In the Ituri forest of America live many tribes，one of which is Pygmy. Most of the Pygmies in the tribe are not taller than four feet. They weigh only about eighty pounds each.
In spite of their small size, they are the best hunters among all the jungle people. Even the great elephant can be caught by them.
Since they do not plant any crops, Pygmies are constantly moving around. They seldom sleep in one camp for more than a few days. In their camps there is not furniture at all except for some weapons such as spears, bows and arrows. There are no cooking pots either. Food is eaten uncooked or smoked over a lire. So when the tribe moves to a new camp there is nothing to carry except these weapons and babies too small to walk.
Pymies can move on the tree tops almost as skillfully as monkeys. Often they travel great distances through the branches without touching the ground.
One of the surprising facts about these small men and women is their great appetite（食欲）. A Pygmy can eat up sixty bananas at a single meal besides quantities of meat. After eating, they will lie on their hard earth bed and groan（呻吟）in all night. But in the morning, they are ready to eat the same amount of food or fight among themselves.
【小题1】Pygmies are small in size, but they are brave in ______.

In the early days of human history, people lived by hunting wild animals, or gathering wild grains and plants for food. Then, some people learned to grow crops and raise animals for food. They were the first farmers.

Since the sixteenth century, the word farm has meant agricultural land. But a much older meaning of the word farm is linked to economics. The word farm comes from the Latin word, firma, which means an unchanging payment.

Experts say the earliest meaning of the English word farm was a yearly payment made as a tax or rent.

Farmers in early England did not own their land. They paid every year to use agricultural lands.

Beans are a popular farm crop. But beans are used to describe something of very little value in the expression, not worth a hill of beans. The expression is often used today. You could say, for example, that a bad idea is not worth a hill of beans.

Language expert Charles Earle Funk said the expression was first used almost seven hundred years ago. He said Robert of Gloucester described a message from the King of Germany to King John of England as altogether not worth a bean.

49. In the early days of human history, how did people live?

A. By raising animals.                                      B. By hunting wild animals.

C. By growing crops.                                    D. By selling plants.

50. What is the much older meaning of “farm” linked to?

A. Agriculture.              B. Industry.           C. Economics.   D. Changing payment.

51. What does the expression “not worth a hill of beans” mean?

A. Very important.        B. Very valuable.           C. Not valuable.     D. Not expensive.

52. Which of the following is NOT true?

A. Since the sixteenth century, the word farm has meant agricultural land.

B. The word farm comes from the Latin word.

C. Farmers in early England owned their land.

D. The expression “not worth a hill of beans” was first used almost seven hundred years ago.

In the Ituri forest of America live many tribes，one of which is Pygmy. Most of the Pygmies in the tribe are not taller than four feet. They weigh only about eighty pounds each.
In spite of their small size, they are the best hunters among all the jungle people. Even the great elephant can be caught by them.
Since they do not plant any crops, Pygmies are constantly moving around. They seldom sleep in one camp for more than a few days. In their camps there is not furniture at all except for some weapons such as spears, bows and arrows. There are no cooking pots either. Food is eaten uncooked or smoked over a lire. So when the tribe moves to a new camp there is nothing to carry except these weapons and babies too small to walk.
Pymies can move on the tree tops almost as skillfully as monkeys. Often they travel great distances through the branches without touching the ground.
One of the surprising facts about these small men and women is their great appetite（食欲）. A Pygmy can eat up sixty bananas at a single meal besides quantities of meat. After eating, they will lie on their hard earth bed and groan（呻吟）in all night. But in the morning, they are ready to eat the same amount of food or fight among themselves

1. 1.

   Pygmies are small in size, but they are brave in ______

   1. A.
      hunting
   2. B.
      shooting
   3. C.
      eating
   4. D.
      fighting with their enemies
2. 2.

   Pygmies are so skillful that _____

   1. A.
      they never walk on the ground
   2. B.
      they can move on the top of trees
   3. C.
      they always walk with sticks
   4. D.
      they can hang from the branches
3. 3.

   The writer wrote this article so as to ______

   1. A.
      ask people to learn from Pygmies
   2. B.
      help Pygmies go out of the forests
   3. C.
      let us know the local condition and customs of the Pygmies
   4. D.
      tell us the world is big and wide
4. 4.

   Why do Pygmies move from place to place continuously? The main reason is that _____

   1. A.
      that want to look after wild animals
   2. B.
      they always walk with sticks
   3. C.
      they plant no crops
   4. D.
      they don’t sleep in one camp

Here in the hills were buffaloes (野牛). I had even, in my very young days — when I could not live till I had killed one of each kind of African animal — shot a bull out there. Later on, when I was not so interested to shoot as to watch the wild animals, I had been out to see them again. But twice I had to go back without success.
But one afternoon as I was having tea with some friends outside the house, Denys came flying from Nairobi and went over our heads westwards; a little while after he turned and came back and landed on the farm. I drove down to the plane to bring him back, but he would not get out of his plane.
“The buffaloes are out feeding in the hills,” he said, “come out and have a look at them.”
“I cannot come,” I said. “I have got a tea-party up at the house.”
“But we will go and see them and be back in a quarter of an hour,” he said.
This sounded to me like the suggestions which people make to you in a dream. So I went up with him. It did not take us long to see the buffaloes from the air; we counted them as they peacefully mixed and separated on the open ground closed in by bushes. There was one very old big black bull, and a number of young ones; if a stranger had come near to them they would have heard or smelt him at once, but they were not prepared for something from the air. They heard the noise of our machine and stopped feeding, but they did not seem to be able to look up. In the end they realized that something very strange was about; the old bull first walked out in front of the others. Suddenly he began to go down the valley side and after a moment he broke into a run. The whole group now followed him, rushing hurriedly down into the buses. In a small wood of low trees they stopped and kept close together. Here they believed themselves to be out of sight. We flew up and away. It was like having been taken there by a secret unknown route.
When I came back to my tea-party the teapot on the stone was still so hot that I burned my fingers on it.
【小题1】The writer drove to the plane ________.

                          
C
In the early days of human history, people lived by hunting wild animals, or gathering wild grains and plants for food. Then, some people learned to grow crops and raise animals for food. They were the first farmers.
Since the sixteenth century, the word farm has meant agricultural land. But a much older meaning of the word farm is linked to economics. The word farm comes from the Latin word, firma, which means an unchanging payment.
Experts say the earliest meaning of the English word farm was a yearly payment made as a tax or rent.
Farmers in early England did not own their land. They paid every year to use agricultural lands.
Beans are a popular farm crop. But beans are used to describe something of very little value in the expression, not worth a hill of beans. The expression is often used today. You could say, for example, that a bad idea is not worth a hill of beans.
Language expert Charles Earle Funk said the expression was first used almost seven hundred years ago. He said Robert of Gloucester described a message from the King of Germany to King John of England as altogether not worth a bean.
49. In the early days of human history, how did people live?
A. By raising animals.                                      B. By hunting wild animals.
C. By growing crops.                                   D. By selling plants.
50. What is the much older meaning of “farm” linked to?
A. Agriculture.              B. Industry.           C. Economics.   D. Changing payment.
51. What does the expression “not worth a hill of beans” mean?
A. Very important.        B. Very valuable.           C. Not valuable.     D. Not expensive.
52. Which of the following is NOT true?
A. Since the sixteenth century, the word farm has meant agricultural land.
B. The word farm comes from the Latin word.
C. Farmers in early England owned their land.
D. The expression “not worth a hill of beans” was first used almost seven hundred years ago.