Russian President Vladimir Putin has explained why he stopped to kiss a small boy on the stomach as he was walking through the Kremlin, saying it was a spontaneous (本能的) action like touching a cat.

"It was an unplanned meeting - people just came up and started talking to me," Putin said, recalling the June 28 incident when he met the boy, Nikita, among a group of tourists, lifted the boy’s shirt and planted a kiss on his stomach.

"He seemed very independent and serious. At the same time, a child is always defenceless and nice. I wanted to touch him like a cat and it came out in this action. There was nothing behind it," Putin said in an Internet question and answer meeting with Russian and foreign audiences.

The stomach kiss incident has caused a lot of guess and comment in the Russian media and major public interest ahead of Putin’s question and answer meeting Thursday.

1.According to Putin, he touched the boy _________.

A. by chance        B. on purpose           C. spontaneously     D. forcedly

2.What did the word “He” refer to in the third paragraph?

A. The cat      B. Putin                C. The boy          D. A passer-by

3.What of the following is not the result of the Putin’s kissing the boy?

A. People tried to guess what Putin’s intention was to kiss the boy.

B. People made a lot of comment about Putin’s kissing the boy

C. Putin may have to leave office because of kissing the boy.

D. The public showed much interest in Putin’s kissing the boy.

4.What is the best title of the passage?

A. Putin kissed a boy on the stomach

B. People wondered why Putin kissed a boy on the stomach

C. Putin explained why he kissed a boy on the stomach

D. People discussed how to treat Putin’s kissing a boy on the stomach

The cowboy has become the hero of many movies. He is, even today, believed to have courage and adventure(冒险). But what was the life of a cowboy really like?

The cowboy’s job is clear from the word “cowboy”. A cowboy, according to dictionary explanation, is a man who rides a horse and whose job is to care for cattle(牛). The cattle were in the West and in Texas. People in the cities of the East wanted beef(牛肉) from these cattle. Trains could take the cattle east. But first the cattle had to get to the trains. Part of the cowboy’s job was to take the cattle hundreds of miles to the railroad towns.

These trips were called cattle drives. A cattle drive usually took several months. Cowboys rode for sixteen hours a day. Because they rode so much, each cowboy brought along about eight horses. A cowboy changed horses several times each day.

The cowboys had to make sure that the cattle arrived safely. Before starting on a drive, the cowboys branded(给---烙上印) the cattle. They burned a mark on the cattle to show who they belonged to. But these marks didn’t stop rustlers(盗窃牲口的人), or cattle thieves. Cowboys had to protect the cattle from rustlers. Rustlers made the already dangerous trip even more dangerous.

Even though their work was very difficult and dangerous, cowboys did not earn much money. They were paid badly. But cowboys liked their way of life. They lived in a wild and open country. They lived a life of adventure and freedom.

68. A cowboy’s job is ______.

A. to send beef to the city people        B. to be a hero in movies

C. to take care of cattle                D. to brand the cattle

69. During a cattle drive, cowboys took the cattle ______.

A. to the East from the West            B. onto the trains

C. to the people in the cities            D. to towns by the railroad

70. Cowboys enjoyed themselves because ______.

A. they could live a free life full of excitement    B. they made a lot of money

C. they had a very difficult job                 D. they were heroes in movies