1. (2022高二下·上海期中) reading comprehension

The last time the horse seriously competed with man-made transport for speed was 1830, when a stagecoach won a race against America's first domestically manufactured steam locomotive(蒸汽机车).

Now horsekind has emerged victorious over what is in theory a far more powerful opponent— the broadband internet connection.

The contest over the gently rolling hills of the Sauerland, a pretty district in western Germany, started as a joke.

Klaus-Peter Kappest, a photographer from Oberkirchen, had been frustrated for years by the slow pace of his uploads. At 15 megabits (比特,一种信息量单位)per second, it sometimes takes him several hours to send a batch of high-resolution images to his clients. One day Mr Kappest, 52, was chatting to his colleagues at Woll, a local magazine. He suggested that he would be better off delivering his photographs by horse. "That was the most reliable communications technology in the Middle Ages," he said. "And the editor said, 'Well let's do it then, let's see which is truly faster. "

Mr Kappest turned to Jakob Schutte, a rider who lives in the same village, and Favo, his horse. The photographer burnt 4. 2GB of images on to a DVD, packed it into a bag and sent it off with Favo and Mr Schutte on the 10km ride to the printer's office in Schmallenberg.

At the same time he uploaded the data through WeTransfer, a popular file-sharing service. The computer had a 20-minute head start while Mr Schutte started off down the road, past Wilzenberg mountain. Favo made the journey in 104 minutes. The file transfer, however, was not finished until the horse had returned to Oberkirchen more than two hours later. In total it took five hours.

There was a serious point behind the story. Germany has long been known for its poor broadband and mobile internet coverage, particularly in the countryside. Two years ago a report by a network regulator found that 29 per cent of internet users received less than half the speed to which they were contractually entitled. While things have improved, a global survey carried out this year found that it took on average 16 minutes and eight seconds to download a 5GB film through a German internet connection—a little better than the UK but worse than Puerto Rico and Barbados.

In the Sauerland, Mr Kappest's area, millions of euros have been spent on a new network but the connections have yet to be switched on in dozens of towns and villages, including Oberkirchen. The horse race did its job: Mr Kappest has since been assured that his broadband will be up and running next month.

1. （1） The story of a stagecoach is mentioned in the first paragraph mainly to _______.

   A . lead in the topic B . introduce a new race C . highlight a historical year D . correct people's misunderstanding
3. （2） Which of the following is true of Jakob Schutte and his horse?

   A . They were hired by WeTransfer. B . They used to live in Schmallenberg. C . They completed the task in less than two hours. D . They spent five hours on the way to Oberkirchen.
5. （3） Which of the following is a consequence of the horse race?

   A . Germany will realize its poor broadband service. B . Mr Kappest will soon have a better internet connection. C . More euros will be spent on the new network in the Sauerland. D . Oberkirchen will be the first in Germany to stop any horse race,
7. （4） Which of the following may be the best title of the passage?

   A . Germany falls behind in wifi connection B . History hardly repeats itself in normal ways C . Uploading photographs in a modem world is all that easy D . Horse power still has an advantage in race with village wifi