|
课时规范训练(单独成册) 训练(四十一) Ⅰ.阅读理解(共两节) 第一节 阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C、D)中，选出最佳选项。 More than 100 horses and riders leaped the flames of roaring bonfires Thursday in a small Spanish town in a centuriesold festival that has raised the anger of animal rights activists. Smoke and flames filled the night in San Bartolome de Pinares，a central Spanish town of some 600 inhabitants，in the annual festival held Thursday，the eve of Saint Anthony’s Day for the patron saint (守护神) of animals.One by one，horses and their riders jumped the flames in the narrow，paved streets of the town. “No one knows how old the tradition is.My grandfather told me that his greatgrandfather took part，” said 34yearold Diego Martin.“They say it could be 300 or 400 years old.” The town is fiercely attached to the festival，despite opposition from animal rights groups concerned about the safety of the horses.Just a few days earlier，Spain’s National Association for the Welfare of Animals asked the town’s people not to let their horses leap over the fires，apparently in vain. “There was an illness that killed all the horses in the town.Since then，we have done this to purify them to keep away any evil by asking for the protection of the saint，” explained 20yearold Libertad Gomez，who has been taking part for seven years.“More than a tradition，for us it is a feeling.It is something you live almost since you were born，” said Libertad，who rode with dozens of others through the streets. | 
