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 |
Ⅳ阅读理解（共30分）
Going home for Christmas is a tradition of the holiday season. No matter where you may be the rest of the years, being at “home” with your family and friends for Christmas is a “must”. The Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays are the busiest times of the year at airports, train stations and bus stations. It seems that all America is on the move and Americans are on their way to spend the holidays with their loved ones.
This means that the house will be full of cousins, aunts and uncles that might not see each other during the year. Everyone joins in to help in the preparation of the festival. Some family members get to choose a Christmas tree to buy and bring home. Others decorate the house or wrap presents. And of course, each household needs to make lots of food!
At Christmas Eve gatherings adults have eggnog, which is made of cream, milk, sugar, eggs and brandy. Plenty of eggnog or hot cocoa is on hand in colder climates for carolers, or people who go from house to house sing Christmas carols to their neighbors.
Long ago, each child hung a stocking, or sock, over the fireplace. Santa entered down the chimney and left candy and presents inside the socks for the children. Today the tradition is carried on, but the socks are now large red sock-shaped fabric bags still called stockings. Each child can’t wait to open his or her eyes to see what Santa has left in the stocking.
Giving gifts is a Christmas tradition. However, in recent years, more and more people have complained that Christmas is too commercialized(商业化) especially in large cities. Store owners begin advertising and decorating very early in hopes of selling more goods. Some people believe that the origin of Christmas has been lost.
46．It is a traditional custom for Americans ____________.
A．to buy Christmas trees and bring them to churches for Christmas
B．to drink beer on Christmas Eve
C．to go home for Christmas with their family and relatives
D．to hung stockings on the chimney
47．The underlined word “eggnog” in the third paragraph is a kind ____________.
A．drink B．food C．egg D．present
48．Each child hung a stocking over the fireplace in order to____________.
A．get some eggnog B．have a look at Santa
C．get some candy and presents D．get some money from his/ her parents
49．The last paragraph wants to tell us that ____________.
A．giving gifts is a Christmas tradition B．giving gifts is getting more and more commercialized
C．store owners hope to get more presents D．people think there will be no Christmas in the future
根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。请将答案写在答题纸上。
SELF STUDY TIPS
However difficult you find it to arrange your time, it will pay off in the long run if you set aside a certain part of the day for studying－ and stick to it. 71 . But don’t forget to make sure that you have enough left for recreational activities or simply to be “with” yourself: reading a novel or watching a television programme.
As part of your weekly schedule, it is also advisable to consider exactly what you have to do in that week, and make sure that you handle the most significant tasks first. 72 .
On a physical level, make sure you have an area or space for studying. 73 .If you always study in the same place, preferably a room of your own , you will find it easier to adjust mentally to the activity when you enter that area. You should have everything that you might need at hand.
Make sure that all the physical equipment that you use , such as a desk, chair etc. is at good height for you. If you use a personal computer, there are plenty of guidelines available from the movement on angles, lighting and the like. 74 .
If you are working on topic your teacher has set, but finding it hard to concentrate, it may be that you actually need to take your mind right off it for a period of time. 75 .After a period away from the test, having not thought about it at all, you may return to it refreshed and full of ideas.
| A．It’s wise to leave the easier or less urgent areas of your work until later |
| B．It’s all too easy to read something and then forget where it came from |
| C．Consult these and avoid the typical student aches and pains |
| D．“Airing the mind”can work wonders sometimes |
E．Make use of equipment that is available to you
F．It is best to make a weekly schedule
G．Don’t do it just any where
Unusual incidents are being reported across the Arcitc. Inuit(因纽特人)families going off on snowmobiles to prepare their summer hunting camps have found themselves cut off from home by a sea of mud .There are also reports of sea ice breaking up earlier than usual, carrying seals beyond the reach of hunters. Climate change may still be a rather abstract idea to most of us ,but in the Arctic it is already having great effects –if summertime ice continues to shrink at its present rate ,the Arctic Ocean could soon become almost ice-free in summer .The knock –on effects are likely to include more warming, cloudier skies ,and higher sea levels .Scientists are increasingly eager to find out what’s going on in the Arctic.
For the Inuit the probkm is mgent. They live in unsteady baiance with one of the toughest environments on earth. Climate change, whatever its causes, is a direct danger to their way of life. Nobody knows the Arctic as well as the locals, which is why they are not content simply to stand back and let outsider experts tell them what’s happening. In Canada, where the Inuit people are trying hard to guard their hard-won autonomy in the country’s newest land, Nunavut, they believe their best hope of survival in this changing environment lies in combining their ancestral knowledge with the best of modern science. This is challenge in itself.
The Canadian Arctic is a vast , treeless polar desert that’s covered with snow for most of the year. Adventure into this area and you get some idea of the hardships facing anyone who calls this home. Farming is out of the question and nature offers few pickings. Humans first settled in the Arctic a mere 4,500 years ago, surviving by taking advantage of sea fist. The environment tested them to the limits: sometimes the settlers were successful, sometimes they failed and disappeared. But around a thousand years ago, one group appeared that was uniquely well adapted to deal with the Arctic environment. These Thule people moved in from Alaska, bringing dogs, iron tools and the like. They are the ancestors of today’s Inuit people.Which of the following is not likely to be the effect of
climate change?
| A．Shorter and shorter summertime. |
B．Ice-free summer around th e Arctic. |
| C．Higher sea levels. |
| D．More dloudy skies. |
The Inuit people believe the solution to the climate change problem is .
| A．to change their way of life |
| B．to use their ancestral knowledge |
| C．to make the best of modem science |
| D．to use their ancestral knowledge and modern science |
It can be c
oncluded from the last paragraph that .
| A．the first settlers in the Arctic survived by taking advantage of sea fish |
| B．it’s hard to farm in the Arctic due to the climate change |
| C．the ancestors of Inuit people stood out among the settlers |
| D．the Thule people from Alaska invented iron tools |
Which of the following is the best title of this passage?
| A．Climate change and the Inuit |
| B．Climate change around the Arctic |
| C．Global warming around the world |
| D．The Inuit and their ancestors around the world |
Are you a problem shopper? The answer is “Yes” , if you or someone else thinks that you sometimes get carried away with shopping .In other words ,do you or does someone else think you are occupied in extreme shopping ? If people have regrets later about their shopping , or have an “out-of-control” feeling about the quantities of what they buy or the amount of credit they use , they may be considered to be problem shoppers.
Extreme shopping can lead to a more serious problem –addictive shopping . Addictive shoppers feel driven by the desire to shop and spend money . They experience great tension which drives them to shop and spend money and they feel a “rush” during the time they are occupied with the shopping activity.
Extreme or addictive shopping may result from long-time unpleasant feelings, of which anxiety ,pain and shame are common ones,. When we feel bad inside ,we often do something to make ourselves feel better . In this case ,we often go shopping .
A few people shop to relieve their boredom or emptiness .For some people ,the motivation is a desire for status ,power ,beauty or success .Some love to shop as it makes them feel valued in the eyes of the shop assistants .Others shop simply because it makes them forget , at least temporarily , tension ,fear or unhappiness in their life.
Besides ,shopping malls are designed to encourage continual shopping . For instance ,there are some malls where you can’t see clocks displaying the time because they don’t want you to become too aware of the time you spend there .What’s more ,food courts, coffee shops and restrooms are provided ,so you don’t have to leave the mall because of your physical needs.
Therefore ,once you become aware of how market forces work ,you will certainly come to control your shopping behavior .For example ,how much time you will spend an d what areas you will visit can be decided before you enter the mall. Keep a written account of what items you will buy and how much money you will spend . Make a plan for what you are going to buy before you feel the urge to shop and then stick to it . That is vital for gaining self0control.Which of the following people may not be problem shoppers?
| A．Those who cannot control the amount of credit they use. |
| B．Those who just walk around the shopping malls. |
| C．Those who are occupied in too much shopping. |
| D．Those who feel sorry for their shopping. |
According to the passage, what may not result in addictive shopping?
| A．The awareness of how market forces work. |
| B．The desire for status ,power ,beauty or success. |
| C．Boredom, emptiness ,tension ,fear or unhappiness in people’s life. |
| D．Long-time bad feelings of anxiety ,pain and shame. |
What does the author suggest to control our shopping behaviour?
| A．Never going to the shopping malls because there are many tricks. |
| B．Applying for a credit card before we go shopping. |
| C．Making the shopping time as short as possible. |
| D．Making a shopping list before we go shopping. |
The author writes this passage to .
| A．inform the shopping malls how to attract more shoppers |
| B．provide solutions to the problem shopping. |
| C．scold the problem shoppers |
| D．tell a shopping story |
Eddie’s father used to say he’d spent so many years by the ocean, breathing seawater .Now, away from that ocean ,in the hospital bed ,his body began to look like a beached fish. His condition went from fair to stable and from stable to serious .Friends went from saying , “He’ll be home in a day,” to “He’ll be home in a week .” In his father’s absence ,Eddie helped out at the pier(码头), working evenings after his taxi job.
When Eddie was a teenager ,if he ever complained or seemed bored with the pier ,his father would shout, “What ? This isn’t good enough for you?” And later ,when he’d suggested Eddie take a job there after high school ,Eddie almost laughed, and his father again s
aid, “What? This isn’t good enough for you ?” And before Eddie went to war , when he’d talked of marrying Marguerite and becoming an engineer ,his father said , “What? This isn’t good enough for you ?”
And now ,regardless of all that ,here he was ,at the pier ,doing his father’s labor.
Parents rarely let go of their children ,so children let go of them .They move on. They move away .It is not until much later, as the heart weakens ,that children understand ;their stories, and all their accomplishments ,sit on top of the stories of their mothers and fathers ,stones upon stones , beneath the waters of their lives.
Finally ,one night ,
at his mother’s urging ,Eddie visited the hospital .He entered the room slowly .His father ,who for years had refused to speak to Eddie ,now lacked the strength to even try.
“Don’t sweat it ,kid,” the other workers told him. “Your old man will pull through .He’s the toughest man we’ve ever seen.”
When the news came that his father had died ,Eddie felt the emptiest kind of anger ,the kind that circles in its cage.
In the weeks that followed, Eddie’s mother lived in a confused state . She spoke to her husband as if he were still there .She yelled at him to turn down the radio . She cooked enough food for two .One night ,when Eddie offered to help with the dishes ,she said. “Your father will put them away.” Eddie put a hand on her shoulder. “Ma,” he said ,softly , “Dad’s gone.”
“Gone where?”In Paragraph 4, the writer indicates that .
| A．Children like moving away from them parents |
| B．Children often feel regretful because they leave their parents |
| C．Children wouldn’t have achieved so much without their parents’ support |
| D．Children can never understand how much their parents have devoted to them |
The underlined sentence probably means “ ”.
| A．Don’t give it up | B．Don’t worry about it |
| C．Don’t let him down | D．Don’t touch it |
Which of the following shows the right order of the story?
a．Eddie’s father died.
b．Eddie worked as a taxi driver.
c．Eddie married Marguerite.
d．Eddie was bored with his father’s job.
| A．baed | B．deab | C．beda | D．deba |
From the last part of the passage ,we learn that .
A．Eddie’s mother liked to l isten to the radio |
| B．Eddie often helped his mother wash the dishes |
| C．Eddie and his wife lived in his mother’s apartment |
| D．Eddie’s mother missed her husband so much that she was at a loss |
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