Question

New York is one of the last large American cities to have some of its policemen on horseback.The New York police have 170 horses working on certain parts of the city.The horses are expensive to feed(喂養), but it is even more expensive to look after them.Because the horses must walk on the streets, they need special horse shoes.In fact, they need more than 8,000 of them each day.Every police horse in New York gets new shoes every month.Keeping these shoes in good repair is the job of six blacksmiths(鐵匠).There are only about thirty-five blacksmiths in the whole United States.

The cost of shoeing a horse is between twenty dollars and thirty-five dollars and it takes a good blacksmith two or three hours to do the job.

A blacksmith’s job is not an easy one.He must be able to shape a shoe from a piece of metal and then fit(安裝) it to the horse foot.The blacksmith must bend over(彎腰) all the time when he is fitting the shoe and must hold the weight(重量) of the horse’s leg while he works.Clearly, a blacksmith must be very strong.But even more important, he must be able to deal with horses-for before the blacksmith can begin his work, he has to get the horse to lift his leg.

One of the blacksmiths in New York is James Corbin.He came to the country from Ireland in 1948.He not only makes horseshoes for the police but also works for a group of horse owners near the city.Corbin became interested in the job of blacksmiths because his father did it, and, as he puts it, “It’s a good way to make a living.”

1.According to the passage, a blacksmith must be a man.

A.clever B.rich C.strong D.lucky

2.James Corbin became a blacksmith because he .

A.was interested in horses

B.was needed by the policemen

C.drew a picture of the horse shoes

D.had to make a living

3.In the passage “to shape a shoe” is to .

A.fit it on the horse’s foot

B.use it for two or three hours

C.make the form of a horseshoe from a piece of metal

D.draw a picture of the shoe

4.The best title for the passage is “ ”.

A.Policemen on Horseback

B.Blacksmiths and Horseshoeing

C.James Corbin, a Blacksmith

D.Horseshoeing Is a Good Way to Make a Living

5.Which of the following is true?

A.Only a few large American cities have some policemen on horseback.

B.New York is the only city in America to have some policemen on horseback.

C.Policemen on horseback enjoy travelling around the United States.

D.Policemen on horseback are less expensive than those in cars.

Answer 1