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.
65．Before domestication horses were ______.
A．caught for sports B．hunted for food
C．made to pull ploughs D．used to carry people
66．The author uses the Shetland horse as an example to show ______.
A．it is smaller than the Clydesdale horse
B．horses used to have gentle personalities
C．some horses have better shapes than others
D．horses were of less variety before domestication
67．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
68．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
The deadliest Ebola(埃博拉病毒) outbreak in recorded history is happening right now. The outbreak is unprecedented(空前的) both in the number of people who have gotten sick and in the geographic scope. And so far it’s been a long battle that doesn’t appear to be slowing down.
Ebola is both rare and very deadly. Since the first outbreak in 1976, Ebola viruses have infected thousands of people and killed roughly killed 60 percent of them. Symptoms can come on quickly and kill fast.
The current outbreak started in Guinea sometime in late 2013 or early 2014. It has since spread to Sierra Leone and Liberia, including some capital cities. And one infected patient traveled on a plane to Nigeria, where he spread the disease to several others and then died. Cases have also popped up in various other countries throughout the world, including in Dallas and New York City in the United States.
The Ebola virus has now hit many countries, including Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Senegal, and the United States. The virus, which starts off with flu-like symptoms and sometimes ends with bleeding, has infected about 6,500 people and killed more than 3,000 since this winter, according to the World Health Organization on September 30, 2014.
There are some social and political factors contributing to the current disaster. Because this is the first major Ebola outbreak in West Africa, many of the region’s health workers didn’t have experience or training in how to protect themselves or care for patients with this disease.
Journalist David Quammen put it well in a recent New York Times article, “Ebola is more dangerous to humans than perhaps any known virus on Earth, except rabies(狂犬病) and HIV. And it does its damage much faster than either.”
Hopefully, researchers are working to find drugs, including a recent $50 million push at the National Institutes of Health. And scientists are working on vaccines(疫苗), including looking into ones that might be able to help wild chimpanzees, which are also susceptible to the disease. The first human Ebola vaccine trial is scheduled to start in the spring of 2015.According to the passage, which of the following about Ebola is true?
| A．The Ebola outbreak now is the biggest one in history. |
| B．Ebola breaks out quickly but it is under control now. |
| C．Ebola is deadly and common so it kills a lot of people. |
| D．Ebola killed about 60 thousand people quickly in 1976. |
The Ebola virus was brought to Nigeria by .
| A．a flying bird |
| B．an infected passenger |
| C．hot African weather |
| D．a health organization |
The symptoms of Ebola at the beginning are more like those of .
| A．flu | B．rabies |
| C．HIV/AIDS | D．internal bleeding |
The last paragraph mainly tells us that .
| A．it will be a huge waste when researchers spend lots of money finding a cure |
| B．the vaccines can be effective to wild chimpanzees but not to the humans |
| C．there will be an optimistic future in which we can defeat the disease |
| D．we can use the vaccine to cure the patients completely in 2015’s spring |
What is the best title of the passage?
| A．Ebola ---- The African Local Disaster |
| B．Ebola ---- The Newly-Found Disease |
| C．Ebola ---- A More Effective Vaccine |
| D．Ebola ---- The Deadly Virus Outbreak |
Liz had been bleeding for a long time! She was my closest professional colleague and good friend at the time when we worked in an IT company. It was her first day back at work after an operation and I thought she should have taken a few more days to recover.
Realizing that we couldn’t stop the bleeding, we headed to the emergency room and spent hours there waiting to be seen. After the treatment, I drove her to my apartment. I had to leave her in my apartment while I dashed off to take a final exam for a very important course I was taking. Upon my return, we decided Liz was in a good enough condition to sustain a trip back from my Northern Virginia apartment to her home in Maryland.
Although it was nearly midnight and we were both exhausted, we still decided to set off. Unfortunately, in a not particularly safe part of town, we heard my car make a strange noise, and then ti was shaking violently as we drove along. Quickly, I stopped the car in the road and found a tire had blown out. Not knowing how to change a tire and feeling scared, I was trying out to figure out what to do next. Liz, weak from losing all that blood all day and weighing only about eighty pounds to begin with, came out and tried to help me. I had to scream at her to get back in the car and relax.
Within seconds, a taxi pulled up behind us. A huge man appeared and began walking toward us. I felt that the blood drained out of my face and I nearly fainted in fear.
“Got a flat tire, girls?” he asked.
“Yes,” I answered in a trembling voice.
In no time at all, the man changed the tire for us and rushed off back to his taxi. He refused any payment and did not even tell me his name. He would never know how badly we needed his services that particular evening. And I, with a grateful heart, will never forget his kindness.The author thought that Liz was bleeding because .
| A．she worked too hard in an IT company |
| B．she had an operation but didn’t rest enough |
| C．she hurt herself in the workplace carelessly |
| D．she had a long trip from her house to the company |
What was the author doing when Liz was in her apartment?
| A．She was seeing a doctor. | B．She was waiting for help. |
| C．She was taking an exam. | D．She was travelling in Maryland. |
According to the paragraph 3, which of the following is true?
| A．The author decided to send Liz back because they rested well. |
| B．The car’s tire blew out when they reached a safe place in the town. |
| C．The author felt puzzled as she didn’t know how to change tire. |
| D．Liz came out to help because she was strong enough. |
Seeing the man coming out of the taxi, the author felt .
| A．frightened | B．delighted | C．annoyed | D．Excited |
The passage is intended to .
| A．report a medical emergency |
| B．show us how to change a car tire |
| C．warn us of the danger in the town |
| D．tell us about a midnight assistance |
Poet William Stafford once said that we are defined more by the detours(绕行路) in life than by the narrow road toward goals. I like this image. But it was quite by accident that I discovered the deep meaning of his words.
For years we made the long drive from our home in Seattle to my parents' home in Boise in nine hours. We traveled the way most people do: the fastest, shortest, easiest road, especially when I was alone with four noisy, restless kids who hate confinement(限制) and have strong opinions about everything.
Road trips felt risky，so I would drive fast, stopping only when I had to. We would stick to the freeways and arrive tired.
But then Banner, our lamb was born. He was rejected by his mama days before our planned trip to Boise. I had two choices: leave Banner with my husband, or take him with me. My husband made the decision for me.
That is how I found myself on the road with four kids, a baby lamb and nothing but my everlasting optimism to see me through. We took the country roads out of necessity. We had to stop every hour, let Banner shake out his legs and feed him. The kids chased him and one another. They'd get back in the car breathless and energized, smelling fresh from the cold air.
We explored side roads, catching grasshoppers in waist－high grass. Even if we simply looked out of the car windows at baby pigs following their mother, or fish leaping out of the water, it was better than the best ride down the freeway. Here was life. And new horizons(见识)．
We eventually arrived at my parents' doorstep astonishingly fresh and full of stories.
I grew brave with the trip back home and creative with my disciplining technique. On an empty section of road, everyone started quarreling. I stopped the car, ordered all kids out and told them to meet me up ahead. I parked my car half a mile away and read my book in sweet silence.
Some road trips are by necessity fast and straight. But that trip with Banner opened our eyes to a world available to anyone adventurous enough to wander around and made me realize that a detour may uncover the best part of journey—and the best part of yourself.Why did the author use to take freeways to her parents' home?
| A．It was less tiring. |
| B．It would be faster and safer. |
| C．Her kids would feel less confined. |
| D．She felt better with other drivers nearby. |
The author stopped regularly on the country roads to ________．
| A．relax in the fresh air |
| B．take a deep breath |
| C．take care of the lamb |
| D．let the kids play with Banner |
Why did the author ask the kids to get out of the car on their way back home?
| A．To give herself some time to read. |
| B．To order some food for them. |
| C．To play a game with them. |
| D．To let them cool down. |
What could be the best title for the passage?
| A．Charm of the Detour |
| B．The Road to Bravery |
| C．Creativity out of Necessity |
| D．Road Trip and Country Life |
Children have their own rules in playing games. They seldom need a referee (裁判) and rarely trouble to keep scores. They don’t care much about who wins or loses, and it doesn’t seem to worry them if the game is not finished. Yet, they like games that depend a lot on luck, so that their personal abilities cannot be directly compared. They also enjoyed games that move in stages, in which each stage, the choosing of leaders, the picking-up of sides, or the determining of which side shall start, is almost a game in itself.
Grown-ups can hardly find children’s game exciting, and they often feel puzzled at why their kids play such simple game again and again. However, it is found that a child plays games for very important reasons. He can be a good player without having to think whether he is a popular person, and he can find himself being a useful partner to someone of whom he is ordinary afraid. He becomes a leader when it comes to his turn. He can be confident, too, in particular games, that it is his place to give orders, to pretend to be dead, to throw a ball actually at someone, or to kiss someone he has caught.
It appears to us that when children play a game they imagine a situation under their control. Everyone knows the rules, and more importantly, everyone plays according to the rules. Those rules may be childish, but they make sure that every child has a chance to win.What is true about children when they play games?
| A．They can stop playing any time they like. |
| B．They can test their personal abilities. |
| C．They want to pick a better team. |
| D．They don’t need rules. |
To become a leader in a game the child has to _________.
| A．be a useful partner |
| B．wait for his turn |
| C．be confident in himself |
| D．be popular among his playmates |
Why does a child like playing games?
| A．Because he can be someone other than himself. |
| B．Because he can become popular among friends. |
| C．Because he finds he is always lucky in games. |
| D．Because he likes the place where he plays a game. |
Which is the best title for this passage?
| A．Rules in Children’s Games |
| B．Advantages of Playing Games for Children |
| C．Reasons for Children’s Games |
| D．How to Be a Popular Game Player |
New York, 10 November — 5:27 pm, yesterday. Biggest power failure in the city’s history.
* Thousands of people got stuck in lifts. Martin Saltzman spent three hours between the 21st and 22nd floors of the Empire State Building. “There were twelve of us. But no one panicked. We passed the time telling stories and playing word games. One man wanted to smoke but we didn’t let him. Firemen finally got us out.”
* “It was the best night we’ve ever had,” said Angela Carraro, who runs an Italian restaurant on 42nd Street. “We had lots of candles on the tables and the waiters were carrying candles on their trays. The place was full — and all night, in fact, for after we had closed, we let the people stay on and spend the night here.”
* The zoos had their problems like everyone else. Keepers worked through the night. They used blankets to keep flying squirrels and small monkeys warm. While zoos had problem keeping warm, supermarkets had problems keeping cool. “All of our ice cream and frozen foods melted,” said the manager of a store in downtown Manhattan. “They were worth $ 50,000.”
* The big electric clock in the lobby(大厅) of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in downtown Manhattan started ticking again at 5:25 this morning. It was almost on time.Throughout the period of darkness, Martin Saltzman and the eleven others were _________.
| A．nervous | B．excited | C．calm | D．frightened |
In what way was the night of November 9 the best night for Angela Carraro?
| A．She had a taste of adventure. |
| B．Burning candles brightened the place. |
| C．Business was better than usual. |
| D．Many people stayed the night in her restaurant. |
How long did the power failure last?
| A．Nearly 12 hours. | B．More than 12 hours. |
| C．Nearly 24 hours. | D．More than 24 hours. |