Question

From the beginning of human history, wild animals provided food, clothing and sometimes medicine for man. We may not depend as much on wild animals now. But we hear about them every day. Americans use the names of animals in many ways. Automobile manufacturers and gasoline companies especially like to use big cats to sell their products. They like lions, tigers and wildcats. When Americans say wildcat, they usually mean a lynx, an ocelot or a bobcat. All these cats attack quickly and fiercely. So wildcats represent something fast and fierce.   www.zxxk.com

     An early American use of the word wildcat was quite different. It was used to describe members of Congress who declared war on Britain in 1812. A magazine of that year said the wildcat congressmen went home. It said they were unable to face the responsibility of having involved their country in an unnecessary war.

     Wildcat also has been used as a name for money in the 1800s. At that time, some states permitted banks to make their own money. One bank in the state of Michigan offered paper money with a picture of a wildcat on it. Some banks, however, did not have enough gold to support all the paper money they offered. So the money had little or no value. It was called a wildcat bill or a wildcat banknote. The banks who offered this money were called wildcat banks. A newspaper of the time said those were the days of wildcat money. It said a man might be rich in the morning and poor by night.

     Wildcat then was also used for an oil well or gold mine that had almost no oil or gold in it. Dishonest developers would buy such property. Then they would sell it and leave town with the money. The buyers were left with worthless holes in the ground. Today, wildcat oil wells are in areas that are not known to have oil.

1.What is the main idea of the passage?

A. Wildcats and their stories.

B. Wildcats and their characters.

C. Varieties of animal species.

D. Relationship between animals and humans.

2.The underlined words "a lynx, an ocelot or a bobcat" in Paragraph 1 may refer to "__________".

A. gasoline companies       B. automobile manufacturers

C. brands of automobile              D. names of wildcats

3.Which of the following would people like to have or trust according to the passage?

A. Wildcat congressmen.            B. Wildcat oil wells.

C. Wildcat banks.                   D. Wildcat cars.

4.It can be inferred that during the days of wildcat money__________.

A. people couldn't buy anything with the money

B. people complained and suffered a lot

C. the rich invested too much on oil wells

D. people didn't know how to save money

Answer

1.A

2.C

3.D

4.B

【解析】

试题分析：本文介绍了在美国野生动物尤其是野猫在社会历史上的一些引申意义小故事。

1.推断题：通读全文可知野猫在美国历史的故事。故选A。

2.细节题：根据文章第一段“ Automobile manufacturers and gasoline companies especially like to use big cats to sell their products.”汽车制造商和汽油公司特别喜欢使用大型猫科动物来销售他们的产品。故选C。

3.推断题：根据文章第一段“So wildcats represent something fast and fierce”野猫汽车代表着速度和激情；根据文章第二段“It said they were unable to face the responsibility of having involved their country in an unnecessary war”它说他们无法面对使他们国家参与一场不必要战争的责任，这里“they”代表着“Wildcat congressmen”；根据第三段“ Some banks, however, did not have enough gold to support all the paper money they offered. So the money had little or no value. It was called a wildcat bill or a wildcat banknote.”然而，一些银行没有足够的黄金支持他们发行的纸币。所以这种钱很少或没有价值。它被叫做野猫票据或野猫纸币；根据第三段“Wildcat then was also used for an oil well or gold mine that had almost no oil or gold in it.”野猫那时也通常用于那些几乎不产油或金子的油田或金矿。由此可知能使人产生信任的只有D, 故选D。

4.推断题：根据文章第三段“ A newspaper of the time said those were the days of wildcat money. It said a man might be rich in the morning and poor by night”当时的一份报纸说道，那是一个非常靠不住的时代。那是说一个早上腰缠万贯的人，到了晚上就有可能变得一贫如洗。可知那时人们对此事有怨言的，故选B。

考点：考查社会历史类短文阅读