Question

B

Domestic (馴養(yǎng)的) horses now pull ploughs, race in the Kentucky Derby, and carry police. But early horses weren’t tame (馴服的) 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 (礦井) 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

Answer 1

【小題1】B

【小題2】D

【小題3】C

【小題4】D

解析:

【小題1】從第二段第一句可以看出，幾千年以前，人們捕殺野馬作為食物。

【小題2】考查對說明方法的理解能力。第四段第二句說明，在人們開始馴養(yǎng)馬之前，馬的種類并不多。本段第三句就以The Shetland horse 這種馬為例來解釋本段第二句的觀點(diǎn)。

【小題3】考查細(xì)節(jié)理解的能力。從文中最后一句可以看出，使用馬作為新型、快捷的交通工具，有助于世界文化的傳播。

【小題4】考查細(xì)節(jié)理解的能力。前四段說明，人類馴養(yǎng)了野馬，使得馬的種類繁多，這是人類社會對馬的影響；最后一段說明，馬作為交通工具加速了人類文化傳播的進(jìn)程。