Fresh grass had been laid on the floor and there was a ________（new) made platform for Jenny and me to sleep on.

Concerning the main character of the novel, which of the following is NOT true？

A．She is a relative of the writer.

B．She is an embodiment of self-made hero.

C．She had been studied or written about before this novel.

D．She is a saint coming from the grass roots.

The reason why the rock was hard to get down was that ______.

A．it had been worn smooth

B．there was no grass on it

C．it, was wet and slippery

D．it was soft and sandy

The reason why the rock was hard to get down was that_________.

A．it had been worn smooth

B．there was no grass on it

C．it was wet and slippery

D．it was soft and sandy

Concerning the main character of the novel, which of the following is NOT true？

A．She is a relative of the writer.

B．She is an embodiment of self-made hero.

C．She had been studied or written about before this novel.

D．She is a saint coming from the grass roots.

Concerning the main character of the novel, which of the following is NOT true？

A．She is a relative of the writer.

B．She is an embodiment of self-made hero.

C．She had been studied or written about before this novel.

D．She is a saint coming from the grass roots.

Legend has it that sometime toward the end of the Civil War(1861—1865)a government train carrying oxen traveling through the northern plains of eastern Wyoming was caught in a snowstorm and had to be abandoned. The driver returned the next spring to see what had become of his cargo. Instead of the skeletons he had expected to find, he saw his oxen, living, fat, and healthy. How had they survived？

The answer lay in a resource that unknowing Americans had trampled underfoot in their haste to cross the "Great American Desert" to reach lands that sometimes proved barren. In the eastern parts of the United States, the preferred grass for forage was a cultivated plant. It grew well with enough rain, then when cut and stored it would cure and become nourishing hay for winter feed. But in the dry grazing lands of the West, that familiar blue joint grass was often killed by drought. To raise cattle out there seemed risky or even hopeless.

Who could imagine a fairy-tale grass that required no rain and somehow made it possible for cattle to feed themselves all winter？ But the surprising western wild grasses did just that. They had wonderfully convenient features that made them superior to the cultivated eastern grasses. Variously known as buffalo grass, grama grass, or mesquite, not only were they immune to drought; but they were actually preserved by the lack of summer and autumn rains. They were not juicy like the cultivated eastern grasses, but had short, hard stems. And they did not be cured in a barn, but dried right where they grew on the ground. When they dried in this way, they remained naturally sweet and nourishing through the winter. Cattle left outdoors to fend for them selves thrived on this hay. And the cattle themselves helped plant the fresh grass year after year, for they trampled the natural seeds firmly into the soil to be watered by the melting snows of winter and the occasional rains of spring. The dry summer air cured them, much as storing in a ham cured the cultivated grasses.

What does the passage mainly discuss？

A．Western migration after the Civil War

B．The climate of the western United States

C．The raising of cattle

D．A type of wild vegetation

The Deer's Death

He ran close, and again stood still, stopped by a new fear. Around him the grass was whispering and alive. He looked wildly about, then down. The ground was black with ants, great energetic ants that took no notice of him, but hurried towards the fighting shape. And as he drew in his breath and pity and terror seized him, the beast fell and the screaming stopped. Now he could hear nothing but a bird singing, and the sound of the rustling (沙沙声) whispering ants.

He peered over at the blackness that twitched with the jerking(抽搐) nerves. It grew quieter. There were small twitches from the mass that still looked vaguely like the shape of a small animal.

It came into his mind that he could shoot it and end its pain; and he raised the gun. Then he lowered it again. The deer could no longer feel; its fighting was a mechanical protest of the nerves. But it was not that which made him put down the gun. It was a swelling feeling of rage and misery and protest that expressed itself in the thought: if I had not come it would have died like this, so why should I interfere？ All over the bush things like this happen; they happen all the time; this is how life goes on, by living things dying painfully. I cannot stop it. He was glad that the deer was unconscious and had gone past suffering so that he did not have to make a decision to kill it. At his feet, now, were ants tricking back with pink fragments in their mouths and there was a fresh acid smell in his nose. He sternly controlled the uselessly convulsing(痉挛的) muscles of his empty stomach, and reminded himself: the ants must eat too.

The shape had grown small. Now it looked like nothing to be recognized. He saw the blackness thin, and bits of white showed through, shining in the sun—yes, there was the sun just up. Then the boy looked at those insects. A few were standing and gazing up at him with small glittering eyes. "Go away!" he said to the ants coldly. "I am not for you—not just yet, at any rate."

He bent over the bones and touched the sockets(孔) in the skull: that was where the eyes were, he thought suspiciously, remembering the liquid eyes of a deer.

That morning, perhaps an hour ago, this small creature had been stepping proud and free through the bush even as he himself had done. Proudly stepping the earth, it had smelt the cold morning air. Walking like kings, it had moved freely through this bush, where each blade of grass grew for it alone, and where the river ran pure sparkling water for it to drink.

And then—what had happened？ Such a sure swift footed thing could surely not be trapped by a swarm of ants？

How was the deer when the boy first saw it？

A．It was already dead in the bush.

B．It was still on its feet.

C．It was lying on the ground dying.

D．It was fighting the ants to a finish.

Legend has it that sometime toward the Civil War (1861 -1865) a government train carrying oxen traveling through the northern plains of eastern Wyoming was caught in a snowstorm and had to be abandoned. The driver returned the next spring to see what had become of his cargo. Instead of the skeletons he had expected to find, he saw his oxen, living, fat, and healthy. How had they survived？

The answer lay in a resource that unknowing Americans had trampled underfoot in their haste to cross the "Great American Desert" to reach lands that sometimes proved barren. In the eastern parts of the United States, the preferred grass for forage was as cultivated plant. It grew well with enough rain, then when cut and stored it would cure and become nourishing hay for winter feed. But in the dry grazing lands of the west, that familiar bluejoint grass was often killed by drought. To raise cattle out there seemed risky or even hopeless.

Who could imagine a fairy-tale grass that required no rain and somehow made it possible for cattle to feed themselves all winter？ But the surprising western wild grasses did just that. They had wonderfully convenient features that made them superior to the cultivated eastern grasses. Variously known as buffalo, grama grass, or mesquite grass, not only were they immune to drought; but they were actually preserved by the lack of summer and autumn rains. They were not juicy like the cultivated eastern grasses, but had short, hard stems. And they did not need to be cured in a barn, but dried right where they grew on the ground. When they dried in this way, they remained naturally sweet and nourishing through the winter. Cattle were left outdoors to fend for themselves thrived on this hay. And the cattle themselves helped plant the fresh grass year after year, for they trampled the natural seeds firmly into the soil to be watered by the melting snows of winter and the occasional rains of spring. The dry summer air cured them, much as storing in a barn cured the cultivated grasses.

What does the passage mainly discuss？

A．Western migration after the Civil War.

B．The raising of cattle.

C．A type of wild vegetation.

D．The climate of the western United States.

Concerning the main character of the novel, which of the following is NOT true？

A．She is a relative of the writer.

B．She is an embodiment of self-made hero.

C．She had been studied or written about before this novel.

D．She is a saint coming from the grass roots.

The Deer's Death

He ran close, and again stood still, stopped by a new fear. Around him the grass was whispering and alive. He looked wildly about, then down. The ground was black with ants, great energetic ants that took no notice of him, but hurried towards the fighting shape. And as he drew in his breath and pity and terror seized him, the beast fell and the screaming stopped. Now he could hear nothing but a bird singing, and the sound of the rustling (沙沙声) whispering ants.

He peered over at the blackness that twitched with the jerking(抽搐) nerves. It grew quieter. There were small twitches from the mass that still looked vaguely like the shape of a small animal.

It came into his mind that he could shoot it and end its pain; and he raised the gun. Then he lowered it .again. The deer could no longer feel; its fighting was a mechanical protest of the nerves. But it was not that which made him put down the gun. It was a swelling feeling of rage and misery and protest that expressed itself in the thought: if I had not come it would have died like this, so why should I interfere？ All over the bush things like this happen; they happen all the time; this is how life goes on, by living things dying painfully. I cannot stop it. He was glad that the deer was unconscious and had gone past suffering so that he did not have to make a decision to kill it. At his feet, now, were ants tricking back with pink fragments in their mouths and there was a fresh acid smell in his nose. He sternly controlled the uselessly convulsing(痉挛的) muscles of his empty stomach, and reminded himself: the ants must eat too.

The shape had grown small. Now it looked like nothing to be recognized. He saw the blackness thin, and bits of white showed through, shining in the sun-- yes, there was the sun just up. Then the boy looked at those insects. A few were standing and gazing up at him with small glittering eyes. "Go away!" he said to the ants coldly. "I am not for you not just yet, at any rate."

He bent over the bones and touched the sockets(孔) in the skull: that was where the eyes were, he thought suspiciously, remembering the liquid eyes of a deer.

That morning, perhaps an hour ago, this small creature had been stepping proud and free through the bush even as he himself had done. Proudly stepping the earth, it had smelt the cold morning air. Walking like kings, it had moved freely through this bush, where each blade of grass grew for it alone, and where the river ran pure sparkling water for it to drink.

And then--what had happened？ Such a sure swift footed thing could surely not be trapped by a swarm ofants？

How was the deer when the boy first saw it？

A．It was already dead in the bush.

B．It was still on its feet.

C．It was lying on the ground dying.

D．It was fighting the ants to a finish.