Question

From the beginning of human history, wild animals provided food, clothing and sometimes medicine for man. We may not depend as much on wild animals now. But we hear about them every day. Americans use the names of animals in many ways. Automobile manufacturers and gasoline companies especially like to use big cats to sell their products. They like lions, tigers and wildcats. When Americans say wildcat, they usually mean a lynx, an ocelot or a bobcat. All these cats attack quickly and fiercely. So wildcats represent something fast and fierce.

An early American use of the word wildcat was quite different. It was used to describe members of Congress who declared war on Britain in 1812. A magazine of that year said the wildcat congressmen went home. It said they were unable to face the responsibility of having involved their country in an unnecessary war.

Wildcat also has been used as a name for money in the 1800s. At that time, some states permitted banks to make their own money. One bank in the state of Michigan offered paper money with a picture of a wildcat on it. Some banks, however, did not have enough gold to support all the paper money they offered. So the money had little or no value. It was called a wildcat bill or a wildcat banknote. The banks who offered this money were called wildcat banks. A newspaper of the time said those were the days of wildcat money. It said a man might be rich in the morning and poor by night.

Wildcat then was also used for an oil well or gold mine that had almost no oil or gold in it. Dishonest developers would buy such property. Then they would sell it and leave town with the money. The buyers were left with worthless holes in the ground. Today, wildcat oil wells are in areas that are not known to have oil.

1.What is the main idea of the passage?

A. Wildcats and their stories.

B. Wildcats and their characters.

C. Varieties of animal species.

D. Relationship between animals and humans.

2.The underlined words "a lynx, an ocelot or a bobcat" in Paragraph 1 may refer to " ".

A. gasoline companies

B. automobile manufacturers

C. brands of automobile

D. names of wildcats

3.Which of the following would people like to have or trust according to the passage?

A. Wildcat congressmen. B. Wildcat oil wells.

C. Wildcat banks. D. Wildcat cars.

4.It can be inferred that during the days of wildcat money .

A. people couldn't buy anything with the money

B. people complained and suffered a lot

C. the rich invested too much on oil wells

D. people didn't know how to save money

 

Answer 1

1.A

2.C

3.D

4.B

【解析】

試題分析：人類有史以來都與動物有著密切的聯系，野生動物為人們提供食物、衣服、甚至藥品。我們現在對動物的依賴減少了很多，但是它們的名字一直出現在我們的生活中。美國人很擅長使用動物的名字，尤其是汽車制造商和汽油公司，它們用動物的名字來給產品命名。

1.When Americans say wildcat, they usually mean...So wildcats represent something fast and fierce. ”和后三段的首句“An early American use of the word wildcat was quite different. ...Wildcat also has been used as a name for money...Wildcat then was also used for an oil well or gold mine”可知，文章主要講的是wildcats，文章不僅介紹了野貓的特點，還講了一些與野貓有關的故事，故選A。

2.Automobile manufacturers and gasoline companies especially like to use big cats to sell their products. ...So wildcats represent something fast and fierce.”可知，汽車制造商和石油公司特別喜歡用野貓來命名產品，野貓代表了速度與力量，根據“to sell their products”可知，不可能是指汽車制造商或石油公司，排除A、B；劃線詞本身就是動物名，題目問的是它們指的什么，排除D，故選C。

3.members of Congress who declared war on Britain”可知，wildcat指發(fā)動戰(zhàn)爭的國會議員，排除A；根據最后一段“that had almost no oil or gold in it”可知，wildcat oil well指的是已經枯竭的油井，排除B；根據第三段“So the money had little or no value. It was called a wildcat bill or a wildcat banknote.”可知，wildcat banks是指那些發(fā)行貶值或沒有價值的貨幣的銀行，排除C，故選D。

4.It said a man might be rich in the morning and poor by night.”可知，當時的人們可能會因為wildcat money而傾家蕩產，人們的正常生活秩序受到了沖擊，故選B。

考點：社會類短文閱讀