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.
1.Before domestication horses were ______.
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A．caught for sports |
B．hunted for food |
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C．made to pull ploughs |
D．used to carry people |
2.The author uses the Shetland horse as an example to show ______.
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A．it is smaller than the Clydesdale horse |
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B．horses used to have gentle personalities |
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C．some horses have better shapes than others |
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D．horses were of less variety before domestication |
3.Horses contributed to the spread of culture by ______.
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A．carrying heavy loads |
B．changing farming methods |
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C．serving as a means of transport |
D．advancing agriculture in different areas |
4.The passage is mainly about _______.
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A．why humans domesticated horses |
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B．how humans and horses needed each other |
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C．why horses came in different shapes and sizes |
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D．how human societies and horses influenced each other |
Margaret, married with two small children, has been working for the last seven years as a night cleaner, cleaning offices in a big building.
She trained as a nurse, but had to give it up when her elder child became seriously ill. “I would have liked to go back to it, but the shifts（工作班次）are all wrong for me, as I have to be home to get the children up and off to school.”
So she works as a cleaner instead, from 9 p.m. till 6 a.m. five nights a week for just ￡90, before tax and insurance. “It’s better than it was last year, but I still think that people who work ‘unsocial hours’ should get a bit extra.”
The hours she’s chosen to work mean that she sees plenty of the children, but very little of her husband. However, she doesn’t think that puts any pressure on their relationship.
Her work isn’t physically very hard, but it’s not exactly pleasant, either. “I do get angry with people who leave their offices like a place for raising pigs. If they realized people like me have to do it, perhaps they’d be a bit more careful.”
The fact that she’s working all night doesn’t worry Margaret at all. Unlike some dark buildings at night, the building where she works is fully lit, and the women work in groups of three. “Since I’ve got to be here, I try to enjoy myself—— and I usually do, because of the other girls. We all have a good laugh, so the time never drags.”
Another challenge Margaret has to face is the reaction of other people when she tells them what she does for a living. “They think you’re a cleaner because you don’t know how to read and write,” said Margaret, “I used to think what my parents would say if they knew what I’d been doing, but I don’t think that way any more. I don’t dislike the work though I can’t say I’m mad about it.”
1.Margaret quit her job as a nurse because _______.
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A．she wanted to earn more money to support her family |
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B．she had suffered a lot of mental pressure |
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C．she needed the right time to look after her children |
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D．she felt tired of taking care of patients |
2.Margaret gets angry with people who work in the office because _______.
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A．they never clean their offices |
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B．they look down upon cleaners |
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C．they never do their work carefully |
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D．they always make a mess in their offices |
3.When at work, Margaret feels _______.
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A．light-hearted because of her fellow workers |
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B．happy because the building is fully lit |
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C．tired because of the heavy workload |
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D．bored because time passes slowly |
4.The underlined part in the last paragraph implies that Margaret’s parents would _______.
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A．help care for her children |
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B．regret what they had said |
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C．show sympathy for her |
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D．feel disappointed in her |
阅读下面短文，从短文后所给各题的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出可以填入
空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
I believe in my mother. My belief began when I was just a kid, when I 41 becoming a doctor.
My mother was a 42 . Through her work, she observed that 43 people spent a lot more time 44 than they did watching television. She announced that my brother and I could only watch two to three 45 TV programs during the week. With our free time, we had to read two books each week from the Detroit Public Library and 46 written book reports to her. She would mark them up with check markers and underline the 47 parts. Years later we realized her marks were a 48 . My mother was illiterate(文盲). Although we had no money, 49 the covers of those books, I could go anywhere, do anything and be anybody.
When I entered high school, I was an A-student, but not for 50 . I wanted the fancy clothes. I wanted to hang about with the guys. I went from being an A-student to a B-student and to a C-student, but I didn’t 51 . I was cool.
One night my mother came home after her several jobs and I 52 about not having enough Italian knit shirts. She said, “Okay, I’ll give you the money I 53 this week by rubbing floors and cleaning bathrooms and you can buy the family food and pay the bills. With 54 left over, you can have all that you want.” I was very 55 with that arrangement. But once I got through 56 money, there was nothing left. I realized my mother was a financial genius to be able to keep a(n) 57 over our heads and any kind of food on the table. I was also 58 that immediate satisfaction wasn’t going to get me anywhere. Success 59 intellectual(知识上的) preparation. I went back to my studies and became an A-student again, and 60 I realized my dream and I became a doctor.
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______ is often the case, many Chinese parents save enough money for their children’s further education.
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A．Which |
B．That |
C． As |
D．Where |
Little Bob is often educated by his parents to be good and friendly to anybody even if ________.
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A．attacking |
B．is attacked |
C．to be attacked |
D．attacked |
--- Mike, it’s a pity you didn’t come to last night’s concert. It was really great!
--- Really? If I ________ so busy, I would have gone with you.
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A．hadn’t been |
B．weren’t |
C．shouldn’t be |
D．wouldn’t be |
