Question

    Oink! The Year of the Pig is coming. How much do you know about pigs? Do you like them? Many people don’t because they believe that pigs are naturally fat, lazy and dirty. But are any of those things true?

It is true that pigs are fat. They eat a lot. But they are useful to us. We get more than just pork from pigs. We can use their skin to make shoes. We can use their hair to make brushes. Pigs also provide us with ingredients for drugs like insulin (胰岛素). Insulin can treat diabetes (糖尿病)

People sometimes say, “You are as stupid as a pig.” But pigs are not stupid. In fact, pigs are one of the 10 smartest animals. They have a good memory and can tell different shapes apart. Many experts think pigs are easier to train than dogs or cats. In France, people teach pigs to find truffles (松露). With their good sense of smell they can find truffles even faster than dogs.

When you see pigs, they are usually in dirty water or mud. That’s because pigs have no sweat glands (汗腺). On hot days, they have to cool themselves in water or mud. This keeps insects of them as well. Mud can also protect their skin from sunburns.

These stereotypes about pigs often make us hold a negative view about the animal. For example, if someone eats a lot, we say that they have “pigged out”. If someone’s room is very mess, we might say his or her room looks like a pigsty (猪圈).

But people in ancient China really liked pigs. People thought the pig’s big head and ears were a symbol of good luck. If someone had a round and chubby (胖乎乎的) face, he or she was thought to be blessed (有福气的). People also believed the animal stood for wealth, as humans use every part of the pig. Piggy banks are a symbol of this. Most children have a piggy bank that they can use to save money.

1.People can use pigs’ skin to ______.

A.make clothes. B.make insulin. C.make shoes D.make brushes

2.According to the passage, pigs can ______.

A.tell one hundred different colors apart.

B.find truffles with their good eyesight.

C.be of great help to people like dogs.

D.get away from insects with their masters’ help.

3.Which of the following best explained the underlined word “stereotypes?

A.fixed ideas B.feelings C.mistakes D.descriptions

4.Why did the people in ancient China like pigs?

A.People thought the pig’s big head and ears were a symbol of good luck

B.People believed the animal stood for health.

C.People knew pigs were one of the 10 smartest animals.

D.People thought pies were blessed by god.

5.The writer wrote this passage mainly to ______.

A.tell readers that pigs are not stupid, dirty or fat at all

B.criticize people who don’t really know about pigs.

C.point out that pigs can do a lot of things for people.

D.help people know more about the pigs.

Answer

1.C

2.C

3.A

4.A

5.D

【解析】

这篇短文讲述的是人们对猪总是有成见，觉得它们又胖、又懒、又脏，其实这些想法都是错误的。猪对于我们来说非常有用，它们也非常聪明、嗅觉敏锐。古代的人们认为猪是福气和财运的象征。

1.细节理解题。根据短文第二段 “We can use their skin to make shoes.”可知，我们可以用猪皮做鞋。故选C。

2.细节理解题。根据短文第三段 “In France, people teach pigs to find truffles (松露). With heir god sense of smell they can find truffles even faster than dogs”可知，猪可以用它们敏锐的嗅觉，像狗一样帮助人们寻找松露，它对人们来说是有帮助的，故选C，同时也可以排除B。根据这一段 “They have a good memory and can tell different shapes apart.”可知A不对；根据第四段 “On hot days, they have to cool themselves in water or mud. This keeps insects of them as well.”可知D不对。故选C。

3.词义猜测题。根据短文第一段 “Many people don’t because they believe that pigs are naturally fat, lazy and dirty. But are any of those things true?”可知，很多人不喜欢猪是因为他们认为猪又胖、又懒、又脏。而根据第二段到第四段的介绍可知，人们的这些看法是错误的。这个单词指的就是人们对猪固有的想法，即fixed ideas，故选A。

4.细节理解题。根据短文最后一段 “But people in ancient China really liked pigs. People thought the pig’s big head and ears were a symbol of good luck.”可知，古代的中国人非常喜欢猪，因为他们认为猪的大头和大耳朵是好运的象征。故选A。

5.主旨大意题。根据文意可知，短文先介绍了人们对猪的一些错误看法，然后告诉了我们关于猪的一些事实，让人们更多地了解了猪这种动物，故D选项“帮助人们更多地了解猪”最符合文意，故选D。