A1. Read the passage and answer the questions that follow.
The Black Beauty
The first place that I can well remember was a large pleasant
meadow with a pond of clear water in it. Some shady trees
leaned over it, and rushes and water-lilies grew at the deep
end. Over the hedge on one side, we looked into a ploughed
field, and on the other, we looked over a gate at our master's
house, which stood by the roadside. At the top of the meadow
was a plantation of fir trees, and at the bottom a running brook
overhung by a steep bank. Whilst I was young, I lived upon my
mother's milk, as I could not eat grass. In the day time, I ran
by her side, and at night I lay down close by her. When it was
hot, we used to stand by the pond in the shade of the trees, and
when it was cold, we had a nice warm shed near the plantation
As soon as I was old enough to eat grass, my mother started
to go out to work in the day time, and come back in the
evening. There were six young colts in the meadow beside me,
all older than I was; some were nearly as large as grown-up
horses. I used to run with them and had great fun; we used
to gallop together round and round the field, as fast as we
could. Sometimes we had a rather rough play, for they would
frequently bite and kick as well as gallop.
I wish you to pay attention to what I am going to say to
you. The colts who live here are very good colts; but they are cart-horse colts, and of course they have not learned manners
You have been well bred and are well born; your father has a
great name in these parts, and your grandfather won the cup
two years at the Newmarket races; your grandmother had the
sweetest temper of any horse I ever knew, and I think you have
never seen me kick or bite. I hope you will grow up gentle and
good, and never learn bad ways do your work with a good
will lift your feet up well when you trot, and never bite or kick
even in play
Thave never forgotten my mother's advice, I knew she was a
wise old horse, and our master thought a great deal of her. Her
name was Duchess, but he often called her Pet. Our master
was a good kind man. He gave us good food, good lodging
and kind words; he spoke as kindly to us as he did to his little
children: we all were fond of him, and my mother loved him
very much
A2. Find words from the passage which mean the same as these
words.
1. grassland
2. the young of a horse
3. river
4. often
5. accommodation​