单选题

A. American Indians and corn.
C. The joy of harvest.
B. The planting techniques of corn.
D. Various ways to prepare corn.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[听力原文]
Corn was one food that dominated the food-growing activities of those early American Indian tribes that relied on farming for food. The early farmers, or the American Indians, planted lots of varieties of corn, including the kind of corn that we eat today as popcorn. The corn was prepared in different ways. It could be eaten fresh from the field; sometimes it was boiled; sometimes the corn was roasted or parched. But most of the corn was dried on the cob, and later it was ground into flour. The advantage of this method was that the dried corn could be stored for long periods of time without spoiling. The American Indians harvested the corns twice, the first harvest was the green corn or sweet corn harvest. This harvest was accompanied by a ceremony of thanksgiving. The farmers thought that this celebration would protect the farmers from disaster. The final harvesting of the ripe corn and the harvest ceremony took place about six weeks later. During this harvesting, the farmers pulled back the husks of corn and braided them together. Big bundles were prepared this way and were dried for use later on throughout the winter. After the corn was eaten, these farmers used the dried husks to make all sorts of different things like mats, moccasins (软拖鞋), dolls and ceremonial masks.

What is the main subject of this talk?

[解析] 四项均为名词短语，虽有三项都提及com，但各个选项相互之间关联度不高，又由于本题为该短文的第一题，因此很有可能考查短文的主题。
短文第一句说道：“玉米是早期的美洲印第安部落主要依赖的一种农作物”，接下来短文介绍了印第安人如何食用和储存玉米，一年收获几次，玉米皮还可以用来做什么等等。因此选项A“美洲印第安人与玉米”最好地概括了短文主题。

单选题

A. It was first boiled and then dried.
C. It was dried and then ground into flour.
B. It was braided in bundles and steamed.
D. It was roasted and wrapped in husks.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[听力原文] According to the speaker, how was most of the corn prepared? [解析] 1．四项均以it was开头。 2．四项均含有表示加工方法的动词(boiled，dried，braided，steamed，ground，roasted，wrapped)。结论：it指玉米，听音重点应放在对玉米的加工方式上。题干问大部分的玉米是被如何加工的。短文提到，大部分的玉米被留在穗棒上晾干，然后被磨成粉，这种方法的优点就是干燥的玉米可以储存更长时间而不腐坏。故选C。

单选题

A. They braided them with animal hair for clothing.
C. They used them to insulate their homes.
B. They bundled them together for fuel.
D. They made various items with them.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[听力原文] After the farmers ate the corn from the second corn harvest, what did they do with the husks? [解析] 1．四项均为句子，均提到they和them。 2．四项的谓语均表示加工方式(braided，bundled，used，made)。结论：根据短文内容及前面几题可知，they可能指人，them可能指玉米。题干问：当农民们吃完了第二次收获的玉米之后，他们用玉米皮(husks)做什么?预测和实际情况有一些出入，选项中的them不是指玉米，而是玉米皮，但这种预测的误差并不影响听力理解和做题。文章结尾提到：“After the corn was eaten，these farmers used the dried husks to make all sorts of different things like mats，moccasins，dolls and ceremonial masks．(当玉米被吃完之后，农民们用干燥的玉米皮做成各种物品，如：垫子、软鞋、玩偶以及各种仪式上使用的面具等等。)”故选D。