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. 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 the 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 a 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 from 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.A

2.D

3.C

4.B

5.A

【解析】

试题分析：本文主要内容：纽约是美国最后一个仍然保有部分骑警的大城市之一。纽约警方共有170匹马；养马的费用相当昂贵，而更昂贵的则是照料它们。由于马匹要在街上行进，他们需要一种特殊的蹄铁，特别介绍了铁匠制造马鞋的情况。

1.A考查推理题。由第三段,第最后一句“Clearly, a blacksmith must be very storng. 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.”可以推知他很聪明。选A。

2.D考查细节理解题。由文中最后一段“It’s a good way to make a living”可知答案是D

3.C考查猜词题。shape 在此的意思为动词，就是帮助塑形，根据下文then fit it to the horse's foot.及语境理解可知to shape a shoe意思是用铁制作马的鞋；答案选C

4.B考查主旨理解题。根据本文主要内容，可推知本文的主题是“blacksmiths and Horseshoeing”选B

5.

考点：考查社会生活类阅读。