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(喂养), 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(铁匠).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(安装) it to the horse foot. The blacksmith must bend over(弯腰) 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.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.

5.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

Answer

1.C

2.D

3.C

4.A

5.B

【解析】

本文讲述了纽约警察局的马及为马做鞋的铁匠。喂养马费用高，照顾马更贵，为了让马在街道上行走，它们需要特殊的马鞋。维修马鞋是六位铁匠的工作。一双马鞋要20到35美元，这需要一位好的铁匠二、三个小时。铁匠的工作不容易，他们要弯下腰并且承受马腿的重要。短文还介绍了继承父业的铁匠科尔宾。

1.细节理解题。根据“a blacksmith must be very strong”，可知一名鞋匠一定很强壮，故选C。

2.细节理解题。根据“It’s a good way to make a living”，可知他认为这是一种好的谋生方式，故选D。

3.词义猜测题。A. fit it on the horse’s foot合马的脚；B. use it for two or three hours用两、三小时；C. make the form of a horseshoe from a piece of metal用一块金属做成马鞋的形式；D. draw a picture of the shoe 画一只鞋的图片。根据“He must be able to shape a shoe from a piece of metal and then fit it to the horse foot”，可知他必须要能用一块金属to shape a shoe然后把它装在马脚上，可以推测出是做成鞋的形状，故选C。

4.推理判断题。根据“New York is one of the last large American cities to have some of its policemen on horseback”和“There are only about thirty-five blacksmiths in the whole United States”，可知纽约是美国最后拥有骑马的警察的大城市之一，而整个美国只有35个为马做鞋的鞋匠。由此可以推测出美国有骑马的警察的大城市不多。故选A。

5.主旨大意题。通读全文，可知文章主要讲述了纽约警察局的马及为马做鞋的铁匠，故选B。