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 in certain parts of the city. The horses are expensive to feed, but it is even more expensive to look after them. Because the horses must walk on the streets, they need special horseshoes. In fact, they need more than 8,000 of them each year. 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 of these 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 it to the horse’s foot. The blacksmith must bend over all the time when he is fitting the shoe and must hold the weight 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 its 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 blacksmithing because his father did it, and, as he puts it, “It’s a good way to make a living.”

1.According to the reading passage, a blacksmith must be likely 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 horseshoe

D. had to make a living

3.In the reading 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

【答案】

 

1.C

2.D

3.C

4.B

5.A

【解析】

試題分析：短文大意：紐約是最后有馬背上的警察的美國大城市之一。紐約警察有170匹馬在城市的某些地方工作。飼養馬匹很貴，但更昂貴的是照顧他們。因為馬要在街道上行走，他們需要特殊的馬蹄鐵。修理這些馬掌是六個鐵匠的工作。在全美國，只有大約三十五個這樣的鐵匠。釘馬掌的成本是二十美元和三十五美元之間，而它需要一個好的鐵匠，兩個或三個小時來做這項工作。顯然，一個鐵匠必須很強壯。但更重要的是，他必須能夠對付馬---在鐵匠開始他的工作時，他不得不讓馬抬起腿。

1.細節理解題。根據第二段第三句Clearly, a blacksmith must be very strong.（顯然，一個鐵匠必須很強壯。）可知選C。

2.細節理解題。根據文章最后一句話Corbin became interested in blacksmithing because his father did it, and, as he puts it, “It’s a good way to make a living.” （Corbin對鐵匠感興趣是因為他的父親是鐵匠，并且，正如他所說，“這是謀生的好辦法。”）可知選D。

3.詞義猜測題。根據句子He must be able to shape a shoe from a piece of metal and then fit it to the horse’s foot.（他必須能夠打造馬蹄形金屬鞋，然后把它裝到馬的腳上）可知選C。

4.標題歸納題。本文主要介紹了鐵匠和訂馬掌，所以選B。

5.細節理解題。根據文章前三句話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 in certain parts of the city. The horses are expensive to feed, but it is even more expensive to look after them.（紐約是最后有馬背上的警察的美國大城市之一。紐約警察有170匹馬在城市的某些地方工作。飼養馬匹很貴，但更昂貴的是照顧他們。）可知該選A。

考點：社會現象類短文閱讀。