FCE真题练习(一)            PAPER1  READING(1hour)
Part1                      The  horse  race
When the telephone rang on Friday evening and Rachel’s Kevin Huzzard, her mouth suddenly dried up with excitement. ‘Got a ride for you tomorrow in the race at Chesterfield ,’Kevin said.
‘Oh great, is it Catch Boy? He’s a great horse.’
‘No sorry .Bryn’s down to ride him. This is a race for amateur riders. The horse is called Hay Days, trained by Billy Allaway. Seems this is a nice sort of a horse but he likes to do things his way. He’s been in a couple of race and took off like rocket, but finished near the back. He ran out of energy most likely. The thinking is he might settle down for a rider like you. OK?’
‘Yes, of course, thanks,’ said Rachel.
‘Good. Well, it’ll be useful experience for you. Just be there early.’
It was a long time before Rachel got off to sleep. The initial disappointment that she was not to ride Catch Boy quickly gave to excitement. Hay Days, she decided, was rather a happy name for a horse. As she was riding against fellow amateurs, the competition shouldn’t be so severe. If she made mistakes perhaps they wouldn’t be as noticeable as they would in a race dominated by professional male riders.
Her father, on hearing the news, had even offered to drive to Chesterfield to support her. Rachel, though grateful that her father had at long last accepted her ambitions, thought that it wasn’t a good idea. If she had a fall or made a disastrous error of judgement, she didn’t want any member of her family to observe it.
The following morning was moist and misty and Rachel’s first fear was that racing at Chesterfield might be abandoned because of fog. She listened to weather reports on her radio as she made breakfast but she learned little that helped to clarify the situation. In any case, local fog often disappeared rapidly when the sun broke through and that’s why, in such conditions, no decision about cancellation would be taken early.
At the stables a trainer called Allen Smith had some advice for her. ‘Let him know who’s boss right from the start, These unknown horses can be really awkward, so don’t let him get up to any tricks. Keep a real tight hold of his head. Then you’re likely to finish the race together, not separately. That’ll please the horse’s owner well.’
At the racecourse itself more advice was offered freely by other riders, and, more importantly. by Hay Days’ trainer Billy Allaway. ‘He’s not a bad little horse. I think perhaps he wants the gentle touch, the soft voice. He had a difficult time when he was young and so he’s liable to get upset if his rider sounds angry.’ That seemed to conflict with what she’d been told by Allen Smith, but she had to forget that.
The fluttering of nerves in her stomach wouldn’t die down and she desperately wanted some food. Even though she would have no weight problems whatsoever, for the horse was, according to race rules, due to carry a rider of 65 kilos (which meant putting a lot of lead in the saddle pockets to make up the difference between that weight and Rachel’s), she felt that it would be unwise to eat because she had difficulty concentrating with a full stomach.
To her delight, Hay Days turned out to be a very good-looking deep chestnut horse. Billy Allaway was already in the racing paddock, where all the racehorses were waiting.
‘Feeling a touch nervous?’ he enquired with one of his widest grins.
‘A bit,’ she admitted.
‘Just as it should be. That way you won’t get too cocky and think you know it all. Now just remember what I said. Take it easy and come back safe and sound.’
Rachel looked around at the other horses. A brown male called Ever-so-helpful was trying to show he’d been ill-named by throwing his head about in a very wild manner. She was thankful her own horse was so calm . It was undeniably embarrassing to have to fight for control in front of such a crowd spectators. And then came the announcer’s call to the staring line.
1.What do we learn about the horse Hay Day’s performance in previous races?
reaction memberA.He was unlucky not to win.
B.He started too fast.
C.He seemed to make little effort.
D.He deliberately ran in the wrong place.
2.As she lay in bed, how did Rachel feel about the race.
A.worried that her horse was unfamiliar to her
B.convinced of the likelihood of her success
C.concerned about her horse’s reputation
D.aware the other riders might not be very talented
3.How did Rachel feel when she heard the weather forecast?
A.rather unclear as to whether she should risk racing
B.fairly hopeful that the race would go ahead
C.upset that the fog was interfering with her plans
D.resigned to unpleasant racing conditions
4.Who does ‘boss’ refer to in line 44?
A.the trainer
B.the rider
C.the horse
D.the owner
5.What was Billy doing when he spoke to Rachel at the racecourse?
A.attempting to calm her down
B.trying to correct Allen Smith’s opinion
C.warning her that the horse was not up to standard

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