reading comprehension:
Horse owners who plan to breed one or more mares should have a working knowledge
of heredity and know how to care for breeding animals and foals. The number of mares bred
that actually conceive varies from about 40 to 85 percent, with the average running less than
50 percent. Some mares that do conceive fail to produce living foals. This means that, on
average, two mares are kept a whole year to produce one foal, and even then, some foals are
disappointments from the standpoint of quality.
By careful selection, breeders throughout history have developed various kinds of
horses with a wide variety of characteristics to suit many different needs. The Great Horse
of the Middle Ages, for example, was bred for size and strength to carry a heavily armored
knight. The massive horses of such breeds are often called "cold blooded." The Arabs bred
lithe desert horses that were small and swift. These animals are often referred to as "hot
blooded. " Cross-breeding of hot-blooded and cold-blooded horses for certain characteristics
produced breeds ranging from riding horses to draft horses.
The Thoroughbred is considered by many to be the highpoint of elegance and fine
selective breeding. Many persons mistakenly apply the name Thoroughbred to any purebred
horse. But a Thoroughbred is a distinct breed of running horses that traces its ancestry through
the male line directly back to three Eastern stallions: the Byerly Turk, the Darley Arabian,
and the Godolphin Barb.
For convenience the breeds of horses are often divided into three major groups: (1)
ponies, (2) heavy, or draft horses, and (3) light horses.
11. Which of the following is not an example of an Eastern stallion?
(A) Byerly Turk
(B) Darley Arabian
(C) Thoroughbred
(D) Godolphin Barb
12. Which of the following was NOT a characteristic of the Great Horse of the MiddleAges?
(A) Large size
(B) Swiftness
(C) Strength
(D) "Cold-bloodedness"
13. It can be inferred from the passage that cold-blooded and hot-blooded horses were cross-bred for what reason?
(A) Such cross-breeding was a safer means of reproduction.
(B) Cross-bred horses were preferred by Arabs.
(C) By cross-breeding, horses with desirable mixed characteristics could be produced.
(D) Cross-breeding produced Thoroughbred horses.
14. In line 11, "lithe" most nearly means
(A) graceful.
(B) clumsy.
(C) massive.
(D) bulky.
15. Which of the following is NOT one of the major divisions of horse breeds?
(A) Draft horses
(B) Ponies
(C) Foals
(D) Light horses
16. According to the passage, which of the following horses is considered to be the finest purebred?
(A) Darley Arabian
(B) Thoroughbred
(C) Godolphin Barb
(D) Byerly Turk
17. To conceive is to
(A) become sick.
(B) become pregnant.
(C) die.
(D) be born.
18. A foal is a
(A) male horse.
(B) female horse.
(C) old horse.
(D) baby horse.
19. The average amount of mares bred which actually conceive is less than what percent?
(A) 40
(B) 85
(C) 50
(D) 75
20. A mare is a
(A) male horse.
(B) baby horse.
(C) female horse.
(D) old horse.
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