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 poison. 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.

1. Which of the following is TRUE of the unicorn?
A. It was not historically recorded.       
B. Its horn was first used in France.
C. It was similar to the Indian Ass and the Oryx.
D. It could be the symbol of a university.

2. To catch a unicorn, the unicorn-trappers had to try all of the following EXCEPT _____.
A. tempting the unicorn to attack         
B. making use of the tree as a protection
C. hiding quickly behind the unicorn        
D. having the unicorn horn stuck in the tree

3. The last paragraph is mainly about _____.
A. the properties of the unicorn horn         
B. the users of the unicorn horn
C. the price of the unicorn horn        
D. the comparison between the unicorn horn and the rhino horn

4. In the last paragraph, the word “unicorn” is in quotation marks (引号) because _____.
A. the cup is designed only for a royal family
B. the unicorn does not exist in reality
C. the unicorn is the rarest animal in the world
D. the medicinal value of the horn is appreciated

【阅读赏析】
      本文介绍的是独角兽。在西方文化中，独角兽是一种与中华文化中的龙具有相似地位的东西，也就是说独角兽在西方文化中就是一种图腾。在西方,有关独角兽的传说可谓源远流长。如果我们了解这一中西方文化差异的话，这篇文章就很好理解了。
      从结构上看，本文层次分明，脉络清楚。第一段是有关独角兽的总体介绍，主要谈及传说中独角兽的种类以及它的象征作用。第二段主要谈论降服独角兽的技巧。第三段主要介绍传说中独角兽的角的用途。

【答案解析】
1. D。第一段中提到独角兽经常被用在贵族家族、市议会和大学的形象标识中。故选D。

2. C。由第二段中的... stand in front of a tree and then to move quickly behind it ...可知it指代的是前面的tree,而不是unicorn。故选项C不符合文中事实。

3. A。第三段整段内容都在谈论独角兽的角，诸如传说中它的魔力以及药用价值等。故选A。

4. B。第三段中的最后一个句子提到传说中的所谓用独角兽的角做成的酒杯其实是用犀牛的角做的，暗示独角兽在现实中根本不存在，因此，unicorn加引号表否定。故选B。