16．In the past，many people depended on horses for transportation（运输），farming and other kinds of work．Nowadays a lot of people still like to ride horses．So it is not surprising that many expressions about itare still used by Americans today．
Long ago，people who were rich or important rode horses that were very tall．Today，if a girl is too proud and looks down upon others，you might say she should"get off her high horse．"
Last night，I got a telephone call while I was watching my favorite television show．I decided not to answer it because"wild horses could not drag me away"from the television--there was nothing that could stop me from doing what I wanted to do．
Sometimes you get information"straight from the horse's mouth．"It comes directly from the person who knows most about the subject and is the best source．Let us say your teacher tells you there is going to be a test tomorrow．You could say you got the information"straight from the horse's mouth．"However，you would not want to call your teacher a horse!
You may have heard this expression："You can lead a horse to water，but you cannot make him drink．"That means you can give someone advice but you cannot force him to do something he does not want to do．
In politics，a"dark-horse candidate"is someone who is not well known to the public．Sometimes，a dark horse unexpectedly wins an election（选举）．
Another piece of advice is"do not change horses in midstream．"You would not want to get off one horse and on to another in the middle of a river．Or make major changes in an activity that has already begun．
61．What does the underlined word"it"mean in the first paragraph？A
A．the horse
B．riding horses
C．raising horses
D．horse racing
62．The expression"get off her high horse"is used for a girlC．
A．who has a lot of money
B．who is cleverer than others
C．who thinks she is better than anyone else
D．who is respected by others
63．What can we learn about the news"straight from the horse's mouth"？B
A．It is very hard to get the news．
B．The news will be true and reliable（可靠的）．
C．The person who gives the news is called a horse．
D．The news is a lie and can't be trusted．
64．Which of the following can describe a person who wins an election unexpectedly？C
A．do not change horses in midstream
B．wild horses could not drag me away
C．dark-horse candidateD．get off her high horse
65．What's the best title of the passage？C
A．The horse is a kind of useful animal．
B．The expressions used by Americans．
C．Some expressions about the horse
D．It is popular to use the word"horse"
分析 本文是一篇文化类文章阅读，主要介绍了马曾经是一种交通工具，现在也还有许多人喜欢骑马．"马"在日常交际中也有许多不同的含义．本文讲述了"马"在日常用语中的种种含义．
解答 61．答案：A．词义猜测题．A．the horse马；B．riding horses骑马；C．raising horses养马；D．horse racing赛马．本段是指现在还有许多我喜欢骑马，因为美国人今天还用了许多与it相关的表达，由此可以推测出it指的是"马"．故选A．
62．答案：C．细节理解题．A．who has a lot of money钱多的女孩；B．who is cleverer than others比别人聪明的女孩；C．who thinks she is better than anyone else 认为自己比别人优秀的女孩；D．who is respected by others被别人尊重的女孩．根据第二段里的："Today，if a girl is too proud and looks down upon others，you might say she should"get off her high horse．"可知，get off her high horse指的是太骄傲而看低别人的女孩．故选C．
63．答案：B．推理判断题．A．It is very hard to get the news．难以得到消息；B．The news will be true and reliable（可靠的）．消息真实可靠；C．The person who gives the news is called a horse．提供消息的人被称为"马"；D．The news is a lie and can't be trusted．消息是谎话，不能信．由第四段开头的：Sometimes you get information"straight from the horse's mouth．"It comes directly from the person who knows most about the subject and is the best source．可知，"straight from the horse's mouth．"消息来自对情况了解最多的对象，因此消息最可靠，最真实，故选B．
64．答案：C．细节理解题．由倒数第二段的：Sometimes，a dark horse unexpectedly wins an election可知，"不可思议地赢得比赛者"被称之为黑马．故选C．
65．答案：C．主旨大意题．"horse"这个词很受欢迎．本文讲述了"马"在日常用语中的种种含义．故选C．
点评 本文是一篇文化类文章阅读，题目涉及词义猜测题，推理判断题，细节理解题，主旨大意题，做题时应结合文章上下文内容并根据所给选项的含义进行分析，从而得出正确答案．切记胡乱猜测，一定要做到有理有据．
