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第一部分 阅读理解 A Despite the fact that it has never been seen, almost everyone is familiar with the legendary unicorn(独角兽). Descriptions of unicorns have been found dating from ancient times. The great philosopher Aristotle theorized that there were two types of unicorn--- the so-called Indian Ass and the Oryx, a kind of antelope. Unicorns are often used in the logo of a noble family, town council or university as their special sign. Even Scotland is represented by a unicorn. According to the legend, anyone attempting to catch a unicorn had to be extremely cautious as it has a reputation for being very fierce. A clever trick suggested by unicorn-trappers, in order to catch this magnificent beast without being hurt by its horn, was for the hunter to stand in front of a tree and then to move quickly behind it as the unicorn charged. Hopefully, the creature could then be captured when its horn was stuck in the tree. When hollowed out and used as a drinking-cup, the unicorn’s horn was said to have the power to offer protection against person. It was believed that nobody could be harmed by drinking the contents of a unicorn’s horn. Right up until the French Revolution in 1789, the French court was said to have used cups made of “unicorn” horn in order to protect the king. In addition, the horn was said to have medicinal value, so much so that it could be sold for more than ten times the price of the same weight of gold. What, then, was “unicorn” horn? We know at times the rhino(犀牛) was confused with this legendary creature. A drinking-cup supposedly made of “unicorn” horn was discovered to be made of the horn of a rhino. | 
