo the dam.                                                   D. To develop the tourism.

3.The underlined word “uplift” in Paragraph 4 means _____.

   A. lift of the heavy object                              B. support in money

   C. spiritual encouragement                                   D. instruction in technology

4.Which of the followings shows the right position of the bridge and dam?

5.The text is mainly about ______.

   A. the Hoover Dam                                                 

   B. American western development

   C. a tour along the Colorado River                      

   D. a recently built bridge

 

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