A
A few days later, at nearly midnight on the longest night of the year, Gabriel Oak could be heard playing his flute on Norcombe Hill. The sky was so clear and the stars were so visible that the earth could almost be seen turning. In that cold, hard air the sweet notes of the flute rang out. The music came from a little hut on wheels, standing in the corner of a field. Shepherds' huts like this are used as a shelter during the winter and spring, when shepherds have to stay out all night in the fields, looking after very young lambs.
Gabriel's two hundred and fifty sheep were not yet paid for. He knew that. In order to make a success of the farming business, he had to make sure they produced a large number of healthy lambs. So he was determined to spend as many nights as necessary in the fields, to save his lambs from dying of cold or hunger.
The hut was warm and quite comfortable inside. There was a stove, and some bread and beer on a shelf. On each side of the hut was a round hole like a window, which could be closed with a piece of wood. These air holes were usually kept open when the stove was burning, because too much smoke in a small, airless hut could kill the shepherd.
From time to time the sound of the flute stopped, and Gabriel came out of his hut to check his sheep. Whenever he discovered a halfdead new lamb, he brought the creature into the hut. In front of the stove it soon came back to life, and then he could return it to its mother.
He noticed a light further down the hill. It came from a wooden hut at the edge of a field. He walked down to it and put his eye to a hole in the wood. Inside, two women were feeding a sick cow. One of the women was middleaged. The other was young and wore a cloak. Gabriel recognized the girl, who owed him two pence.
语篇解读：本文是一篇记叙文，选自小说《远离尘嚣》，讲述了牧羊人Gabriel在严冬的夜晚保护羊羔免受饥饿和寒冷而死的经历。
1．The meaning of the underlined word “shepherds” can be replaced by “________”．
A．people taking care of sheep
B．people playing the flute
C．people living on farming
D．people treating sick animals
解析：选A 词义猜测题。根据画线词所在句中的“looking after very young lambs”可以判断，shepherd是指“牧羊人”，故A项正确。
2．The function of the round holes was ________.
A．to let the sunshine in
B．to warm the hut
C．to keep the smoke out
D．to air the hut
解析：选D 推理判断题。根据第三段最后一句“These air holes were usually kept open when the stove was burning, because too much smoke in a small, airless hut could kill the shepherd”当炉火燃烧时，这些气孔常常打开，因为在这个狭小而空气稀薄的棚屋里，烟雾太多会杀死牧羊人；据此可推知，这些圆孔是为了通气，故D项正确。
3．How did Gabriel save his halfdead lambs from dying of cold or hunger?
A．By treating them like his families.
B．By staying with them in the fields
C．By curing them of their diseases.
D．By taking them into his warm hut.
解析：选D 细节理解题。根据第四段的“Whenever he discovered a halfdead new lamb, he brought the creature into the hut ... its mother”可知，当看到垂死的羊羔时，Gabriel就会把它抱进棚屋里取暖，很快羊羔便会苏醒，故D项正确。
